Little sister

Shawn woke around 4:30 am and wanted to tell Raj about our date night last night. He eventually got back in bed. But, around 5:30 am, he came to Lilly's room looking for me. After a bathroom trip, water, adjusting his blankets, etc. he (and I) was still awake at 6:30 am. Rather than work to get him back to sleep when he'd need to wake in 30 minutes, I invited him to have a breakfast date with me while Daddy and Lilly slept. We watched he sun rise, had breakfast (which he normally eats at school), and read two books.  It was a great morning, even though he was still not thrilled about going to school.

Later...
Me: Lilly, it's time to get Shawn from school!
Lilly:

Still later:
Apparently, Shawn was talking about our dates all day to his teachers. They informed me that Shawn said we are having another date tonight, but we have other plans I think he'll enjoy just as much...

At home, we brought two kitchen chairs, drinks, and snacks outside with our bag of library books. We sat in the shade by our front step, reading book after book, enjoying the gorgeous day. (High 73°F, sunny)
A few hours later, it was time for karate class. It was his third class: promotion to white belt. Not surprisingly, he fell asleep during the five minute drive it takes to get there. He was really excited about getting his belt, so I didn't feel too badly about dragging him out of the car once we got there. He woke up quickly, though I could tell he was a bit dazed and wasn't focusing very well. (Not that anyone in the group of mostly 4 year olds really 'focuses' all that well!)
The teachers went over each student's progress card and determined who was ready for a new belt or stripe. Shawn was one of three. The class went through warm ups and  exercises. They practice chunbi (CHOON-bee) a lot. It means "Ready: Stand with outside edge of feet parallel, inside edge of feet spaced shoulder width apart; place fists one inch apart and one inch in front of belt knot." It's a call to attention, but they also practice 30 seconds of holding still regardless of distractions from the instructors (requests for high fives, checks for untied shoes though they're barefoot, etc.) Shawn is very proud of himself during these because he doesn't let the instructors trick him into moving, other than smiles. They also do a sit down - stand up game that really tests their listening skills. The instructors call out silly commands, made up words, and rhyming words, but the only ones that the kids are supposed to respond to are 'sit down' and 'chunbi.' It's encouraging to see how well Shawn listens and follows directions in this class!  Later, they run through an obstacle course a few times, occasionally having to stop in their tracks for chunbi.

 

 In the last few minutes, the parents of the three students being tested/promoted were invited into the room for a better view of the process. (I think my being there & recording it contributed to Shawn's lack of focus, but he did what he needed to do.) Only the students receiving their white belts and black belts get a certificate with their promotion. Shawn thought that was pretty special. The instructors do a nice job emphasizing the commitment and effort each promotion has demonstrated and that future ones require. Painted on the back wall of their room is the motto, 

"Black belts started as white belts…they just never quit!"

Instructors: Mr. Arnaldo Rosas & Mr. Tony Roller

  I picked up Raj at home, but then surprised Shawn with dinner at Pilot Pete's. I even got the waitress to bring Shawn a cup of root beer to turn his kids' meal ice cream dessert into a float. Happy Day!

Then, bath, quiet time, story, and BED! (Aside from the few moments of shut-eye in the car before karate, I'm shocked he's still functioning! He must've been running off of momentum alone.) What a (very long, yet exciting) day!

Cantigny Park with Opa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHELLEY!
The morning started off very slowly. Shawn moped and whined about waking up at all and had a hard time getting going. Abby was in a fine mod, but she wasn't interested in eating more than a few bites at breakfast. Meanwhile, Shawn's breakfast inadvertantly greeted him back!

English muffin, cherries, &
scrambled eggs dyed blue

Once we finally got moving, we successfully wore out both kids fairly quickly.

We spent almost four hours walking through gardens at Cantigny Park, admiring flowers, plants, and trees. Shawn and Abby had a fantastic time dodging (well, not really) sprinklers and fountains, following different paths made from rocks, stones, pavement, grass, wood chips… you name it. Opa was an amazing guide through the gardens.  He found wild strawberries that we sampled (though they weren’t very flavorful).  He also introduced the kids to the characters inside the snap dragon flowers.  Abby loved roaring and snapping the flower, but Shawn didn’t like the idea of a dragon biting his finger and kept a watchful distance instead. We found a crabapple tree whose branches formed an almost perfect dome to the ground.  Shawn and Abby called it their ‘Tree Tent’ and could have played in its shade for hours. When we eventually coaxed them out, we found the Idea Garden with all kinds of fun things: a person made out of flower pots, a Big 10 container garden with flowers that matched the schools’ colors, areas designated to the four seasons as well as others planted with the five senses in mind. After all the gardens that we did see, I can only imagine how much of the property we didn’t get to!

The dangling bandaid on Abby's knee couldn't hold on any longer as her pants rubbed passed during a potty break - she was upset for a millisecond, but wasn't concerned about it any other time throughout the day. In fact, she ran and played as much as she did before her fall and did so with no limping, favoring, or even tip-toe walking! There were plenty of distractions to keep her occupied.


We took a break back at the car and enjoyed a picnic lunch under a shadey tree. Even a snooping ant joined us - typical! We used grapes to perfect our chipmunk cheeks.

 

 

Afterwards, we strolled through a an outdoor exhibit of tanks and artillery cannons that Abby and Shawn got to climb all over. Abby was more interested in the pictures on the informational signs and the clovers, sticks, and rocks she collected from the ground than the actual tanks and guns, but she found plenty to captivate her attention. Shawn liked exploring the military machines as if they were playground equipment, in addition to the clovers, sticks, and rocks along the way.

While they were both drained from our walks through the gardens early on, they were thoroughly exhausted on the ride home. Shawn was fast asleep and transferred to bed without batting an eye. Abby opened her eyes as we opened her car door, but just long enough to change her diaper and wipe off some of the dirt that she had magnetized during our adventure.

Meanwhile, Opa treated Baron to a short walk, which he was grateful for on such a nice day. While the kids napped, Opa and I enjoyed our own (well-deserved) 'quiet time' and snack.

When Raj got home, we took Opa to Shawn’s favorite restaurant – Pilot Pete’s. We pointed out the comedic ‘$100 hamburger’ on the menu, though none of us ordered it.

A $100 hamburger trip typically involves
flying a short distance (less than two hours),
eating at an airport restaurant, and flying home.
"$100" originally referred to the approximate
cost of renting or operating a light general aviation aircraft
for the time it took to fly round-trip to a nearby airport.

- Wikipedia

Shawn pointed out the variety of aircraft hanging over our heads and displayed in glass cases. Even when we don’t have a view of the runway, there’s always something to see at Pilot Pete’s, which possibly makes up for the so-so food that they serve!