Champions

I guess swim season is over. And I should probably mention how things worked out.

If you spend any time following my Instagram pics you already know the good news: Cooper won the 50 yard Breaststroke at championships. 

Yeah and high fives all around. 

Can we all just think back to Cooper's first year in swim team? Remember when his coaches picked him to be the 3D recipient? That was cool. I was so shocked by the award that I didn't even see him get it. I was in the back chit-chatting with my friends. 

Fast forward to this year. Final banquet and Cooper is up front collecting all kinds of medals and ribbons. Undefeated season in breaststroke, all-star swimmer, the list goes on. He has become such a great athlete. Then the coaches start recognizing high-point winners and I kinda checked out. You got it, I was chit-chatting in the back again. 

Then they announce the 3D -- a trophy that has gotten harder to win because now they only give it to 1 girl and 1 boy, not each 1 in each age group -- and they start to describe a very determined young man. One who went to every practice, and one who they know trains when he's on vacation, too. They talked about his willingness to swim up with the 11-12s and help out the older boys. They shared how he sets goals. And then they said Cooper's name! This time I got a picture (after I gasped with utter surprise). 

It's fun for Coop to earn a medal for swimming fast. But as the parent, hearing your child recognized for their work ethic is amazing. 

Swim team has changed our lives. I look forward to spending my summer with swim team friends who feel like family. Being in this program has been like being adopted into a family. It's not just my kid I like to cheer for. I feel so happy for so many of those athletes, and so grateful for the older athletes who have set such an extraordinary example for my Cooop. Now, we look to competitive tryouts and year-round schedules. But we will return to the Wahoos every summer.

Grit

The Coop in the middle and leading the pack.

I observed something in my oldest this weekend. Something I liked, but can't really describe. But I think it was grit.

He is such a good little breaststroke swimmer. Really. This is not me bragging. He is good at it. He's a natural. His body was made for it. He loves it.

The other strokes are just warm up for what he considers the big race. Because the Indiviual Medley -- or IM -- includes the breaststroke he likes that one too. Saturday, however, he DQd in the IM. After absolutely improving in every way on butterfly, he settled into a questionable pace for backstroke and then -- and this will be all swimmer-y and technical -- he flipped an illegal turn on the back to breast transition. Guh. And he knew it. So the rest of the race was just painful for him.

Out of the water he put on a good face. I actually thought to myself, "Oh I guess Coop IS a 9-year-old who swims for fun. This doesn't bother him at all." Plus, I'd like to point out, he caught up his first relay team to ensure a win, won the breaststroke, placed in the 100-meter freestyle, and swam up with the 11-12-year-olds in the 4x50-meter freestyle relay to win. This one DQ out of five very successful races seemed like peanuts.

Then Sunday rolled around and we went about our business. A family walk cut short by a going-away party at the swimming pool. None of the other kids are swim team kids. So I knew Coop would get in some relaxing play in the water.

When I showed up to take him home, I found him away from the group and in the lap pool. The kid was swimming his turn over and over and over, again. I had to tell him he was wonderful. Get out. Rest.

Some of us have this. This drive to practice so much that we not only do something perfectly, we never do anything but perfect. Some of us don't. Coop has two gifts. He was given great turn-out and a body for breastroke. But he also has the gift of grit. It's the second I admire.

Swim team friends are fun friends!

Everybody In The Pool

I'm always shocked my sons swim. Something I made from scratch can swim. I can't even pretend I'm a proficient swimmer. So, I brag on the first dive of every season. Especially since the season starts with three days of cancelations due to snow -- it's an outdoor pool. On the fourth day, 51 degrees and partly cloudy, Coop jumped in with the rest of them. He's a beast. A scrawny, 60 lb, size 24 jammer, and zero body fat, but he is a beast. 

That is why I am totally confused. On the last day of school my Coop came home carrying a lime green pillowcase filled with the junk of his desk. You can imagine the contents: chewed pencils, unfinished homework, graded papers, toilet paper roll totem pole, and a memory book.  I paid particular attention to the memory book seeing as I've forgotten so much lately.

Flipping through the pages there were a few expected assignments -- all teachers give them -- and a few surprises. 

Expected assignment: a visual representation of words that describe Cooper. He has dreamed them up himself and colored the pictures in bright colors. Phrases he uses to describe himself include: I'm a good at swimming. I'm not good at hula hoops. I like playing with my brother. I want to be an amazing swimmer. I do not want to be a mean man. I feel excited when I win a race. I do not like cats!

Unexpected assignment: a New Year's Resolution. Actually, the assignment itself did not surprise me.  What surprised me is what he wrote. (Let me reiterate, this was completed in the classroom. This was not a home assignment. My hands and eyes did not touch this document until 6 months after it was written. It read, "My New Years resolution is to make it to the All stars. I will complete my goal by going to every practice. I will also complete this goal by not goofing around during practices. The last thing I will need to do to accomplish my goal is listening to what my coaches and parents say. As you can see I've got a lot to do, but I am definitely going to reach my goal!!!"

