Four Square, Year Four

Crowds descended on the small town of Bridgton, Maine again this past weekend for the annual crowning of the World Champion of Four Square. I am sad to report that Ben narrowly escaped that title once again, placing third in this year's heated competition, just one point behind second. Reflecting on his third-place finish, he said "I guess if I want to win this thing, I need to play more than once a year." If he did actually practice between annual appearances, this quiet stranger would be a force to be reckoned with. Sitting in the spectator stands, I overhear lots of "Who's that tall skinny guy in the navy shorts? I've never seen him before. He's good." I think Ben is an anomaly among the four square crowd, many of whom appear to take this sport very, very seriously and would never think of not practicing several times a week. The good news: Ben's nemesis Tiger Claw was dethroned and didn't even make the finals! It's hard to believe this was my (and Ethan's!) fourth year witnessing this spectacular event. A funny aside - when I pulled up this post from four years ago, I realized I wore the very same sweater to Saturday's event as I did back then. I thought Ben was the only Stockwell to don a "uniform", but apparently his recycling of clothing has worn off on me.

The boys really enjoyed watching their Daddy play, and had many questions about the rules of the game, the crazy costumes, and why Daddy "messed up". Adam really wanted in on the action - it won't be long before this kid is out there competing with his Dad.

Not unlike another father-son competitive duo I know...

2011 Mens' semi-finalists

2021 Mens' finalists and Seniors' champion

But Bridgton ain't just famous for four square! When we arrived there Saturday morning, we headed over to the town rink to meet the famous Salty Pete, mascot of the Portland Pirates hockey team. We had a nearly private audience with Pete, allowing lots of time for the boys to overcome their initial fear of the giant, silent pirate. I can't blame the boys - mascots always scare me a little too. Why are they silent, anyway? We did manage to get a picture of Ethan posing with Pete,

and a very fuzzy shot of Adam giving him a high-five.

And we couldn't pay a visit to the rink without lacing up our own skates! Ethan did great, and continues to progress (and LOVES it) - Adam did a lot of this:

We rounded out the weekend with a lot of sledding (Ethan and Grandpa), shoveling (mostly Ethan), cross-country skiing (Mommy), ping ponging (Daddy), cooking (Grandma), and eating (Adam). It was all a fun and much-needed break from the serious cabin fever that has set in at our house. Spring is just three weeks away....right??

My Pisceans

This time of year always gets me thinking about the special men in my life. First there's Valentine's Day, then the anniversary of the day that Ben and I first started dating...heck, two of my four dearest dudes celebrate birthdays this very week! (And the other two love any excuse to dig into cake and help someone else open their presents, so it's really a winning week for all.)

We did a bit of celebrating for Ben this past weekend - a birthday lunch, date night, some little presents (each announced by a certain someone before they could be opened), a cake (also announced with "Daddy, it's a secret but we have to go get your cake ready!"), some adorable homemade cards from some adoring sons, and a birthday masterpiece on our kitchen doors:

I did the writing (obviously), but if you can make out the birthday cake - that was all Ethan. The boys sure do get into birthdays, and Ethan got a chuckle out of the fact that Mommy is in fact older than Daddy, even though Daddy is taller. We'll do some more celebrating this coming weekend over in Bridgton, where Ben will take home the Four-Square World Champion title once and for all.

My dad's birthday is Friday, and we won't get to celebrate with him in person on his actual birthday. Dad, maybe you should just move up here (ahem) and we'll throw you a proper birthday party. I can promise it will include a loud and off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday", lots of help opening your presents, and probably an extra-early wake-up call to wish you a Happy Birthday. Oh, and you'll have to make your own birthday breakfast because god forbid you starve your grandsons of Papi's famous eggs.

Happiest Birthday to my daddy and my babies' daddy. One of these years I'll get my act together and actually give you each your own well-deserved post. In the meantime, I love you both so very much. You are each such stunning examples of perfection in the arts of husbandry and fatherhood. Thank you for your enviable amounts of patience, your constant support of me and my crazy ideas/wants/needs, and your unending love.

