Here comes the future Hayley Wickenheiser! The boys are not the only hockey stars in the family and Mara makes no qualms of letting them know that. Mara has the heart and the fearlessness to be a hockey great, but Miss Diva would insist her new team accessorize properly.

When she first started ice skating a few months ago, Mara’s teacher commented on how much she loved it and how brave she was, remarking, “I cannot wait to teach this one jumps.” We are not quite at jumps yet (but she can do little hops on the ice) but her go-to attitude seems to predict she will not hesitate on the ice. She is continuing her skating lessons and is doing great.

One of the first things we did when we got back to Nashville was put up the net. Thane was beside himself. Mara was out the door soon after her brother.

In other hockey news, Thane and Mara both started their new school this week. So far, they are loving it. This week, Thane’s class was working on the letter Z and they had show and tell on Wednesday, with the direction to bring in something from home that starts with the letter Z. This was the perfect week for Thane to show off his hockey-ness. He wore his hockey shirt, brought in a toy Zamboni and the “Z is for Zamboni” book his nouna bought him. The kids loved it. The teacher read the book and there was much admiration all around. Thane was the rock star of the day!

Thane and Mara received their Nashville Predators Kids Club packets in the mail yesterday. The bag of goodies included sticker, bag, t-shirt, pencil and temporary tattoo.

This morning, while eating his PB&J sandwich, Thane asked:

Thane: “Mommy, can I have this tattoo on me today?”
Me: “No, buddy, you have your new school tomorrow, not sure that is a good first impression.”
Thane: “But, but, but. I want a tattoo on. I want to show the girls my tattoo.”
[Laughter all around, Jay is in the kitchen.]
Jay: “My 3 year old son has more game than I ever did.”

Mommy caved. Hopefully it will be cold enough to wear long sleeves tomorrow.

When Thane started to sleep in his own big boy bed, he was not even 18 months old and there was a new baby on the way. He was not great at staying in his bed or room once he learned how to open the doors. Even before that, he would absolutely let you know he was still awake.

Fast forward more than 2 years, and up until Saturday, Mara was not sleeping in her own big girl bed.

Now we are back in the house and Mara has a new bed. But, she cannot open our style of doorknob still. That said, she has always been a good sleeper and tends to lay quietly in bed until she falls asleep.

This is all still new though, so last night, after she was up there with the door closed, we went to check on her. We could see the light on from underneath the door. We opened the door quietly and this is what we found.

Yes, she is asleep.

I gently moved her to a more comfortable position, covered her, and shut the light and door.

Good Night, Koukla.