Since Conner could walk I could tell this kid was going to be an athlete. Some people just have it come by them naturally. And this boy is one of those people. And he has the energy to go right along with the skills. So when time came for him to be able to play a sport, I was thrilled for him. I expected that it would be something he would embrace with arms wide open. I asked him if he wanted to play soccer and he excitedly said yes! He had seen Makenna and Kellen play, and Makenna was going to be playing again. So we got him some socks and shin guards and he was pumped and ready to go. Look at what a cute little stud he is! (To be continued...)
Yes kids, even mom's practice taking selfies. Got to stay hip with the times you know!
My beautiful girls. Every time I see them together I just feel overwhelming happiness and love for them that they have each other! Makenna tells me often "I am so happy you had a baby sister. She is Sooooo cute!"
This boy is his own person. No one can debate that for even a moment. His sense of style goes through different phases. For the longest time it was underwear. Underwear and Only underwear. And they couldn't be briefs. They HAD to be boxer briefs. Finally we graduated to putting something more than underwear on. And beggars can't be choosers, so when he wanted to wear clothes, but the clothes he wanted were his sports pajama pants (size 2t by the way...about 2 sizes small) and a "ball" shirt, well, at least it was not Just underwear.
Finally got a picture of Carys and her 1 TOOTH that she had at 1 year old. Yes....1 tooth!
The kiddos LOVE getting their cards in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa. This neat halloween card came with glow-in-the-dark finger puppets! So neat!
About the same time we got soccer going, Kellen started tball at the sportsplex. It was nice to have him introduced to tball before signing him up for something as long and committed as tball through the little league. I was curious to see if he would like it. And he loved it! Though he had not had a lot of exposure beforehand, he picked up on things fast and started improving quickly. And even more fun for him, his best buddy Joseph was playing with him too! Love my lefty!
So Conner's first soccer practice went great. He seemed to be having a wonderful time. He was doing a great job with all the drills and skills. You could tell he was going to be a good player (probably one of the better ones on the field...and I am not just trying to be one of "those" parents. I have no qualms with my child not being the best. But honestly, he was good!) And then their first game began. I imagined this is when Conner would really shine! He is an energetic kid. He can be pretty tough and aggressive. He is a bit of a class clown and loves attention. Well, apparently on a soccer field ALL of that changes. His soft, cuddly side comes out instead. And when he realized that not only do people take the ball from you, but You are supposed to take the ball from other people in order to score goals...well, it was too much! Any time he had to take the ball from someone he would stop and get sad and start to cry. If he and another kid bumped into each other then he would stop and feel bad and cry. Lets just say there were a lot of tears and not a lot of kicks. I made him stay on the field because I didn't think it would be good to let me just be done and walk away. I encouraged him to get out there and play. And if I said "Just go out there and try. Go get the ball and score a goal" he would reluctantly go back out. And sure enough, within 30 seconds he would have the ball and would score a goal. And then he would come cry and ask if he could be done now. This is more or less how the whole season went. Each game had less tears and more kicking. But it was never tear free. However, he finished every game on the field and I do think that sometimes that is what matters.
This silly boy. He LOVES homework. Seriously. When he doesn't have homework assigned for school, for asks for homework from me. I love it! It's Such a contrast to what he used to be like. There was a time when I couldn't even get him to practice his colors with me. And now the kids is flying through worksheet books like crazy. He will do a worksheet, have me check it, put a sticker on it and then do the next one. Love this boy. Such a smart kid.
Makenna is a good sis. A very, Very typical oldest sister. There are times when she wants to be competitive and feisty and tease and give people a hard time. And then there are times when she gets very loving and protective and likes to take her younger siblings under her wing and help them and teach them. When she is good, she is Good!!!
I love this boy. I love so many things about him. The list is never ending. But one of the things on that list is loving how this boy can fall asleep just about Anywhere, Anytime! And just about every Sunday he will find a lap to lay his head in and drift right off to sleep. P.S. I think this is the Only time I have seen that disgusting "nigh night" of his in his mouth and thought it looked cute. Those blankets get nasty! But they make him happy. And that makes me happy.
This girl. She just might be one of the happiest little girls I have ever met. She really reminds me of each of her siblings, all mixed up in one kid. She is sensitive and cuddly like Kellen, active and skilled like Makenna and Conner, feisty like Makenna, a clown like Conner. She's a well rounded little babe!
Having our Uncle Ding back home from his mission has been So nice! Ding was great enough to buy a Sea World pass so we were able to bring him along with us a few times for a fun day. Ding is Such a good uncle. The kids love and adore him. They get so excited to see him and he doesn't hold back from getting down and rolling around and playing with them. I feel so lucky, not only to have such an amazing and sweet little brother but to have such a great uncle for my kiddos. We love you Uncle Ding! (I mean really, who could have a name like Uncle Ding and NOT be amazing?!!)
