SO, what’s happened in the last 7 months? The biggest news is that you guys are going to have a little brother. That’s right another Hart boy! Mom says she’s going to have the baby on June 30th, but I’m thinking we’re lucky if he comes around July 7th. I can’t believe there is going to be another one of you guys running around! You have both been very excited about his arrival. JD, you have been reading on the internet about the different stages that the baby is going through. You’ve asked tons and tons of question and talk about him daily. Adam, you’ve taken a unique approach to welcoming the baby (as to be expected). You claim to have a baby in your belly too! In fact, you’ve been using this excuse to “Get out” of chores as of late. For instance last night when I asked you to pick up your scooter and put it in the garage, you said, “Dad, I can’t lift anything, I have a baby in my belly.” Or at bedtime the other night when I said, “Ok, up to bed,” and you said, “I can’t go up the stairs, I have a baby in my belly.”
We had a great Christmas a while back. You both got the Wii from Santa and had a great time playing it throughout the winter. The winter, as to be expected in Maine, was long and cold. We spent a lot of time at the Works in the pool, making HUGE snow forts outside, and sitting by the fire in the dining room at home. We had fun sledding and making snowmen.
Adam, you and I made your first snowman ever and JD is now an old pro. Adam also went down the BIG sledding hill all by himself for the first time, second time, third, ect! He had a so much fun going down the hill and was upset once when we told him that he couldn’t go over the same jump as the high school boys!In March or April we went down to Florida for a week to celebrate Uncle Michaels wedding. He got married on a Saturday and we spent the whole week prior to the wedding staying at a hotel in Daytona Beach. It was an interesting week. You both got to hang out with the Waldenburgs. They are some of your favorite people and they take very good care of you when they see you. Mike asked me to be the best man in his wedding so I got to read a speech during the reception.
While we were in Florida we spent a day at Disney World. We went on many rides; Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Carrabean, Swiss Family Robinson house, Grand Prix Racing and a few others. By about 3:00 on this day, JD was sitting on the ground and I was carrying Adam, as you were both exhausted from all of the walking.
By the time this trip was over we were all very happy to be home. We had a great time seeing Mike and Waldenburgs and we always have a good time with Grandie and Pop Pop but we were ready to be in our own beds (especially you, Ad).
Grammie and Grampie have been in an Assisted Living facility for a while now and things are going better with them. This is certainly where they belong. They are both failing at this point and can’t remember things, even sometimes hallucinating. It’s a lot of stress and work on Nana but she continues to plug through and take care of her parents.
Recently we went down to see Nana for Easter. It was a lot of fun as we got to spend time with Meg and her family. The four of you (cousins) get along great and entertain each other with no problem It was great to see Nana and Grampie B. We haven’t gone down as much lately, so the times that we do go down don’t seem to be enough for me. I find myself missing Millis lately.
Opening Day for baseball was two weeks ago! I can’t believe it’s already here! JD, you are playing Rookie Ball this year. Pitching machine and everything! It took a few practices for you (and others)
to get used to the machine but you’re coming in on the ball nicely now. The machine is set on 55 mph, but I think it comes over the plate at around 45 mph. Still pretty quick for your age. I’m coaching for the third straight year. I should also mention that you have grown so much since the beginning of school. You are reading everything in sight, shooting hoops on a ten-foot hoop, riding a mountain bike, and taking spelling tests. You and I do your homework every night after dinner. Sometimes homework is hard and other nights it’s a piece of cake. You are a fantastic reader and speller. You have NEVER gotten a spelling word wrong..ever. You’ve taken about 15 tests (once a week). You’re a fantastic boy. I admire and adore you. As Nana said to me last night, “You get things that other boys at your age don’t.”
Adam, you had your first soccer practice today! You are playing with other 3 and 4 year olds. I don’t think you stopped smiling all day long! It was very easy to tell that you have a big brother to play with at home. It took you no time to do the drills that were asked of you, but most importantly, you had so much fun. You are really coming into your own these days. You always add your two sense into conversation and you love to make people laugh. I had so much fun watching you this morning. It was well worth sneaking out of work to cheer you on!
This past Sunday was Mothers Day. The Wednesday prior, JD told me that one of his teachers suggested that he clean his room for his mom on her special day. I told him that sounded like a great idea, but I didn’t think much of it after this conversation. I got up early Sunday morning, before everyone else and made my way downstairs for a nice quiet cup of coffee. About 10 minutes into my cup, I started hearing loud noises from upstairs. I wasn’t sure what it was but I thought maybe Ad was moving something to peek out the windows so he could watch the birds (he does this most mornings). This noise persisted for about five more minutes so I went up to make sure no one was trapped under a dresser or something! I found JD in his room cleaning it from top to bottom. Organized all his toys and everything. JD, the first thing you said was, “I already cleaned the bathroom and I’m almost done with my room. Can you help me make my bed?”
He then made his way to Ad’s room (who was up at this point) and suggested to Ad that he clean up his room before Mom woke up. Ad wasn’t overly interested in this idea so JD and I cleaned his room for him. JD, I was so impressed with you on this day, I don’t even know what to say still..The day before I asked Mom what she would like for her Mothers day breakfast and she said, “French Toast.” The three of us made her French toast from a secret recipe, we also gave her coffee, a muffin, and JD picked fresh dandelions from the yard. We each gave Mom cards that read, “A few of my Favorite Things About Mom.” We listed a bunch of things that make Mom who she is. In the early afternoon we went ot Ogunquit to an Art exhibit and then we had Ben Jerry’s in the center of the Ogunquit shops. We ended the day at one of Mom’s favorite beaches, “Parsons.” It was low tide, so you guys went out to look for crabs and throw rocks while Mom and I relaxed. After you both were in bed for the night, Mom told me that this day was one of her favorite days ever.
I should mention one other thing. I have been feeling guilty about not providing you guys with some guidance with regard to religion. The more thought I give to it, the more confused I get. JD, you have been asking about God a lot lately and I give you a fairly generic answer. I tell you a little bit of what I was told as a kid. Do I really believe that there was a guy out there who parted the sea, walked on water, and healed the blind with just a touch? I have no idea. Adam and Eve vs. Evolution? That seems pretty straight forward, but again, I have no idea. I’ve been reading a little about Buddism, Spiral Dynamics, and the Evolution of Consciousness and much of this makes sense to me. I will continue to explore (although I’m not doing as much as I should) and keep you guys posted.
Soo, I’ll try and not let much time go by until my next post. I may not post quite as much as I did during my prior stint, but I’ll update it nonetheless. I’m also toying with making this private. I think it would be cool for you guys (soon to be three of you) to have a realistic view on what it is to be your Dad at 33 and so on. It would have been real interesting for me to have an account of what it was like for my Dad at my age. Fears, worries, proud moments, hardships, internal success, ect. I will continue to give you an account of what goes on though, so you have an idea of what it was like to raise three boys.
