Happy Birthday to Me

So I am 37 today. Wow!!! I have had a great day of chilling out and relaxing. The kids and Sean let me sleep in a bit this morning and gave me cards and some pretty flowers. The big kids had school today, so I took Will and Jules to Saratoga Spring Disney resort to hang out at the pool with friends. We had beautiful weather and William loved his first time in the pool. They even had a birthday cake for me - YUMMY!! Sean is bringing in Chinese for dinner and I am just tinkering around on my computer. The older you get, the only thing you really want is just time .....

Who's Afraid of the Matthew Wolf??

Matthew performed in his first play at school last week. He was one of SEVEN big, bad wolves in his Kindergarten redition of One More Sheep. It was a cute play and the kids were very proud. Julia and Will went with Mom and Katie came out of her Tech class to watch the play.

Park Time Fun

Cute pictures from the park yesterday. Julia is really starting to be a good, big sister. She is even trying to share her toys with Will. The weather is absolutely perfect these first months of the year. We have been at the park every afternoon!!

Sunshine State Reader

Katie was recognized in the local newspaper for reading all 15 sunshine state books this year. Two of the girls in the picture (Casey & Arielle) are her good friends. Also, the 2 boys both went to her Montessori school in Celebration. We are very proud of Katie's academic achievements and really are thrilled that she loves to read. What was even more impressive is that Katie ON HER OWN set this goal and read all 15 before Thanksgiving. Way to go Kate!

Two Little Bunnies

Julia and Will posed for some pre Easter pictures on Saturday. Thanks Kathy for the adorable bunny ears. William is getting to the absolute best baby stage (at least for me!). I love it when the kids can totally sit up on their own but can not move around yet! He is so content hanging out with the kids on the floor, playing with his toys and just checking out all the action. Time flies - this was a week of firsts for Will:

1) First tooth

2) First Easter

3) First college basketball game

4) First taste of ice cream

Easter Fun

A few photos from Easter. The kids must have been very good this year, because the Easter Bunny showered them with lots of treats and presents. Each of the older kids got an Itunes gift card!! Andrew lost his tooth on Saturday so for the first time in Kane family history, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy came to our house on the SAME NIGHT. They must have been here at the same time because Andrew's tooth money was left in a plastic egg!!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Kanes!!! We are so lucky to be part of a growing parish of Corpus Christi Church in Celebration. We go to the 8:00am Sunday mass which is usually not too crowded. On Easter, there were over 700 people there!!! Our pastor, Father Gregory, is such a kind, gentle man!! We are hoping to break ground on our new church by the end of the year. The property is literally 3 blocks from our house, so we will be able to walk to church.

Sisters in the Kitchen

Jules and Kate decided to help Mom out and make some chocolate chip muffins and pumpkin bread. Katie was very patient with Julia, letting her stir, crack the eggs, and even pour the batter in the pan. What was even more amazing was that Katie had given up all chocolate, candy, cookies and cake for Lent, so she couldn't even eat the muffins once they were done.

Yankee Time

What time is it? Yankee time .... as you all know, Andrew plays for the Majors Yankees in the Spring Little League seasons. Sean is managing the team and they are 2 - 2 thus far. This is definitely a rebuilding year. We have only 1 12 year old, but 8 11 year olds. Next year we should be pretty solid. Took some pictures on Thursday night (thanks Terri for helping me with my night time setting on my camera!). Can't believe how tall he is. He is playing a mix of catcher, pitcher and some 3rd base. I love it when he catches!! Pitching is another story .. makes me nervous. We have a game today at 3:30 but Andrew just woke up at 5:30 with a low grade fever and dry throat. Kind of how I feel at this moment. Luckily he is free all morning, so he can rest up for his game. Today is a long day at the fields with all 3 playing back to back to back. Good thing - cherry snow cones and cinnamon sugar pretzels at the concession stand.

Activities Galore

I am starting to get a taste of adding the 4th child into the activity mix. Wow - very busy!! Julia is going to "school" 2 mornings a week and has started gymnastics on Friday mornings. She is really having fun and paying attention, but she is a little timid. She won't walk on the beam without someone holding her hands and she doesn't like the bar -- very similiar to Andrew when he did gymnastics. She is very proud of becoming a BIG GIRL!!

Cardinal's Baseball

Matthew is having a blast as part of the machine pitch Cardinals this Spring. Sean is managing the team and alot of his teammates are his good friends. Matthew loves to be the catcher, just like his big brother. He is the youngest guy on the team but is holding his own!! He had 2 singles last night and got to come home (see the picture where he is calling himself safe after his slide!). It is very fun to watch these games and to see the little guys improve. Really beats all of the competitiveness of the majors that Andrew plays in.

