Mathias really loved that water bottle, apparently.

As a bonus, Uncle Mark and Aunt Janet came to visit us at our new place–they even treated us to lunch at Three Floyd’s!

Mathias poses with his piece of ivory.

Because the loose tooth were sensitive, he didn’t quite brush up to his usual standard when they were coming out, so he also wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy explaining things.

Dear Tooth Fairy, sorry about my tooth not being that clean. I brushed it. Love, Mathias

P.S. What do you do with the teeth? (I am just asking.)

By losing his first tooth at 6, Mathias did fall short of challenging James’ record for “freakiest oldest age to lose your first tooth” (James was 8.) Lillian is still a contender, though.

The beach at Wildwood. We made it here five times during the week–it was really nice.

The family poses on the shore.

Jumping in the waves with Mr. Brian.

Building our own sand civilization. It did not endure.

Doing some kid races back at the house.

Visiting the lighthouse at Cape May. We climbed up and down, although Lillian made the descent in James’ arms.

We visited Morey’s Pier on the boardwalk too.

The rides were a hit!

For Lori too! (She even got in a solo ride on the roller coaster.)

We hope to head back next year!

See All the Photos from the Trip!

Posing with the brownies (and Lillian shows off her new mermaid Barbie.)

Mathias gets a “Happy Birthday” serenade and blows out his candles.

Presents, Part One: Lillian shows off her mermaid Barbie, and Mathias rattles off his first round of gifts.

Presents, Part Two: Mathias rattles off the full roster of fun (well, plus a new video game!).

A full party is coming up–more birthday fun ahead!

First up was the CPS chess tournament on March 4. This was a first for Mathias; he’s been on the chess team at his school since fall, but that’s mostly entailed playing a couple matches (and goofing around) with his friends every Tuesday. Still, he’s the rules pretty well, even if his strategy is a work in progress.

At the tourney, he played four matches but couldn’t pull a win. Still, every match lasted longer than the one before it, and he got a nice participation medal at the end of the day. (It was well deserved–he was one of a few kindergarteners there, and we were at the tourney for eight hours on a Saturday!)

Mathias poses with the team.

Lest anyone think it was all chess…Mathias relaxes with the team between rounds.

Posing with his medal and his buddy Knox.

Mathias has also spent the spring playing indoor soccer with the Chicago Park District. It’s been a lot of fun–and a good opportunity to stretch his legs in winter. As a bonus, one of his classmates, Charlotte, turned out to be in the class! The program ended this weekend, and he got a sweet participation trophy for that too!

Mathias and Charlotte pose with their trophies.

Lillian has been busy too. She and Lori have been taking swim lessons at the nearby Park District pool, but they sort of frown on photography there, so we don’t have any pics of that! But here’s a look at her making some pizza in the kitchen and building a massive Lego house.

Mathias and the rest of the kindergarten class did a nice choreographed performance to “Jingle, Jingle Little Bell.” The dude handled his turn in the front row with ease–a big step forward from the stage fright of two years ago!

Mathias rings his bell in the front row.

Here’s a video of the fun:

Lillian’s class put together some tunes of their own, including “Ring the Bells” and “I’m a Little Snowflake.”

A close-up of Lillian with her holiday headdress.

A look at the whole class (with cousin Angie second from the left).

Here’s “I’m a Little Snowflake. Lillian gave it a little more gusto in her at-home rehearsals.

Ring the bells–happy holidays indeed!