Jonah is double digits...Happy Birthay buddy!!!

At 8:18pm on September 25, 2005 Jonah Gilbert Mann entered the world in a crazy blaze of glory.  Apparently he was in a rush to meet me and Drew because he was born less than 30 minutes after we arrived at the hospital.  His arrival into the world was grand foreshadowing for how Jonah planned to live his life....at least until now!  Jonah is all on all the time never sitting still for too long.  The boy is constant movement and action.

To be perfectly honest I have been dreading this birthday in a big way.  Not because Jonah is ten.  I LOVE watching my babies grow and bloom into amazing people.  I have dreaded this day because Jonah left today for Oklahoma.  At 8:15 this morning Jonah got in a van with his teammates and coaches.  Notice how I did not include parents in that sentence.  At the brand new age of ten Jonah left for his first weekend trip with no parents.  My heart has been in a panic since I waved good-bye to him this morning.   He was a little nervous, but excited.  I felt the same.  Crazy this parenting business!

On this day when I get to celebrate my first baby boy I can only smile and wish he was here to love on all day long.  Jonah is a crazy, silly boy.  He loves to be active and is in constant motion.  That holds true 100% of the time unless he is reading. I am pretty sure the only thing Jonah loves more than gymnastics is Harry Potter.  Second to those activities is games on his Kindle.

His heart is huge.  He loves crazy hard....sometimes too hard and I really have to ask him not to hug me so hard.  That's awful right, but it hurts!  Jonah is not an outwardly emotional person except for the few times he is.  When that happens....the smile, the joy, or the sorrow are so evident to all.  He keeps things pretty locked down and I know it is my mission as a mother to stay firmly rooted in his mind and heart so I can help him navigate the rough world of emotions.  Jonah doesn't always know what to do with his feelings, but he tries.  Those big blue eyes get me every time whether they are smiling or crying.

Gymnastics is his first love.  He loved it in our living room as soon as he could walk.  He has loved it more each year since he first began in 2008.  He bounds into the gym every day.  He hates and I mean hates to be away from the gym for too long.  It really starts to stress him out after about two weeks away.  Thankfully that doesn't happen much because it is hard for us all.  I guess it is appropriate that on his birthday weekend Jonah gets to spend all day tomorrow and part of Sunday at a regional gymnastics clinic.  It is an amazing opportunity to workout with coaches from around the country in an effort to better his skills for the upcoming season.  He is truly lucky to have Bill as his coach!

What else do I love about my Jonah G?  He is smart.  A little too smart sometimes.  His brain is like a sponge.  Even when you think he isn't paying a bit of attention, he can repeat all the information when asked.  Reading and learning and school make him happy.  That makes me happy and I really pray that those three things always fall into the "smile" category for Jonah.  Jonah loves babies and toddlers.  Ketchup and Ranch dressing are his two favorite condiments in the world.  He hates most meat except of ground beef.  Sloppy Joes, tacos, and meatloaf are probably his favorite three dinners.  He hates the color pink.  We all like to mess with him a little about his strong hate for pink.  Jonah has a lot of self-confidence....maybe too much at times?!  He likes to help Drew in his shop, but only for about 30 minutes and then his ability to focus is gone.  The same is true for baking, which he likes.  Jonah is definitely the walking definition of needing a new activity every 20-30 minutes.  He is kind.  He is helpful.  His siblings annoy and pick on him unmercifully most days, but he loves them.  He tries so hard to be patient with Elena.  Jonah is brave and fearless.  Jonah is just Jonah!

Because Jonah keeps his emotions and silly personality so closed off at times I made this fun poster for his birthday party.  I wanted to share fun little facts about my Jonah and he really liked it!

He had so much fun celebrating his birthday with his friends last weekend.  It was a last minute party so the theme was "10".  There were 10 toppings for the tacos and the cupcakes. 

We celebrated Jonah last Sunday.  His big present was an iPhone.  I realized he wouldn't be able to call us from OK and hence the phone.  He was so excited!

This morning he had his birthday ice cream for breakfast.  I had to remind him to wipe his mouth twice and then I finally did it.  I worry that he will have a dirty face for the next three days.  He is so grown up at times and such a little boy other times.  I guess that is really what being 10 is.  Jonah wants to be all big cool I don't need help boy, but playing Imaginex or Pokemon is still really cool too!  He is living the best of two worlds at the moment with great chances to be a little kid and learning moments to be responsible.

I told everyone this morning it was his birthday.  T texted so many people his new number so he could get birthday wishes all day long.   I want him loved on all day since I can't do it!

Happy 10th Birthday Jonah!!!!  It was my turn to give you a crazy hard hug!!!  Love you so much!!!

Galveston 2015 edition

Summer is officially over....not by the calendar, but in reality it is over.  Labor Day has come and gone.  And that means our annual end of the summer trip to Galveston has come and gone as well....boo!  This year the weather was actually really nice. We beached it the entire time for maybe 6-7 hours a day.  It amazes how busy and entertained my kiddos can be on a beach.  I don't even think they missed going to the pool.  I know I did not. 

It was a great weekend....relaxing, clear water, no seaweed, playing, and lots of fun!