Renovation Update

All the house projects are moving along. The hardwood has been installed in Sean's office and looks amazing!! What a difference. We had his office and the kitchen out there painted as well. They have to come back to do some punch outs but we are on our way. Next phase it to decorate and get new furniture for out there. We will post a picture once the space is finished.

Andrew's Solo

Andrew competed for the 2nd year in his band solo and ensemble contest. The picture of him above is warming up before his performance. I was not able to go in and watch because I had William with me. Andrew did great (I got to stand at the door and listen) and he scored a 1 (Superior - the highest you can get!). We are very proud of Andrew and his diligence with the french horn. We are told it is one of the hardest instruments to play so hats off to Andrew!!!

Hey Batter Swing

COOPER


MADDY

So does it surprise you that Andrew's science fair experiment has to do with BASEBALL? Early Sunday morning (plus the time change) in the cold, our friends, the Whites, helped us with Andrew's research. Maddy and Cooper are both great hitters so they were perfect to help us out. Andrew's hypothesis is that balls are hit farther with a metal bat vs wood. In addition, we found out that the metal batted balls go farther once hitting the ground than the wooden. Here are some fun pictures from the morning!! The coolest part of the experiment is the broken wooden bat. It cracked when Cooper was hitting and completely broken when Andrew was using it!! We will post the finished product & display board!!

Tequesta Indians

Today Katie had a social studies presentation about the Tequesta Indians from South Florida (Miami area). Madison and David were her partners for this project and they did a great job. I was totally impressed with all their research and presentation skills. They had to put together a short talk about their research. Their model was really cool - David constructed a boat and typical Tequesta home from materials he had in his yard. The best thing about this project was that it was done TOTALLY IN CLASS. Yeah Ms. O'Keefe! We are lucky that Katie is so independent in her school work. We are always pleasantly surprised at her accomplishments in school because she is very quiet about them. Way to go Miss Katie!

Picking Strawberries

We spent Thursday in Sorrento (close to Mt. Dora) at a strawberry farm. Matthew's kindergarten class had a field trip and Mom, Julia and Will got to go with him. It was a long drive (over an hour), but it was the most beautiful day and it was a total blast!! The students listened to a short lectue about producing and picking strawberries and then they were set free to pick away. Matthew and Julia both loved it - looking for the perfect, ripe strawberry!!

After we picked the berries, we got to play on the playground and go on a hay ride.




We had a picnic afterwards and finished up the day with strawberry shortcake (yummy!!).
We definitely want to take everyone up there soon to pick!! I brought over 4 pounds home with me and they are almost gone.

My Parents are Exhausted

Aren’t we all … thought this was a great shirt for our family. With little league starting up, Sean and I are surely exhausted!! The shirt was a hit. Will is sitting up so well now. No more tipping over … he is a happy boy (and very drooley – no teeth yet!) He is 7 months a 1 week today. He is getting a bit clingy, now recognizes his bed and starts to whimper when I go to put him down, loves to see the kids when they come home from school and has big belly laughs at Matthew’s antics. We are so tickled with this little guy … he is awesome!!

Our Little Pitcher

Katie has been working hard on her softball pitching and pitched for 2 innings the season opener this past Saturday. She is alot faster and more accurate and is having fun!!! Thought you would enjoy a few photos ...

Renovations....

So the house projects are coming along. Attached a few photos to show the girls' room now with their blue walls and new furniture. Andrew's walls are painted and he has his new mattress. Waiting on his headboard and desk. Did an aerial photo of the living room to show the new carpet and the new keyboard (Katie upgraded to a full 88 key electric piano!). This week we start working on Sean's office - paint and new flooring. We are getting there slowly but surely.

Kane Family Update

I have just a minute before my head hits the keyboard as I pass out from exhaustion. We are all doing well - lots of baseball today, pictures, basketball, umpiring, on duty at the fields as board members on top of trying to put the house back together. We got new carpet in the house on Weds (HOORAY!!), the kids rooms were repainted, the girls got new furniture, Andrew a new mattress and getting ready to overhaul the garage apartment (Sean's office). Have some pictures of Miss Kate pitching today. Her softball team won 8 - 3 and she pitched pretty well. She had a nice rip to the outfield. Andrew's baseball team won last night and Andrew pitched really well and had a nice hit to right field. Tomorrow is a double header AAU game for Andrew but I think the rest of the crew is going to stay home with mommy and chill......