Working on six-pack abs for our Jamaica trip. Sorry Ben, I had to.

An oldie, but one of my favorite pictures of my dad and me.

E for Exceeds Expectations

When Ethan was a baby, I deemed him a "spirited" child. "Spirited" is code for into everything, needing lots of attention, always on the move, et cetera, et cetera. Then somewhere during Ethan's second year, his personality shifted, and he became much more like the Ethan we know today. A rule follower, a risk avoider, a shy guy, a gentle soul - that's our Ethan. Or at least, and I hate to admit typecasting my child, that's how I pegged him. But Ethan's been surprising us of late. Suddenly (or maybe not so suddenly - maybe we just missed the transition), he is ready for more action.

This shift became particularly apparent this past weekend, when we introduced Ethan to cross-country skiing and snow tubing in the same day. Before we left to go skiing, I was warning my Dad that we might not be out there for long, that I expected a few minutes of trying to ski before the whining and begging to go home commenced. My Dad replied, "But didn't he surprise you when you took him ice skating the first time? Didn't he do great?" And I recalled that yes, that was true, he did surprise us and he did do great. With a renewed promise of success, Ethan and I set out on his maiden voyage into what were the worst possible ski conditions. It was solid, crusty, dirty, solid, did I mention solid?, ice. The poor kid fell about five hundred times. But did he whine? Did he beg to go home? Quite the opposite - Ethan kept begging for more, asking to "do it myself", and assuring his skeptical mom that he was having "so much fun". Huh, surprised us again.

After a much-deserved and necessary nap, we decided to bring Ethan along to the snow tube park that afternoon. Now this is no novice sledding hill - this is a serious, thrill-inducing descent. We took the magic carpet up to the top, and Ben and I stood back and watched my Dad take Ethan down for the first time. We looked at each other, shook our heads, and worried that this might traumatize Ethan forever. After closing my eyes and holding my breath, I launched myself down that same hill, screaming and dragging my feet the whole way. I was sure there would be a sobbing boy at the bottom, running to Mommy for comfort. But no, there was a gleaming boy, smile ear to ear, running towards the magic carpet to do it again. Huh, surprised us again.

Now, I still don't see daredevil-dom in Ethan's future, and I'm pretty sure his base personality remains much more straight and narrow than wild and crazy. But I do wonder if he's ready for more than we give him credit for. I wonder if our expectations for him have been too low, if we've been (gasp) holding him back? I do know that we've been casting him in a role in our family that's not always exactly right, that it's good for him to break the rules every once in awhile, that it's healthy for him to step outside his comfort zone and spread his wings. His newfound confidence and comfort in his four-year-old skin makes me so happy, even if it means he needs me less and distances himself from us more. I'll be here to catch him when and if he does fall, kiss his bruises, and push him to get up and try again.

My big boy at the dentist this morning - no cavities and first x-rays. The hygenist did say she had never seen a four-year-old sit so still for x-rays before, so I guess there is still a lot of that same old Ethan in there.

My Funny Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day! When your kids are in daycare/preschool, Valentine's Day becomes another one of those very drawn-out holidays with lots of associated festivities. I feel like we have already been celebrating for at least a week, with the boys spending most of last week doing Valentine's-related crafts at school, and their big parties on Wednesday. Ethan signed all of his own valentines this year, and let me tell you, that's a big help! Filling out and signing 20+ valentines for each of their rooms is actually a bit of a chore. We probably didn't need to bother to sign Adam's, as everyone could have guessed who chose monkey-themed notes. Ethan chose pirates for his valentines this year - a big favorite in our house these days.