"Interesting," I thought to myself. Later that night I told him I had read his goal and that I would help him any way I could. This is about the same time I ordered new jammers for the season, cleaned out the swim bag, and moved all the pool towels down to the laundry room for a freshen up. 

Then the boy asked to see All Star times. I swear it. This turned into a whole conversation in which he realized that now he would have to swim 50- and 100-meters races to compete as a 9-10 boy. Very funny stuff. 

After that, I was catching up with an old friend, also a swim mom. I told her the story of Coop asking about times and he stood there and denied it. 

I'm new at this tween parenting thing. Did I embarrass him? He put the monster goal out there. He asked to see the times. But only I can know?!?!? Weird times at this swim fan's house.

Mason often gets the pool to himself during night practices because all the swim team kids go to the lap pool. And everyone else goes home. He loves it!

This pictures shows how far ahead Coop got his relay team -- you can't even see the other competitors!

Feats of Strength

We had a fairly big weekend. In terms of living in the suburbs, you could say it was a heavy hardware weekend. The Coop played in the Lacrosse Championships of his league/division/small corner of the world and won. Then the following day he endured the chaos of a kid triathlon. Both adventures earned him a medal. He's kinda a big deal.

What we didn't expect, was to have our Mason recognized, too. Following the lacrosse game it was parent paparazzi everywhere. I got some amazing pictures of Cooper. But what I missed with my lens and must capture here is what Cooper's coach did for Mason. He gave him a medal for his support! Indeed Mason went to every practice and every game. He was Cooper's no. 1 fan. He has his own stick and was Coop's practice partner in the backyard. Coach will never know the significance of this to me. 

After the excitement of the day blew over and we were watching TV, Mason started nonchalantly doing sit ups. Then he moved on to push ups. Before we knew it he was working the tricep-dip on the stairs and holding a wall-sit for an eternity. We sat up, we noticed. Like it was nothing, he lunged past us on the couch and asked if we could think of any hard exercises for him. The night continued on with us thinking of truly difficult feats of strength for Mason. Anything and everything we invented, he tried. If you know Mason, you know this is a thing. I can't help but think he was boosted by his hard-earned hardware. 

Can't wait for high school track when I see that kick!

The Cooperbowl

My son’s 8^th birthday was planned to fix all the ways in which he’d been disappointed at recess.

Picked last. Not picked at all. Rarely getting to try quarterback. Teammates making intentionally bad snaps when he finally got to try being the quarterback. Kids suck.

  

Clearly hearing about it in snips and bits over the past few weeks was really bothering me. Him, too. But The Coop really does let things roll.

I’m a bear.

And so that is how we came to rent a full indoor football field, name ourselves the commissioners of The Cooperbowl, and host what boiled down to an extended recess.

Oh did he have fun.

It was the first time we had planned to host our December baby’s party after Christmas, nearly three weeks after his actual big day. That might have been a mistake. But it was a nice change of pace. Or rather, the pace of the chaos in our house three weeks ago really didn’t afford the time for a birthday party.

After the running, and jumping, and sweating – my do boys stink – they sat down for some good ‘ol fashioned concessions and a quiz. That’s right, the Who-Knows-Coop-Best Quiz. Questions and answers that I’d like to keep:

Who is Cooper’s favorite football team? Broncos (it was the Jets until the 27^th of December).

What belt has Cooper earned in karate? Orange

What is Cooper’s favorite color? Green

Other than football, what is Cooper’s favorite sport? Swimming – though he first answered soccer (?!?!?!!?).

Who is Cooper’s favorite football player? Peyton Manning – though I know he loves Tim Tebow.

What is Cooper’s favorite special? P.E.

What is Cooper’s favorite book? Diary of a Wimpy Kid

There were some other questions I wanted to ask Coop. You know, my usual birthday interview. But it seems that all questions are answered with “butt cheeks”, “fart head”, or “I dunno”. I gave up.  

Planning a Party? Visit my sewing blog for resources. 

Phew, Oh and That Other Funny Story

Congrats to our orange belt! (That's a Shotokan Karate orange belt, to those of you who know the difference.) Huge sigh of relief! The Sensei is really quite rigid. The students test one week and don't find out the results until the following week. And really, there is no way of knowing if you past the test. Real nail biter. So, tonight, when we showed up we didn't know what would happen. For reals. Then just as I could tell Cooper had given up hope that he had passed the test his Sensei called out his name. Visible ton of bricks fell off Coop's shoulders. 

These pictures are from the night he tested -- that's why he's still wearing his yellow belt. 

