Daily Archives: May 25, 2018

Baseball, Cavaliers, Indians, Video

Tribe Game No. 1 of 2018

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It took three tries, but tonight Alan and I finally made it to our first Indians game of the season.  The Indians were rained out during our first attempt on April 15th.  Then the Cavaliers Game 7 vs Indiana changed our plans a couple week later on April 29th.  But the third time was a charm — and the Cavaliers were still a big part of the night.

The first Indians game of the year is usually exciting for Alan because he’s interested to see the changes made to the Kids Clubhouse and the Family Deck.  This year he was thrilled to see the return of the train table after a 1-year hiatus!  He ended up playing there all game long and made several new friends.  I told him he was the manager of the train table, as he made sure everyone had a turn and got along.

Fortunately for us, Game 6 of the Cavaliers’ Eastern Conference Finals matchup vs the Celtics was on a TV right next to the train table, so neither of us had to move….except of course when I got Alan his big box of popcorn and he took a break to go down the slide!

As luck would have it, at the same time the Cavaliers game ended (with a Cavaliers win!), the Indians fireworks show began.  Alan watched the fireworks from a great vantage point inside the Kids Clubhouse — really making it a one-stop shop for us on this night.

After the fireworks show, we walked through the party on the plaza and then through East 4th Street so Alan could see what a Cavaliers victory party looks like downtown.  When LeBron scores 46 points in 46 minutes to force a Game 7, bedtime is no longer a priority.  😉

Following tonight’s excitement, Alan’s end-of-1st-Grade blowout weekend will continue with a trip to Chicago tomorrow!

1st Grade

1st Grade Memories

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Alan’s first grade year at Millridge is now complete.  We had a lot of fun together along the way, highlighted by the three classroom parties, Alan’s family day during his week as the featured student, and of course the memorable Field Trip to Progressive Field!

In addition to those special events, these are some other memories that will stay with me for a while:

Special Memories

-The hug Alan gave me when we took a photo together after presenting his “All About Me” poster rivaled the one I wrote about in the Kindergarten Memories post one year ago.  Same kind of feel.

-I loved our hang-out time at McDonald’s — where we went after almost every Millridge event together.  We loved going there and reminiscing about the funny things that happened at school.  Even yesterday, Alan was laughing about the time during the Progressive Field Trip and Mrs. Russo jokingly told me that Alan was a troublemaker.

Praise for Alan

-During Alan’s Parent-Teacher conference in October, Mrs. Russo said she specifically requested Alan in her class because of his reputation from Kindergarten as a great student.

-In a May email, Mrs. Russo thanked Veronica and I for “raising such a wonderful boy.”  The next day she thanked me again at Progressive Field Day.

-That being said, it was not a surprise Alan was 1) the first Student of the Month honored in his class and 2) the “WOW” award winner for this class.

Challenges Overcome

-We survived a few different challenges this year, including a stretch from Oct. 13 – 19 in which I prepared all of Alan’s meals and was responsible for him getting to school.  It wasn’t easy to keep him fed when he relies on his grandma’s cooking, but, with a rice cooker, we found a way to get by.  I loved having the chance to write him notes and leave them in his lunch bag though.  And I loved driving him to school every day.

-Alan also struggled through three bouts with strep that contributed to 16 absences this year.  Fortunately none of the absences ever came on event days, though we had some close calls.

-Going into the year my biggest concern was how Alan would respond with his core group of friends from Kindergarten – Grady, Noah, Brady, and Xavier – split up into different first grade classrooms.  But he made new friends within his first grade class pretty quickly and the rest was history.  I think inviting his whole first grade class to his bowling party early in the school year ended up being beneficial in that regard.

Overall, it was a rewarding year for both Alan and I.  Now it’s onto summer break and gearing up for second grade!