"Why this is the Polar Express, of course!"

I love the Polar Express. It's such a different and cool experience. I hate how expensive it is though. But this year, it fell on Luc's actual birth day. So Frederic and I decided to splurge and get it as one of his gifts. ...Aria ended up loving it just as much, if not more.

Seeing Luc's, and Aria's, pure amazement and joy at seeing (and riding) the real trains and watching the "show" on the train was worth more than anything.

Aria didn't hesitate when the guy asked her if she wanted to dance with him before the train got on it's way. He even twirled her, which she thought was so silly.

This year was a little different. Instead of ending up at the Round House and having to wait in another long line to see Santa, Santa came onto the train and gave out the bells.

(Side note: Aria does not like Santa this year. One evening before bed, she had a long conversation telling me why. It went something like this: Santa is not nice. He's a man. Daddy's a man. Granpa a man. Bon Papa a man. Uncle Dave a man. Santa a man but not nice.
Me: I think he's friendly and happy. You know Santa has a girl friend?
Aria: A girl?
Me: Yes, Mrs. Clause. She helps Santa a lot and is very nice.
Aria: A girl like you? And Me? And Granma? ... I like her!)

At the Round House, there was a big tree and other big Christmas decorations that made for perfect Christmas card photo ops. Of course, our kids weren't having any of it. So none of ours turned out. ugh.

Most people didn't realize they have real train cars and an engine that you can go on and "play" on. Luc and Aria ended up staying there for... I lost track of time. Hidden away behind these cars was a kid's area with train tables. So we headed over there before we needed to leave and get some lunch.

I personally could end the holiday season with that.

Luc is 6!

This year we decided to give ourselves a little break and not do our own birthday party for Luc. We booked a party at Pump it Up (an indoor bounce-house place) and shared the party with Fia, Luc's neighborhood friend who turned 5 the week before. Everyone had a blast! And I didn't have to set up or clean up! Awesome!

Luc's Stats:

Weight: 38 lbs
Height: 41.5 in
Shoes size: 11
Clothes: 5T

On Thanksgiving, we gathered the families together to celebrate Luc's birthday with them.

Luc got lots of Lego this year. He also got Batman toys, new games, Magformers, remote control cars, and a trip to the Polar Express (from Mommy & Daddy).

 About our 6 year old

Luc loves things that are geared toward engineering and STEAM. He will connect cars, trucks, and trains together with tape and then connect a remote controlled car in order to make it move on its own. He loves to see how things work and why they move the way they do. He also needs to know why something doesn't work and how it broke.

He loves making crafts, especially rock animals, boat and car kits, and holiday-specific kits from Michael's, bracelets, etc.

Luc is excelling in school. His favorite class is computer class. His handwriting has improved dramatically, and he doesn't hesitate to write a letter or ask how to draw it. His letters have gotten smaller which the teacher says is actually an advanced skill.

He also loves music. We still play a new favorite song over and over, nonstop in the car until he learns every word. He also enjoys playing his ukulele. While sometimes it's hard to get him to sit and practice at home, especially when Aria comes over and distracts him, he loves going to his weekly lesson and learning his instrument. I think it's totally cool seeing and hearing him play songs. I get big Mom Pride when he "masters" something, like playing the C scale without hesitation, and from memory.
While practicing one evening after his birthday, Luc was avoiding playing a certain song he was supposed to practice. I don't want to hound and bark and therefore turn him off from practice or learning an instrument at all, so I let him strum loudly and crazy for a few minutes. Well this evening he started stringing notes together all on his own. So I started to write down the notes he played and liked the sound of, and helped him build off of it. He titled his song: Birthday Cake Song.

I have definitely seen a lot of maturity in Luc in the last year. He thinks harder and more complex, but he also takes more responsibility. He has a better understanding of the world, which sometimes scares me because I would love to protect him from all the evil in the world. But he also has his moments where he thinks the world still revolves around him.

Halloween 2017

It's time for one of my favorite holidays. No, I'm not goth or depressed or obsessed with death. I just love how there is no other holiday like Halloween. You get to dress up, get scared, and get free candy. What's there not to love?
Aria is obsessed with Halloween this year. She wants to watch Halloween shows over and over. Every night, I mean EVERY night, we read the same Halloween book before bed. She loves to pretend to scare us and when I pretend to cry and say she scared me, she replies, "It's just Halloween. It's ok."

Luc will be Lego Batman this year and after changing her mind 50 times, Aria will be a butterfly. We had to draw the line at some point after buying her second costume.

We went to Luc's school's Trunk or Treat and the kids were excited to play some of the games. We didn't go with any friends since we showed up later because of Luc's ukulele lesson. So it was quick and not very exciting, I thought. The kids had fun though.

Then on Sunday we decided to make the most of the rainy day and carved their pumpkins in the garage. We let the kids scoop out the pumpkin guts, which Luc thought felt slimey and Aria simply said "Yuck!"

Ewwwww

Yuck!

Aria wanted a monster and liked this one-eyed face.
Luc wanted a dog paw print.

So while Frederic and I were carving with the knives, the kids played around. And Aria ended the whole event with a total meltdown (because she is no longer taking afternoon naps).





















Halloween Night. We were in a huge rush to celebrate Halloween this year because Frederic and I were heading to Hawaii the next morning. Like 4am the next morning.
Our neighbor decided to have all the neighborhood kids over at 5pm for pizza before we all headed out together to trick or treat. The little ones, Aria included, were often left behind. But they care. I'm bummed I didn't take many photos this year since I was worried about losing the kids in the big crowd we went around with and on the dark streets. Especially since they were both wearing black.

Apple & Pumpkin Picking with our Pumpkins

Frederic and I decided to take the kids apple and pumpkin picking last weekend before our Fall weekend schedule gets too crazy and we don't get the chance. The morning was nice and cool and Fall-ish, but it quickly warmed up and felt more like summer.

 After we picked some apples (they were few and far between), we headed over to the pumpkin patch down the road. They had a lot of big pumpkins, not many baby ones. The kids each had one, then somehow we ended up with four pumpkins.

Now if only the weather would cool off a little and feel more like Autumn.

Kindergartener Luc

Though he doesn't always like to admit it, Luc is loving Kindergarten so far. Well, he's already over the homework (he gets it at least 4 times a week, plus weekly vocab words). He does very well completing his homework on his own once I read the directions. I figured out a way to get him to learn his vocab words. While he's stuck in his car seat on the 30 minute drive home from Grandma's every day, we go over the words and definitions. Since he learned them all for last Friday, he was picked on to tell the definition and got a sticker for his chart!

He still doesn't mind wearing a uniform everyday, though he prefers his P.E. days (Mon, Tues, Thurs) because he wears a t shirt and shorts or sweatpants.

While sitting in his favorite class, computer, he sits next to Emma (whom he's been in classes with since PK 3), and they decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Luc admits it was mostly his idea, though I'm not sure I believe that. They sit together at lunch and play during recess. When asked how his relationship is going, he answered "Good!" Otherwise, he blushes when you mention her.

There's anew boy in his class named AJ who has the same Lego Batman lunch bag as him, and he's super excited. He's being slow getting to know him and play with him in class though.

The year is off to a good start!