I've been waiting to tell a funny story until I had a good karate photo of him. While these aren't the best, please note the hands of one of his Senseis on his shoulders. This is not the main man in the dojo. It's his helper -- who is something ridiculous like 86 years old. 

One day, after lesson Cooper said, "Oh mom you know that Sensei that's missing an ear?" I was like, "Yeah, I know the guy with no ear." Now, let's pause and reflect for a little bit. This in of itself is not something you hear everyday. 

 "Well, he has a wooden foot." 

"Cooper, he doesn't have a wooden foot. I can see his bare feet."

"Seriously mama! It's wooden."

"Why do you say that?"

"He touched my foot with his foot and it was wooden, I could tell."

This is what we have to look forward to in our old age. This man, though spry as a ninja, had such dry, crusty old feet that my child thought they were made of wood. 

The lesson we should learn is this: put lotion on your feet -- just not between the toes. Have a good Thanksgiving, also. 

FBSG: The Field Trips

Every Fall Break adventure should be sprinkled with field trip. That is not to say you should take your children somewhere new every day they are on break. This will exhaust them. It also sets you up for disaster once summer comes. Those little brains of theirs remember that load of activity and will expect it all. Summer. Long. Do yourself a favor and be mediocre during Fall Break.

We had 5 trips a field. This sounds like a lot over 10 days, but two of the trips were actually repeat locations.

Trip No. 1: The Zoo

I had the pleasure of being invited to join some other mothers and their sons to the zoo on the first day of break. This was a herd of 2^nd grade-kindergarten boys and four moms. There were a lot of boys. As is our lot in life, we live 17 miles away from the zoo. Once boys were loaded, we’d driven the 30 minutes, and found a parking spot, and renewed our zoo membership to the tune of $100, the sky – which had been forecast to be 70 degrees and sunny – turned cloudy and black. We even felt a few drops.

While I’d like to say we are usually very prepared for this type of thing, the only coat in the car was mine. So, I marched myself right into the gift shop and bought sweatshirts for everyone. I then got sucked into buying huge stuffed animals. It was like a whole thing. Blah!

Please note how large my kindergartner is (on left end).

The next few hours were enjoyable. The boys were with their friends. I was with mine. And we didn’t loose anyone. Have you ever noticed there is a time limit on such peace? Someone in the group of 8 starts to whine a little bit and complain of hunger, the lead dogs start to stray a little farther from the group, the pensive observers start to linger a little longer at each exhibit and you can tell the end is near. This is when I decided to call it quits. Call me a party pooper but I can tell when I’m about to yell at my kids and I don’t want to do that in front of people, so I left.  Everyone should know when to leave.

Trip No 2: Haunted Party Shop

All of the costumes in our house were decided but we were missing some parts and pieces. Before I plunged into trying to sew something before Halloween we decided to visit a costume shop in Old Towne Littleton.  It was super creepy. Mason’s heart rate soared and he was trembling and he had to be carried in. (Yes, we’re those parents.) Once inside he relaxed and cozied up to the deli case filled with body parts. My husband and I jumped our original costume ship and decided on new ones on the spot. Then we procured a few of the small things we needed for the kids’ costumes. I’m totally looking forward to showing off those pictures next week.

Trip No 3: Lifetime Fitness Swimming Pool

I’m always in favor of killing two birds with one stone. Remember the request to go swimming? When another mom friend of mine asked what our plans for Fall Break were (I think she was trolling for ideas) I confessed that our plans were modest, just the swimming pool. Then she saved my day. She offered up her club’s pool and decided to join us.

Off we traveled to Lifetime Fitness. I signed in which was a total cluster and the kids jumped in the pool. Then a lifeguard approached me and informed me that if I didn’t plan on getting in the pool my kids would have to take a swim test. Part of me laughed inside because I was like, “Yeah, my son wants your job.” The other part of me was like, “Oh, I wonder if my other son will have performance anxiety about this.” But I offered them up he pulled them aside -- to another pool in fact -- and told them to swim a lap without stopping, touching the wall or rope, or needing help of any kind. Cooper jumped in, swam his lap, and started back toward the other pool. Mason started a negotiation. Then he methodically slipped into the pool and started swimming. Without a struggle he swam the full lap, climbed out of the pool then looked up at the guy (goggles still on) and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Is that all you got?”

Proud of those two. We may get Mason to do swim team, yet.

I also want to say, this is a brilliant system and I sincerely think more pools should have this rule. 

Trip No 4: A Traffic Jam

One of our field trips was to the city. Yes, I said it. We’ve become that suburban. Wanting to see our friends who had recently moved closer to downtown from the burbs we planned a dinner date at their house – two moms, five boys.

But something, I don’t know what, had traffic all snarly. A drive that literally takes 30 minutes turned into 90 minutes! Let’s review. Trapped in a tin can with two small boys. Dinner time. 90 minutes of snail pace movement.