Elena, Jonah, Samuel and I went down early on Friday.  Emma and Drew came after her practice.  They tried to play on the beach without getting their clothes wet.  That lasted all of ten minutes before they changed. 

For the first time ever there were hermit crabs on the beach.  The kids loved them and spent lots of time searching for them in the water and building little "houses" for them.  They are strange little creatures and now Emma thinks she needs one for a pet.  I am thinking she doesn't.

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Jonah loves to fly a kite at the beach.  He is very patient in "letting" the others "help."  I am seriously amazed every summer how long kite flying can hold Jonah's attention.

Everyone fished except for me and Emma.  Elena did a tiny bit, but it was more of a hassle for Drew than actual fishing.  Drew caught some fish, but neither of the boys did.

Jonah's other love at the beach is skim boarding.  He has gotten pretty good at it and it is fun to watch him.  He totally bit it one time and I thought he broke his nose....thankfully not!

Emma and Elena spends lots of time together at the beach.  Emma is very sweet with Elena!

I am super thankful everyone is very patient with me taking lots and lots of pictures.  There are just so many fun moments to capture that don't occur in our regular daily life.

Drew always makes sure we have a fun place to stay.  This year there was even a rocking chair on the porch overlooking the beach.  So perfect!!!

Our beach trip is the perfect way to relax and reconnect after a summer of traveling before fall craziness begins in full swing.  It is definitely a highlight for all of us!

Did I miss something....

So on Friday Emma dropped a bomb on me and I am pretty sure I would have wrecked the car if I hadn't been in the driveway.  No, she wasn't in trouble or anything like that, but I did not expect the words to come out of her mouth AT ALL! 

To fully appreciate my shock let me share a timeline...

In May Emma switched to AIM Gymnastics.  Her choice.

In June Emma went to and loved LSU gymanstics camp.

In June Emma spent 16 hours at New Bern Gymnastics while were in in NC.  That meant 2 hours driving to the gym four days of our trip.  It is a big deal to work out with strange girls and coaches.

In July she broke her finger.  It went something like this.  "You should have brought her in sooner.  It might need surgery."  "That is a very interesting break."  "The chip has moved into her joint space so it still might need surgery."  That was just all great....NOT!

In July she decided to miss two weeks of our second summer trip because she wanted to work on her skills and prove to her coaches that she would be ready for her season.

On August 19th she was finally cleared for full practice.  Her finger did not need surgery which we did learn on 8/5.  Yay!  She seemed really happy about this news.

On August 27th she finally, finally, finally did her flyaway dismount on the uneven bars.

On August 28th she said she was quitting.

Knock me over with a feather!  She was crying so hard so could hardly explain to me why.  Drew's eye's have almost never been so wide when I told him what was happening.  There were several reasons for her decision which she had apparently been thinking about for weeks.  What????  I really felt like it was just the stress of returning to school and adjusting to a really busy, full schedule.  She absolutely refused to listen to anything I said or Drew said.  Totally frustrating.

Finally Drew said she had to go and talk with her coaches.  That was all my fault....okay why?  She went, they all talked, and she felt better.

When all this happened on Friday I was just floored.  Never did I expect this so what did I miss?  I mean really!  We spend lots of time together in the car talking.  She talks some to me at bedtime.  We texted or talked everyday lots when I was gone and she was here.  I was so confused and really worried about what I missed.  If I missed something this big in her life I was really concerned for the future.  That may be a crazy leap, but that is where my mom brain went.  I asked on FB for prayers for us and I received 34 wonderful comments.  I also received many texts throughout the weekend.  I appreciated everything so much.  For me I just needed encouraging words to give me emotional strength to get through this mess with Emma.

I was worried about what I missed and I was really concerned about Emma feeling it was okay to quit when life/something becomes challenging.  That for me is not an acceptable habit to create.  She made a commitment and I wanted her to see it to the end. I know that Emma won't compete much longer, but doing level 5 was her own personal goal.  I didn't want her to regret quitting two weeks before the first meet.  I was also worried I pushed her too hard.  Did she miss too much this summer despite making those choices on her own?  Did I push too hard for her to get her flyaway?  Doubts, doubts, and more doubts. So all those comments and texts were really encouraging for me and Drew.  Thank you!!!!

Emma has decided to stick it out this season.  I couldn't be happier for her. I really feel like she will be happy come November knowing she met her goal.  Emma told Drew she knew I wasn't proud of her decision to quit.  She was right because I wasn't, but I am seriously hardcore praying she is competing for her and not for anyone else!  This will probably be the end for her and I want it to be great. 

And, just to make this post a little lighter some fun pictures from our weekend which were a great distraction among the mess of Emma's bomb!

Elena and Drew went to a Sock Hop dance on Friday night with her friend Carmendy and her dad.  They had a blast.  It was so much fun getting her dressed!

 We all went out to dinner Saturday night to a food truck park.  So fun and everyone could eat a crazy variety of food! 

Finally, this stud tore up the football field this weekend.  He played three games and had a great time.  I love that he runs onto the field shouting "let's do this!"  So fun!  He is on a well rounded team and it is fun to watch the games.  Samuel has improved so much.  Can't wait to watch the rest of summer and then winter ball!

His second game ball in 4 games!