Olympics XXII

The Winter Olympics hold a special place in my heart because the 2010 Olympics coincided with Max's birth. 

The night we went into the hospital was the night of the opening ceremony in Vancouver.  Billy and I watched it as we waited to meet our baby.  We realized that the next time we witnessed the Winter Olympics we would have a four year old child.  A FOUR YEAR OLD!  I remember looking down at my big belly, which held a tiny baby, thinking that was impossible.  

My nerves and excitement matched the nerves and excitement I saw on the faces of the athletes as they entered the arena.  I was about to do one of the most important things of my life, as were they.  I realized my life as I knew it at that moment would never be the same. And the memory of the opening ceremony marks that turning point.

What would we experience in the next four years of our lives?  Happily, the answer to that question can be found within the pages of the
"Murray Party" blog(s).

Friday we spent the day with our big four-year-old boy.  He had his check-up with Dr. Kate (btw, let the record show...41 lbs, 42 inches tall, 90th%).  Billy took they day off work so he could come with us and then treat Max to lunch.  Just the three of us. We told Max the story of watching the Olympics in our hospital room.  And how the early days at home with him were spent watching the winter games in the middle of the night since it was the only thing on TV.  I remember it all so vividly.

Dad and Max at his 4-year doctor appointment.

Max loves to write his name.  And his other favorite letters are S, P and R.  I'm not sure why.  He can write the whole alphabet, but these three letters are his favorite for some reason?  He writes them over and over.

 Max was so intrigued with all of this talk about the Olympics that we ended up watching some of the trailers and the P&G spots featuring athletes and their moms.  Which...if you haven't seen those...watch them with a tissue nearby.  Then Max decided that he, obviously, was going to be an Olympic athlete.  He felt snowboarding would be his game :)

The opening ceremony this past Friday could not have come at a better time.  With Max being so intrigued with the whole thing and Sully just happy to get excited about something when Max does, they couldn't wait to watch the ceremony that night.

We did a little Olympic art and then we let them have a special treat while watching the ceremony...

Olympic Rings...

Passing the torch...aka mango sorbet.

After we told them about the torch and how it's passed to light the cauldron they began running around the house with their ice cream cones.  It's one of those parenting moments when you're sure you should tell them to stop, but they're just having too much fun.  Plus a little ice cream on the floor isn't the end of the world.  Unless you're the kid whose ice cream ends up on the floor.  In which case, it is very very serious and sad.  Max learned the hard way that its not wise to run on a slippery hardwood floor with an ice cream cone :)

Post bath ice cream treat!  In hindsight bath should have come after ice cream :)

 I wonder what our family will look like when the next Winter Olympics rolls around.  We'll have an EIGHT YEAR OLD!  And a 6 1/2 year old and Fletcher will be the age Max is now.  So crazy.  And the thought of all of that frankly makes my head (and heart) hurt.

Until 2018...I will cherish all that life hands to us...and I'll reflect again on how far we've come.