Teenage Dreams and Papa Play

Today is yet another sick day for the Martin Crew. It is mid-March and we've already fought the Norovirus, Covid, and now flu B in our house this year. Luckily, no one is sharing germs, but we seem to be going down one-by-one. Stay healthy, Daniel!

Flu B may actually be the worst yet, because it is a giant conglomeration of the symptoms of all the other sickness we've faced. Poor Alexander went down Monday in a big way and is slowly creeping back to health.

We've taken turns staying home with him and nursing him back to health. We were blessed that Papa was in town to help on Tuesday, as the doctor said he needs to be home through Thursday, at least.

Papa did a great job making sure our boy got some fresh air

This was the best Halloween costume purchase ever!

Before Alexander got sick, we had an amazing weekend with Papa!

Saturday was a big day with a win for Niko and my Cheetahs and for Alexander and Daniel's Cobra Kai

Alexander scored a total of four goals!

After the first shot, I heard my dad yell, "Great shot, Ryan!" I chuckled to myself, thinking of the many hours my dad watched my brother play soccer with such skill. After the game, Papa showed me a text to Grandma Jay where he said, "Ryan has scored three times in the first six minutes!" Grandma Jay quickly responded with, "Alexander, maybe?" Our boy definitely takes after his uncle, both in physical likeness and on the pitch.

After soccer, we were in birthday party mode - for our Zoey girl!

Just a few weeks after thinking we may have to say goodbye, she seems to have made nearly a full recovery from her vestibular episode. She turned thirteen on March 15th!

We hosted a cookout and treated her to t-bones

Papa's visit was filled with games and good times. There was so much laughter. I really think this was a visit I will remember forever.

Soccer practice was canceled on Monday due to field conditions after Sunday's storms. Papa gave Niko a full on practice session! He wouldn't take any of Niko's sneaky ways to change the game in his favor and made our boy step up and play hard!

I definitely wish Alexander hadn't gotten sick, but after Niko and Papa spent so much quality time together this trip, it was nice that Alexander and Papa got some one-on-one time on Tuesday.

PApa has made it home safely, and we are praying our household is on the mend and ready for a season of good health as we fit in all the memories we can before our big move this summer.

Memory Mix-Up!

 

It feels like this has been the longest month in history, but looking through pictures makes me realize how many amazing memories we have made!

I can't really pick a theme here, so instead this is a photo drop of our mayhem over the past month

Though Christmas feels like three months ago, I haven't done a post since, so I'm going to start right there.

We had a wonderfully quiet Christmas at the house

Niko picked these out as one of his gifts to Alexander

Zoey was very relaxed with everyone home for the long break

One big gift was our drifter. This has been out nearly every single day!

Santa also brought a drone

 It took only a few minutes for Alexander to excel with flying it.

It was a very Lego Christmas!

We have spent hours building the various sets we received and couldn't be more excited about it.

We always love having Gammie with us on Christmas!

Closet cleanout cuteness

We had the best time revisiting the Clark Park trail (in the daylight this time)

The boys got near free reign as they wheeled ahead

Backyard Nerf Wars - one of the things childhood is made of

Hot Cocoa on cold days

NYE fireworks. Niko picked a saber sparkler and it was his favorite!

Making our own chocolate! Such a cool gift from Ryan and Mary. It fits perfectly into our new normal of from scratch cooking. I've been making our bread and our ice cream from scratch, and now I know how to make chocolate bars, too! 

Lots of Battleship days

We thought this would be the only 'snow' we would see during our time in Fayetteville

Movie Day - Mufasa was so good

The rover nearly completed

Crossbows and Catapults!

A game the boys have never had the instructions for because they play with the set that has been around since Ryan played as a kid. Gammie found a new version and we love it!

STEM night at Village was such an amazing event. So much hard work went into it. Our STEM teacher, Mrs. Tew made this night such an incredible family event!

Hot Pot lunch date!

Niko was finally tall enough for the zipline at Urban Air! 

Thank you, Papa and Grandma Jay for the gift card!

Our laser tag team

Against the odds and after a few disappointing misses, Fayetteville got SNOW!

We took full advantage of our winter wonderland. Our sloping yard finally paid off, and we had nearly the whole week off from school to get off schedule and do all the things!

Polar Pose!

Snow Trode!

Alexander spent last night at his first large sleepover party. We enjoyed a quiet evening but were so happy to get him home today.

Somehow it is still January, and I am ready for it! I feel so blessed for all the amazing memories we are making and am trying to enjoy the moments, as the boys still see us as their favorite playmates.

Milestones

Niko is learning to read! He's doing so well with both sight words and sounding words out. It's like a light went off! We love his teachers, Mrs. Stacey and Mrs. Rita. They are helping him grow so much.

His number sense is really taking off, too. Today we were playing Chutes and Ladders, and he said he knew 24+6 was 30, because 4+6 is 10, so 24+6 had to be 30.

Alexander is soaring in piano! He has moved on from the basics and is really enjoying the more difficult songs he is learning. This means practice is more enjoyable, which in turn helps him to improve that much faster! I am so grateful for Mrs. Thompson's leadership and her dedication to our boy.

Alexander is on the Math Olympics team! He made the three-person reasoning and logic team, and his only complaint was that practice went too fast. He has asked me for more practice problems at home. He is also reading voraciously, with his favorite series being Percy Jackson. We read these together and I struggle to keep up!

As a family, we are reading Dragon Masters and listening to the I Survived series on audiobook.