the boys

Here's some things I've seen in the boys and keep meaning to write about, if I can remember them all. Cyndi, of course, is with them more, and would have plenty of other stories to tell about. I'd like her to do that sometime. I suspect she may have some observations very different from mine.

Jackson is in second grade. He goes twice a week in the mornings to run with the school running club. He fell once while running last week. I just noticed the scab on his thigh, and he told me he wants an inhaler without a mask to take with him. He does get asthma indications after running hard, but it doesn't stop him from being very active on the playground, where he plays a lot of soccer with his friends. For him, playing sports is a social event. He's still taking piano lessons, but that may come to an end soon. He's started cub scouts. At the pack meeting, he couldn't keep still. I can see that he loves it. He smiles a lot, he's quite charming, he's developed a loud, open laugh whenever he finds a story or a movie or something Ry says funny, and he still talks with everyone, whether a child or an adult. Sometimes I'll be looking for him and he'll be in some involved conservation with someone. Often, he'll be the one to start a conversation. He likes to get involved in activities. A good example is when we saw him playing volleyball with some college-age people at the beach. Noone knew who they were, but there he was in the midst of their game, rotating positions on one of the teams. He's doing a lot of paragraph writing in school and lots of addition and subtraction. He reads everything, but I've yet to see him reading a chapter book. Cyndi reads to the boys every night. He likes to do arts and crafts projects. He wants to be completely computer literate. He organizes his study desk, what he calls his office. On trips, he'll pack all sorts of useful and fun stuff to take along: a flashlight, a penknife, a whistle, hand cleanser, a game, his stuffed bunny. His wallet is fat with dollar bills and coins, and he wants to buy things on his own, counting out the money. He's planning an island, which has replaced his "Train with the Magical Wand." He loves the tween shows on Disney.com. He doesn't much like to go to the movie theater. He eats well, and loves to go out to eat. He's always trying to get us to go to Trombino's. He's getting very good at chess. He plans moves ahead and sees traps. I have to be more alert now when I play with him. He loves playing with his cousins, and he always remembers Ariel. He always greets his relatives, giving them a hug and a cuddle, and always remembers to tell his Papa, "Dios te bendiga y buena suerte." When I leave in the morning, he hugs me, if he's awake then, and says, "I love you. God bless you. Bye."

Rylee is counting and learning to add and subtract and spell words now. I'll hear him singing the alphabet song. He writes his name clearly. He loves to draw and color. He's learning big concepts, and he'll often repeat something he's heard or explain something he's figured out, just to see if he's gotten it right. Whenever I say, "that's right," he repeats it again or says, "yes, that's right", to etch it into his mind. Whenever I say, "well, that's not quite right", and tell him more, he'll say, "oh, yes, that's right, that's what I meant to say" and go on. One day he explained to me that he could be a "professional" (his word) anything when he grew up and then listed all the things he could do professionally. Many of them were sports. He is very accommodating, and is easy-going about sharing things. Likely, it is because many of his things are usually hand-me-downs. Lately, he's been insisting on his own things. He will discover old toys and then sit down with them on the floor, sort them out, and play with them, making them move about, talking and singing to himself as he does so. They will become his favorites for a time, to be replaced by another or be rediscovered later. At the same time, I've seen his temper whenever Jackson crosses the line with his teasing. Ry will unleash kicks and punches then, and his face gets red with fury. His physical and sports abilities come naturally. He observes other players, talks about what they are doing, and repeats their actions. I've talked plenty about his infatuation with baseball. Lately, it's been skateboarding. He has a bookmark on his computer home page that directs him to videos of skateboarders. Cyndi took him just yesterday to the skateboard park for the first time. He used Brendan's old skateboard. And now he skateboards in the kitchen every chance he gets. He says he knows five tricks; one is jumping up the threshold from the garage to the kitchen. His favorite sports at the moment are skateboarding, skimboarding and surfing, so he's been saying the last two days. That list changes, though. I've noticed it's not pride or selfishness that drives him in sports. When he picks up a skill on his own that others haven't yet mastered, he just remarks that the others haven't learned it yet. He knows how to set up the chess board, and he knows all the moves, except the knight is still a little puzzling. For Ry, there is a clear distinction between what men do and what women do. Some shows on tv are girl shows. When he eats, he eats well, preferring things like fruit and yogurt. Usually, when presented with a healthy alternative, he will take the healthy food. He'll relish a glass of water or milk, even if he had asked for something sugary. This is even more true lately because he's also excited to be trusted with a glass. At night, he and I are the last to sleep, and in the morning we are the first to get up.

Oh, there are some negatives, to be sure. Ry is going through a stage of whining, especially about toys he wants whenever he shops with Cyndi. Jack has been going through a stage of attitude and even anger, but I haven't seen it in a little while. He can be merciless to Ry with his teasing. Their play can get rough and, as anyone would guess, there comes a point when somebody gets hurt, someone cries, or one or both of the parents starts yelling to knock it off and it continues anyway until somebody gets hurt or someone cries.

They are very handsome boys, too.