Crisis Averted...and Messy Fingers

Hannah Bear had a soccer game this morning in the rain.  Since the weather was less-than-stellar, Daddy and Jack decided to stay home where it was warm and dry.  Hannah and I bundled up and went to soccer.  I was glad that the girls got to play today since they were rained out last weekend.  Hannah did extremely well - she scored three goals and played tough the whole time.  I was a proud assistant coach!

After soccer, we ran a couple of errands together before heading home for lunch.  On the way home, Hannah announced, "Mama, can I tell you something?  I think it's a lie."

"What's a lie, Baby Girl?"

"I don't believe that Santa, with his belly like a bowl full of jelly, can really fit down the chimney.  The pipe is just too small."

I decided to wait this one out...while I bided my time, Hannah continued.

"I think he just comes right in the front door...belly like a bowl full of jelly...that rhymes!" she shouted through her girly giggles.

I took a deep breath, thanked my lucky stars that I'd kept my mouth shut, and agreed with my sweet girl of five.

*****

Later this evening, we decided to order Chinese food since neither Brad nor I wanted to make dinner.  Jack is not really a fan of Chinese food, and hasn't really found something on the menu that he loves, so we keep trying new things.  We decided to order him some barbecue spare ribs since he loves Grandma's ribs so much, and believe it or not, aside from the grumbling about getting the meat off of the bone, he really liked them.

It occurred to both me and Brad that it's the messiest we've ever seen Jack get during dinner.  I started to tell him about when he was a toddler, he hated to be messy so much that he would opt of art projects in the toddler room at school.  I said something about how impressed I was that he was eating and not worrying about his messy face.

"Oh, I'm very aware, and it's bothering me very badly."

We had a good laugh about that, and then I told the story of how Miss Tab had suggested that I get a bag of uncooked rice, put it into a big bowl, and then have Jack watch as I put his little cars and dinosaur toys inside the rice.  She was hoping that he'd get over his sensory issues while digging for his toys.  That, of course, is not at all what happened.  Eighteen month old Jack watched with big, blue eyes as I buried his tiny toys in rice, and then he ever-so-calmly walked away to play with something else.  He was not about to stick those tiny fingers in a bowl of rice when there were plenty of other toys to play with.  In hindsight, maybe I should have buried Skinny Bear?

Wordless Wednesday

"I'll eat you up, I love you so!"

Soccer Jamboree

Yesterday was Jack's last game of his soccer season.  It was a special event because the kids got to play at the Loudoun Sports Park and on fancy turf, no less!  We all decided to go, and Grampy joined us, too.  It was a very chilly morning, and so we were bundled from head to toe.

Hannah was bundled and on my lap, and I just couldn't resist taking this picture.

Jack, on the fancy field

Receiving his medal from Coach Tyler

We are so proud of Jack.  He made a lot of progress over the course of the last two seasons and tried harder and harder each time.  

For now, it'll be nice to have the holiday season off and to not have to rush twice a week after work and school to practice.  We'll see in the spring what Jack would like to do - he's mentioned possibly returning to Tae Kwon Do.  Maybe T-ball?  Who knows?

Super Stars

When Jack was about 1 1/2 years old, we enrolled in him in Soccer Tots.  We took him to tumbles classes and slowly, over time, that grew into swimming and soccer and Tae Kwon Do.  After Hannah was born, I took her along with me and kept her busy while Jack swam or played on the field.  At a very early age, she wanted up.  She wanted to be next to the pool, she wanted to be on the mats, she wanted to run around and kick her own soccer ball.

Over the past couple of weeks, Jack started practice, and Hannah couldn't understand why she didn't get to practice, too, after I'd told her that we'd signed her up for soccer.  She demanded that she wear her soccer gear to his practice, and then she'd sit on the sidelines and eat her snack.  I felt so bad :(

She's been very patient, but today was her day.

And boy, did she shine!

Pow-wow with the trainer 

(You'll notice Hannah is not wearing the shirt everyone else is wearing - she flat-out refused.)

Showing off her skills

Water break!

Her big brother was so proud of her and wanted her to know she was doing a great job :)

Keeping up with her teammates (there's only one other little girl on her team)

Sweaty girl and elbow dimples

Check out the form!

Goooaaaaal!

Anyone else look at this picture and see Jack?

Speaking of which...today was Jack's first official game of the season.  It also happened to be the first game he's ever played where the score was kept and the coaches had to coach from the sidelines.  I could tell he was really nervous when it first started, but he found his stride eventually.  It was a brutally hot day, so I'm sure they were both exhausted!

Goal kick

Ready to move up the field

Heading back to midfield

While Hannah was on the sidelines watching her brother play and fussing about her snack, she came over, grabbed my face in her chubby little hands, and said, "Mama, you're my super-star."

It was so precious.  But really?  These kids?  They're the super-stars, and I couldn't be more proud.

(By the way, if you don't receive my blog posts via email, you may miss the back-blogging posts that I add.  You can sign up for email notifications on the right sidebar of our page.  If you're interested, you can read about Jack's birthday celebrations here.)

Let the Games Begin

On Saturday, Jack started soccer.

We've been talking about it for a few weeks, and he was very excited when we went out to get him his soccer gear.  

He's worn his shin guards around the house for awhile, and he couldn't wait to put on his cleats.   

We had a minor meltdown at the house before we left because he didn't like the soccer socks that we'd bought.  To be fair, they were a little big, but he didn't love the fact that they went up his legs.  He didn't seem convinced when we arrived at soccer and everyone else had tall socks on either.   

For the first few minutes, he didn't seem particularly happy.  He looked a little teary-eyed, and I felt bad.  He truly is mine - a little shy and nervous in new situations where he knows no one.  I just wanted to scoop him up and hug him, but instead, I clapped and cheered his name:) 

The wonderful coaches noticed that he was a little nervous and shy, so they gave him a little extra attention, and we watched while our little man started to relax and enjoy himself. 

The weather was beautiful - we were so comfortable sitting outside and enjoyed the nice breeze.  You can see that Jack seems to have warmed up to the wind a bit:)

As he ran down the field towards the rest of his team, we noticed that Jack had discovered we were taking his picture, and he started to pose.  

He loved taking a water break and getting to visit with us for a few minutes before heading back out onto the field.

Those eyelashes are dreamy - I'm sorry; I can't help it!

This little peanut was such a good girl.  She just rolled around and happily played on the blanket.  She's Jack's number one fan:)

GOAL!!!

Daddy and Jack

Hannah, Mommy, and Jack

We're so proud of our little man and can't wait to spend many more Saturdays watching him grow and play:)