Our November Birthdays

November is a fun month in the Kennedy household! There are lots of treats and surprises as we celebrate both of our November babies. Since 2020, it has become a tradition to take our annual trip to the zoo, and this year we went on the Veteran's Day holiday, which was Monday the 11th. It was our group of 10: the Kennedy 4, the Houston 4, and Grammy & Grandpa. Unfortunately Boomer's parents were not able to join us. Bret was recovering from being sick, and Cathy is in between her treatments for breast cancer. We are hoping they are both healthy by the Thanksgiving holiday so that we can enjoy some family time together with Granny and Paw Paw. When we arrived at the zoo at 9AM, we parked at North America, boarded the tram to the Junction, and made our way along the Africa loop. We have found this route to be the most efficient path through the zoo. We were able to see so many animals: the lemurs, zebras, gorillas, and chimpanzees. Emmy's favorite animal continues to be elephants, and Eli still loves the giraffes. After completing the Africa loop, we had lunch at the Junction Plaza, and we sang for our two birthdays. Refreshed and ready to go again, we made the trek through North America, where we saw the reptiles in the Desert, the otters and fish at the Streamside, and the polar bear and puffins at the Rocky Coast. We saw it all! Over 10,000 steps later, we were quite tired when we returned to Kernersville that evening. It was a day well-spent and one that we have come to look forward to each year.   

Even with the combined birthday trip to the zoo, Emmy and Eli were both amply spoiled individually. Emmy's birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and it started with a visit from the Tooth Fairy. Our girl can't make things easy on Mommy by celebrating just one thing! Her tooth fell out the night before, and both kids were excited about the potential scavenger hunt the next morning. The Tooth Fairy did not disappoint, and Emmy's prize was $3. Then we dashed off to church and had lunch at the birthday girl's restaurant-of-choice, McDonalds. We took up a large section of the dining area with the Houstons, Kennedys, Williamses, and Bakewells. Emmy received new blank hardcover books from the Houstons, a cute Christmas dress from Grammy and Grandpa, along with a few other items of clothes, and from Mommy and Daddy, she got a personalized belt bag and a Stanley. Later that afternoon, we went to her friend Ellie's house for Ellie's birthday party. Emmy and Ellie share the same birthday, and it was a fun Taylor-Swift themed party, with face painting, homemade glitter slime, and jewelry making. Ellie was so sweet to have her party guests sing to Emmy after they sang to her. When Emmy returned to school after the Veteran's Day holiday, she had special visitors at lunch: Grammy and Grandpa! They brought Chick-Fil-A for the birthday girl and cupcakes for the class. 

 

Eli's birthday fell on a Monday this year. On Saturday the 16th, we went out to dinner for fancy Japanese. We celebrated all three of the fall birthdays: Maddox (10/26), Emmy (11/10), and Eli (11/18). Eli posed for a picture, but he wasn't all about the singing. He kept his distance and stayed closed to me for that part. He otherwise enjoyed the fire and entertainment during dinner. He received a Star Belly dinosaur from the Houstons and a new bat bag and clothes from Grammy and Grandpa. On Eli's birthday, Grammy came to have lunch with him at his preschool. I had not told him ahead of time so he was very excited when she surprised him with Chick-Fil-A, just like Sissy got on her birthday. We always do our best to keep things fair, but of course sibling jealousy is never stronger than when one has a birthday. Later Monday evening after the school day, we had pizza for dinner and a cozy evening at home. We gave Eli his gifts from Mommy and Daddy: new baseball cleats and a Nerf football. 

There is some sadness that both kids are getting older. I have truly loved each year with them. Each new age brings its own adventures and memories. Emmy is thriving in 2nd Grade. She idolizes her teacher and strives to do her very best. She is pulled out for extra enrichment in Reading and Math twice a week, and she enjoys the challenge of working on advanced skills. She continues to love reading. Each night, we will read a chapter together, and she will follow along on the page. She surprised us all this year with her tenacity on the basketball court and her scrappiness on the softball field. Our little lefty has found her spot at 1st Base and doesn't shy away from going after the ball. She has continued with gymnastics on Thursdays, and soon she will start her fourth season of basketball. Boomer and she have developed a special bond through sports, and Emmy has proven to be very coachable and eager to improve. Although she and Eli fight, in the moments we aren't watching, Emmy will be very nurturing toward her brother. She is a protective and caring older sister. Happy 8th birthday, Emmy!

This year marks the last year of having a child in preschool. Eli will begin kindergarten next August, and these precious preschool years have come and gone so quickly. His swagger, his expressions, and his conversations -  Eli is resembling a big boy more and more each day. I still catch glimpses of my baby, when he gives me a tight hug each morning or when he gets down on his belly to push his cars around on the floor. I am trying to savor these special fleeting moments. He finally got his chance at playing organized sports this year. He played Little League in the spring and again in the fall. He was a leader on his team with his focus and effort. He will be starting basketball this winter, and I am curious to see how his skills translate to the court. It seems like he has been dribbling and shooting for years already. At school, Eli has learned all his letters and is starting to learn blending sounds. He will entertain us in the evenings by spilling all the gossip from the Frogs Class. His teacher says that he is a kind classmate. I expect he will be ready for kindergarten...even if Mommy isn't. Happy 5th birthday, Eli!  