We took a break from Valentine-related festivities over the weekend, with an action-packed visit from Noni and Papi. The weekend was full of wintry activities - x-country skiing and snow tubing on Saturday, and a fully-outdoor birthday party on Sunday. Ethan embraced and enjoyed each of these events; I, on the other hand, learned that outdoor birthday parties in February are not my favorite and that I would much prefer to ski or tube if I have to be outside in this weather. Noni and Papi stayed through to this morning, which allowed us to exchange valentines with them in person (and for Mommy and Daddy to sleep in one extra morning!). I am enjoying spending the day with my little valentines...

and while Valentine's Day isn't quite the same with kiddos at home (we're having mac 'n cheese for dinner), it's sure nice to have such a sweet big Valentine too.

Born to Be Wild

On second thought, born to be very, very serious would be more appropriate.

My Little Monkey

It's been awhile since I've written about the whole second child phenomenon. When Adam was a baby, I constantly marveled at how different it was the second time around. Having the perspective of a second-time mom, I sweat the small stuff less and coveted every fleeting stage more. I knew that the bad stuff would be over before I even had time to figure out how to fix it, and that sadly, the good stuff would also be over just as quickly. Seeing the importance of living in the moment, being truly present, is one of the greatest gifts my children have given me. And it is Adam who has reaped the side benefits of this revelation - a more relaxed mom who eats up every stinking bit of his adorableness and turns a blind eye to his mischief far too often.

I recently commented to Ben that I am really enjoying Adam's early two's and that I just don't remember Ethan's being so fun. Then I made the connection - I was in a walking coma for the first quarter of Ethan's third year, sleep-deprived and exhausted by the demands of two (essentially) babies. This time around, I am actually getting a full night's sleep (most nights), finding "me time" on a regular basis, and able to sit and play with one or both boys without constant interruption from a demanding newborn. It's nice.

As I reveled in every adorable moment of Adam's infancy, I am similarly enthralled with his toddlerdom. My little monkey is such a charmer, and cracks me up multiple times a day. Tonight at dinner, we were talking about a trip we took to Hawaii when I was pregnant with Ethan. We showed the boys a picture of us with Gwen and Mike on that trip, and said that Ethan was actually in Mommy's belly in that picture. Adam, deadpan, said "Where's Brian? Is he in Auntie Gwen's pocket?". You never know what's going to come out of this kid's mouth. On Sunday we were having one of those rare lazy mornings, where all four of us were sitting around the breakfast table, listening to music, the boys coloring and the 'rents reading the paper. Out of the blue Adam looks up at us with this gigantic grin and says "I happy". You make us happy too, little man, all of us. Even if you do make a ridiculous face when we're trying to take your picture.

Partners in Crime

We seem to forget our cameras a lot these days. Despite having many different varieties of camera, including one that fits in an Altoid case and a FlipVideo, we still find ourselves saying "oh no, we forgot the camera!" more times than I'd like to admit. Lucky for me, I have some partners in photographic record-keeping who shoot these special moments and promptly upload and send the photos my way. Whether I do something with these photos in a timely manner is a whole 'nother story...

A month later, I am finally getting around to posting some shots from the holidays, taken by les grand-peres extraordinaires. There's just one from my Dad, but it's a cute one. Ben had to work New Years Day, so I took the boys up to visit Noni and Papi in Rockport. "Vacation" is not really in these two's vocabulary, so instead of relaxing and enjoying their week off, they had been creating this darling little playroom/sleep space for the boys, complete with tons of toys that my brother and I had played with as kids. These were the clear winners:

And then a whole slew of great shots from Grandpa Tom. First, some from our big family Christmas dinner. This was the second annual Stockwell / Magyar Christmas feast, and boy do I love me some family feasting.

Cousins - they make rolling around on the floor and climbing in boxes so much fun!

Best buddies

Siblings 1

Siblings 2

Modeling the new jeans

Master of the kids' table

We rang in 2011 over at Grandma and Grandpa's house, where there was even more fun with cousins to be had. FOUR little boys in one place = lots and lots of LOUD fun!

Yum

Storytime

Little Mozarts

Grandpa and his boys

The Stockwell Four

The Whole Gang

And there you have it. Dad and Tom, please keep sending photos my way, even if it takes me a month to do anything with them!