Lucy in the sky with diamonds

Payton's school project about stars and planets.

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Here We Go... It's A Party!

Payton turned 8 on February 25th. I can't believe this boy is 8 years old!

It seems like yesterday I was in the hospital holding a newborn.

Payton is such a fun kid.

He loves life and is determined to get the most out of every experience.

He loves sports and is a whiz at math.

He treats his family with love and cares about people and animals.

Payton, I look forward to this year and will be praying for God's blessing and protection in your life. May you understand how valued you are to Our Father in Heaven and your family on earth.

We love you!!!

He had a Mario Brothers themed Lazer Quest party with a few of his favorite friends.

It was a lot of fun and really sweaty!

Thank You Card

Silly, silly boys... the best way to be!

Payton's Valentines

Payton made bow and arrow Valentines with glow sticks.

A few of them cracked when we were taping the tags and hearts on... sorry kids.
I didn't buy extra to account for breakage.
They were still lit the next day, and since we did it the night before, I hope they were lit up enough to be used.




This was his gift for his teacher.

Just a lowly soap bottle...




Made pretty by ribbon and conversation heart stickers.
I didn't take a picture of the finished product b/c my camera batteries died. Something was definitely going on with my camera that day.
These pictures look so cold. Guess it goes with the weather.

Happy Valentines Day!

Love is...

Payton's Valentines Day Heart Project was collaged and printed, then cut out and pasted to the heart and decorated with yarn, stickers, glitter and paper. He chose the pictures and the words that are important to him. Words that remind him of L-O-V-E. He and I enjoyed working on this project together.
He was proud to bring it to school to display in the hallway.

Happy Father's Day

This was Payton's Father's Day card to Jim. On the front there is a set of cards. Hearts I think.

This is what the card says in case you can't read it:
"Dear Dad, Thank you for letting me watch you play poker. Thank you for coaching my football and baseball team. And especially thank you for making the hockey rink downstairs. Thank you so much for taking me to school every day and thank you for buying me food. And thank you for taking me to the Hawks parade. I love you dad. from Payton"
Reading this card from Payton reminded me of what a great dad my kids are blessed with. I am so proud of him and happy for them that they have a father who cares so much for them and is willing to give so much of his time to teach, care and love for his kids. It is so special to me that this is the example he is giving them of what a dad is and should be.
Thanks Jim, you are awesome in my eyes and theirs.



And this was the splended dinner we had on father's day.
2 full slabs, home cooked, with SBR's of course...



Fresh corn, spinach, zuchinni, squash and tomato from the farmer's market.

simply yum.

Payton Pitches

Payton is in the Rookie league this year and the kids are pitching. It takes a lot longer for the game to be over but so worth it when you see him pitch.

The kid is good.

and has noooo problem telling anyone who will listen about it...

perfect teaching moments of pitching form and etiquette.

Blackhawks Parade

BLACKHAWKS PARADE

we took the kids out of school (shhh!) and jumped on the train to see the Blackhawks, the mighty Blackhawks, travel down Washington Ave. in celebration of winning the Stanley Cup.


the anticipation was immense



commit to the cup, B


find a light post and climb up so you can see



celebrate till you can't stand it anymore.

... thanks Hawks.

baseball 2010

 a small sample of the fun of the season

Dancing starts a morning good

thanks for the phone mom! Payton won't put it down. It's no problem that it doesn't make or receive calls because he just plays the ringtones and takes pictures with it. He even charges it at night so it doesn't run out of batteries.
This is the fun he is having with it. I'm starting to hear the Russian sounding ringtones in my sleep or any other moment of silence I have.
I do have on question though, we really want to know who is 'Snake'?

Happy Birthday Mr. P

Last Thursday we celebrated Payton's 7th birthday.

It's hard to believe this little guys is already in 1st grade, reading, exceling at math, playing chess, sports and becoming a really cool young man.

The grandma's came over to celebrate his birthday and so did some friends.

Take a look at the size of the cake. We just got rid of the last of it the other day.

And any event wouldn't be complete with out the 'messing with Cal' part.

Monker the Monkey

'Monker the Monkey' came home with Payton this weekend.
He is a traveling monkey that gets to do fun and exciting things with the kids from 1st grade.
Here is a recap of Payton and Monker's weekend in Payton's own words:
(We will NOT discuss the 24 hour period when Monker missed swimming, a movie and church, he was found hiding out under the covers in Pay's bed. He must have been tired from all the plane flying.)

Monker went to I-Hop for dinner on Friday. He colored and ate pancakes.

Monker flew an airplane. I think he should be a pilot.

Monker flew a flying saucer outside.

Monker went to the store. He saw bananas in the fruit aisle.

Monker made lots of new friends.

This Is It

The other night we watched the Michael Jackson video, This Is It. It was an interesting video to watch with the kids. They know who he was though Jim and I, but they didn't grow up listening to his music like we did, so the same connection isn't there. And obviously since his death in June, they have been exposed to him and his music non stop. It has sparked some interesting discussions with the kids about the positives and negatives of fame and who Michael was as a person. They seem to enjoy the music and Payton has shown us he has some incredible dance moves.
The movie itself was a good look at the Michael some of us remember but what the aftermath of the lifestyle he has lead and what it has done to him. You could see a more frail and worn Michael, but also the artist and powerful man he once was.
I would recommend renting it if you enjoyed Michael and his music at one point in your life.

We had capes, confetti, 3-D glasses (I don't think there was a need, but it was fun anyway) and lots and lots of dancing. Enjoy the video.

Payton's 1st Place Medal

Congrats to Payton. He finished 1st place at the Wheaton wrestling tournament:

Here is his recognition on the wrestling blog:

Wheaton North Tournament Wrap-up

We had a really nice showing at last week's tournament. Many of the wrestlers are showing vast improvements. The hard work in wrestling room is starting to pay off. 1st place finishers included 6 year old Payton Dalessandro, 9 year old Sam Correa, 12 year old Adrian Salinas, and 13 year old Mike Kozyra. Great job to all who participated. For all but one of our wrestlers, this weekend is a weekend off. Enjoy parents!! This weekend is the famed IKWF Kid's Open in Peoria. We typically only invite our top wrestlers since one of the stipulations is that there is to be no coaching allowed, so the wrestlers are completely on their own on the mat. We'll send our good wishes and luck with 9 year old Jake Stiles as he competes in the Open.

Paint the Day Away

I think these kids asked me if they could paint at least 30 times. At least.

Saying yes was a celebration moment for sure.

Paint. It does a child good.

(Payton wants you to notice his muscles)

Go PAINT!