Not Always Rainbows and Butterflies

The fall sports season has officially come to a close. Emmy's team had their last softball game on Saturday, the 2nd, and they ended with a solid win. Emmy played 1st Base, and she accounted for several outs. There was one particularly hard hit ball that she quickly scooped up and took to the base. It got quite a reaction from the fans. She really has gained lots of skills and confidence this season, and it has been so fun spending time as a family at the ballfield. 

Last Friday, we divided up in the evening: a truck race for the boys and a gymnastics exhibition for the girls. Boomer, Eli, and my dad left as soon as the workday ended and made the short drive to Martinsville. They arrived about an hour before the race started at 6PM, which gave them enough time to watch qualifying and eat some of the famous Martinsville hot dogs. Our little boy was in heaven watching the trucks go around the track. While they were in Martinsville, Emmy, her friend Casey, and I went to the Greensboro Coliseum for the "Gold Over America" tour starring Simone Biles and several other Olympic gymnastics, like Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Paul Juda, and Brody Malone. Our trip to Greensboro wasn't as smooth as the boys' trip to Martinsville. Unfortunately we got into a lot of traffic outside of the Coliseum, and sadly we missed the start of the show. Luckily the girls didn't seem to mind. They had a great time watching all the flips and tricks, and they especially liked getting a snack from the concession stand during the intermission. 

This past week, Emmy's school had a special celebration for the upcoming Veteran's Day. Emmy's work was featured along with the other 2nd Graders in a large flag at the school. They also had an evening chorus performance of all the patriotic songs. 

Should it appear that life is always easy, let me include this last picture that Boomer snapped on Sunday morning. Shortly after we woke up, Emmy came to Boomer and said that her head was itching. After a quick inspection, we determined that she had lice. LICE! I immediately headed to CVS for a treatment kit, and then this photo was taken during the 10-minute waiting period after we applied the shampoo. The treatment was successful, but even so, we have had to be diligent in checking Emmy's hair each day to get any of the remaining lice and nits. Boomer has been the MVP in this whole process. I am still not quite over the experience, and it has been quite traumatic. We have earned our lice-parenting-badge, and I hope to never go through it again!

Happy Halloween

We closed out October with even more fall activities. Last Friday the 25th, we went to the local Methodist church to pick out our pumpkins. The kids were selective in choosing a few small ones, while I picked out the large one that we would carve. We carved the pumpkin the day before Halloween, which happened to be our first open evening of no sports, Awana, or other activities. Talk about waiting until the last minute! On Halloween, Eli's class dressed up in their costumes, and he went as a firefighter. We are so grateful for hand-me-downs from his cousins. Eli sure looked cute. He stayed in costume that evening for trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, and Emmy recycled last year's costume of Princess Peach. She couldn't wait to put on the big pink dress with the white gloves and clip-on earrings. The kids and I made a lap around the neighborhood, while Daddy stayed home to hand out candy. It is the first year that both kids have gone out for trick-or-treating. Eli declared it "the best day ever" and after leaving each house, he would hold up and announce the newest piece of candy before dropping it in his bucket. Towards the end of our loop, some of the baskets left out on front porches were running low, and the kids were so sweet to add some of their own candy. As you can see from the last picture, they had plenty to spare! 

On Saturday, the 26th, we celebrated Maddox's 9th birthday with a fun party at Airbound in Winston-Salem. The kids all had a blast jumping on the trampolines, twirling on the silks, and climbing the rock wall. In past visits, Emmy has attempted the wall, but she usually tired out or got too scared to make it to the top. This time, she made it all the way to push the button - yay! Happy birthday to Maddox! He is a fun kid to celebrate!

On Sunday evenings, Emmy and Eli have continued to go to Awana. They are learning Scriptures and having lots of fun. We've made a habit of getting ice cream for dinner afterwards, and we all feel rebellious in not eating a balanced meal. Surely one cheat meal a week won't do any harm! 

Here are a few other photos from the end of October. The fall ball season wrapped up for Eli last Saturday. He was thrilled to earn the game ball on the last day. Emmy's softball team is playing one more game this Saturday, and then her season will also be over. We sure have loved watching both of them on the field and in the dugout. They have both demonstrated great effort and sportsmanship, and we are very proud of them. As we go into November, we will soon see the selection of our next President. It is an election year, and Boomer and I both voted early to avoid the rush to the polls on November 5th. There is no perfect candidate, and our prayer is that our next President can lead our nation in unity and peace.