8/52 - Sweaters, Socks, Sleepovers and Sports

Corinne has been knitting up a storm recently. Back in November, she finished this red sweater for Anders.

As is often the case, she had some yarn leftover when she was done. So she decided to make matching socks. But alas, she ran out of yarn when she was down to the toe of the second sock. Rather than trying to find another skein of that same yarn (and continuing the never-ending cycle of leftover yarn), she decided that she would finish it off with leftover yarn from a different project. Anders chose the color from three different options.

Crazy socks!

Anders's favorite sock is the crazy one.

She has another project already underway, which is a larger version of a sweater knitted by our friend Davy. We affectionately call it the "Sock Monkey Sweater."

She has a great teacher and consultant, too. My mom recently made Anders and I these "matching" sweaters.

Thanks, mom(s)!

Friday night we had our first multi-child sleepover: three 5-year olds (including Anders) and a 2-year old. According to the kids, they were not going to sleep at all that night. As Anders explained to one of the other kids while driving to preschool the prior morning:

"We're going to stay up all night. We will close our eyes and pretend to sleep until everyone else goes to bed. Then we can get up and play and do whatever we want!"

It should be noted that while this conversation was happening in the back seat, I was in the front of the car driving, and Anders was speaking in a normal voice.

Lauren had a different idea:

"We're going to slap our foreheads and eat chocolate before bedtime."

Anders was more excited for this sleepover than we have ever seen him before - more so than even Christmas or his birthday! They all had a great time playing together, with only a few incidents needing any mediation. By the time everyone was ready to get into bed, it was close to 10pm. We set up a futon mattress in our great room and put all of the kids together.

Storytime

We're not sure what time they finally fell asleep; the 2-year old was first to go, but I think the older kids were still awake when we fell asleep. According to Anders the next morning, they didn't stay up all night but they didn't sleep very well because one of the other kids "kept waking them up." Staying up all night is one of those things that isn't as fun as it sounds; just wait until college...

Everyone tucked-in

One of the kids awoke at 6:20am, and just minutes later everyone was up. The morning activities included the last youth basketball practice of the season, and all of the kids participated (sans 2-year old). For the first time, they played an actual scrimmage game. Anders was pretty good on defense and has a good defensive stance. His stance was so good that he decided to use it for the entire game, regardless of whether they were playing offense or defense. After practice, the kids went home with their parents.

That afternoon, Anders just wanted to "take a rest and watch a show." We took his cue and spent the afternoon relaxing and catching up on the Olympics. We sampled the highlights of most sports; Anders chose curling, speed skating and bobsleigh as his favorites. After the previous 24 hours, we were all ready for some relaxation. (Thanks, BBC!)

- Mike, Corinne, and Anders