It was an extraordinary reminder that I don’t like commuting at all.

Trip No 5: The Zoo, II

OK. I know what you’re thinking. Why? Because it is never the same. We met some friends and the weather was much better. We didn’t stay as long, but we saw more. It was great. Well, except for the part when the boy elephant let it all hang out – if you know what I mean. That was so uncomfortable. My boys couldn’t even laugh, they were horrified into silence.  Oh did I mention we were with friends, girl friends?!?!?!?

The most exciting part of the second zoo adventure was our license plate hunt. This is a game we play pretty much non-stop everywhere we go. But for some reason early in the trip we could tell we were going to have a record day. The object of the game is to find as many different states’ plates as possible. I don’t mean vanity plates or one state’s multiple versions. I mean different states. We saw 28! Also, there are a lot of Texans here.

Interview with a 6-Year-Old

The boys before school, playing minecraft.

It's my aim to interview my children each year on their birthdays. But the thing with interviewing children is it has to happen when they want to talk about themselves. Otherwise each answer is: No, Yes, I Don't Know, Maybe. That sucks. So, you wait. Then you wait. Then you start to worry that their next birthday will come around before you complete the interview. And then you realize that you're failing at the goal to interview your children each year just like you are failing to take their pictures on the first day of school each year. And then... ahhh, then a nice Sunday morning comes along and your 6-year-old opens up. 

Well, actually not exactly. I lied to him. 

It started with the topic of parent-teacher conferences. I told him that I was about to have a conference with his teacher and I needed to be prepared to answer her questions to me about him. Would he help me prepare? Yes, he fell for that one. Here follows my short birthday interview with Mason -- a mere 10 days after his birthday. 

Picking his birthday pencil from teacher, he picked a St. Patrick's Day pencil.

Do you save your money? 
Yes, I'm saving my money from grandpa. 

What are you saving for? 
Hmmmmm. a LEGO. 

Which one? 
I don't know, yet. 

Do you know what donate means? 
Give something away.

If you were to donate your money, who would you give it to? 
Ben.

He must be very special to you. Is he your best friend? 
Yes, Ben, Crew, Ty and ... long pause ... that's it. 

In what ways are you generous? 
Being kind to other people. 

Who is the most famous person you ever met? 
What does famous mean? 

It means they did something important or funny or bad and then everyone talked about it so that when they go anywhere, everyone recognizes them. An example would be Barak Obama. 
I don't know. Maybe Max's mom (she's a a reporter, this answer is funny to me). 

A unintentional break from the interview:
Looking at a book titled, "Ain't Gonna Paint No More!" (Mason really likes the illustrations in this book and is looking at the page with a hand, painted green and made to look like the face of a monster with ants crawling out of the mouth). 

Mom, that would be so funny to color your hand like that. The ants look like they would... like they were marching on your hand. And then there could be dirt and stuff (he starts to air-draw around the hand as if he is seeing more of the picture than is there.) 

What's your favorite chore? 
Cleaning the bathroom. 

Really? 
Because I like cleaning with wipes and stuff. The upstairs bathroom, you know. But in the bathtub, you can't step in it and wipe. You have to put the wipe in, stand on it (then he puts his hands out as if he is holding himself up on the edges of the tub and motions to swing inside the tub). The edges you have to sweep yourself. Guess why? Every time you step on it if you clean something and then you step on it it's only going to get dirtier. 

OK, interview done. Go play. I love you. 
Oh hey mama, this is the playing cards song: First you draw, then you play, then you throw a card away. 

Who taught you that? 

Daddy.

And now, the day in pictures. 

Mason picked to have golf and dinner at our club.

Golf interrupted by worm hunting.

Handsome.

He's getting really good at this game.

Their other love at the club, running the hill.

1 candles, 2 cherries

May your wishes comes true.

Silliest brother, ever!

With Daddy

And Mama

Even the King has Chores

Presents Opening Time

Angry Birds PJs were well received, and total surprise.

Tweet Tweet!

And if you liked this... you'll like his 5th birthday, too. If you'd rather read about Cooper, visit his 6th Birthday.

Move Over Michael

The athlete whose 2008 performance in China is the sole reason my Cooper swims has announced his plans to retire. Boo. I wish he could swim forever. Big M.P., the playboy with the biggest celebrity ears, gets a bad rap in some circles. But I can't help myself, I like him. Watching him that record-setting year was a thrill. It was on one such night that I watched my 2-year-old jump off our ottoman to the sound of the starter's beep onto the carpet and then make motions to swim through the carpet in a clumsy half breastroke-half army crawl. That, it turns out, is how a swimmer is born. Also, The Coop is pretty popular with the ladies, too.

The look tells all.

Again, with the ladies.