Soccer 101

Soccer season officially began on Saturday. This is Christian's first season and he was super excited. In a matter of minutes, he also became an expert in how the game is played by telling him: "No use hans (hands), own (only) tweet (feet). Kick and score!"

It was so cute. Half of the game he spent running in the bunch of other 3 and 4 yr olds who were all chasing the ball. The other half he spent watching them run down the field and then cheering when someone (from either team) scored. He got some good kicks and and is convinced he scored 3 goals. (Everyone was in such a bunch, I couldn't really tell.)

Here is Christian doing some warm ups with his team and coach--"Coach Dave".

Emily also had her first game! And, her coach is her Daddy! (None of the other parents could do it and so he stepped up so they wouldn't have to disband the team.) He may not think so, but he's going to be great--he's wonderful with kids, coaching just comes naturally!

Now, the last time Emily played, she had fun (most of the time) but wasn't super "into" going after the ball. This time, she much more aggressive (the good kind) and would've scored if one of her own teammates hadn't blocked her shot :-). So, this season is shaping up to be full of action...not to mention some good humor! Way to go, kids!

Funny Girl

Little Kari is becoming quite the character--she watches her brother and sister all day long so is this really all that surprising? The other day she and Christian were just hamming it up on our bed--Christian was being my helper and reading her a book (her favorite are the touch-and-feel kind). I was getting ready in our bathroom and I can hear them both giggling pretty hard. It was so cute! Even though Emily is now gone during the day, Christian has found a new little friend in Kari. Thankfully, he knows not to pummel her like he does his big sis!

And, who can resist taking bathtime pictures?! They're just too cute. Kari loves her baths and even has enough hair for me to put it in a little mohawk of her own! Ha!

Finally, at the end of the day (well, about every 2-3 hrs), Kari needs her beauty rest. I usually refrain from taking pictures while the kids sleep (they might just wake up!) but she'd been sleeping for awhile and we needed to go somewhere so it didn't matter if she woke up or not :-).
It's just too sweet.

In other Kari-related news, she is sooooo close to crawling! So close, in fact, that Cubby and I are betting she'll be mobile by the end of the week! At 7 months, she'll be my earliest crawler---Emily hated being on her tummy and we thought she'd skip crawling all together (and she almost did--I think she crawled for about 2 weeks at 9 1/2 months before walking at 10 mo). Christian was just so fat that it was tougher for him to get going! He was closer to 9 mos as well and walked at 11 mos. So, Kari is my early-bird! Get out the baby gates! Oh boy!

Rock, Chop, MOHAWK!

Yup, as per our potty-training deal, Christian got his beloved mohawk this past weekend. It's actually kind-of a faux-hawk b/c it's only up top and not down the back (thank goodness). Uncle Kyle cut it and Christian just loves it. Kyle said we need to invest in some sort of product to keep it nice and "hawk-like". Funny that our three year old would use product and we, well, don't.

Ah, Christian, you are quite the character!

Elementary, Dear Watson

Or should I say "Kindergarten"?! Holy cow. I have a kindergartener. Crazy. Time may change me, but I can't change time. So true, Mr. David Bowe, so true.

This morning I sent my first baby off to her first day of school at Tara Heights Elementary. Cubby took the morning off so he could take her to school and then pick her up (the first day is a 1/2 day here). There was an open house last night and Emily got to meet her teacher (Ms. Wauters) and see her classroom. She was quite excited and said she liked her teacher b/c she had glasses and was very nice.

This morning she got up, got dressed and even ate her breakfast in a timely manner--truly amazing, but I doubt that'll last. Emily picked out her own clothes (a butterfly skirt, a blue shirt w/a butterfly on it and purple Silvermist socks) and was just itching to get going. She, Daddy and Christian all donned umbrellas (as it rained for the first time this month) and walked up the hill to school. And, even though last night she was worried that she'd miss me too much, this morning, she didn't look back (sniff, sniff!).

When Emily got home, she had plently to tell us about all of the new friends (there are 16 kids in her class) and how she even has a "job"--she gets to go around the room and make sure all of the chairs are pushed in. SO perfect for her. There are three other children in her class that she knew so I know it was a relief to have a couple of familiar faces on the first day.

Tonight, as she was getting ready for bed, she told Cubby and I "I just love Tara Heights. It's a dream come true." Welcome to school, Emily! I hope they're ready for you!

(BTW: I posted both pictures b/c I wanted to get both Emily and her backpack (which she picked out herself) but it was a bit rainy and dark and the first picture of her turned out better, even though both are cute.)

One Last Hurrah!

Is summer really over?? Crazy. I can't believe that school starts tomorrow!

This morning I took the kiddos to an old favorite spot that, because it's been so hot and sticky, we have only visited ONCE this summer...the ZOO! Yeah, I can't believe we've only been there once too--it's usually more like once a week! Well, maybe now that we're heading into fall, we may make it there more often.

In anycase, I'll narrate our morning with pictures, since that's what everyone likes to see anyways!

The kids started out by giving me a great pose amidst nature.

We then headed down past the giraffes and toward the seals--where we got to see them get fed! Very fun.

A new feature to the zoo this summer has been these two new playground sets! Why had no one thought of this years ago?? SO great for little kids! Emily and Christian even made a couple of little friends and played had fun playing pirates. There were also lots of big, shady trees and so it was a great place for me to take Kari out of her carseat and let her look around a bit.

After the seals and the playground, we headed over through the new Madagascar exhibit and then onto the bears. Now, usually, the bears are all just sleeping and very boring. Today though, ALL of them were up and active! The brown bear was using his paw to get a drink and the polar bear was swimming laps :-).

After all that, it was getting close to lunchtime and Kari was "done" so we headed home. We did take one last stop at a popular site--the giant granite globe that spins on water. As you can see it's a kid magnet.

I'm so glad that we had such a beautiful morning to finish off our summer vacation! It has been a wonderful summer and even though we'll still be doing summer-ish things for a few more weeks yet, it won't be the same since Emily will be gone all.day.long now! (I have very mixed emotions on this still!) Anyhow, more on school tomorrow after kindergarten's big debut!

Before the Heat Wave...

We hit the pool! Yes, it sounds strange--why not hit the pool during the heat wave?? Well, rest assured, it was still close to 90 degrees when we went last week. Yes, that was a "cool" day here in Nebraska. Today, the heat index is 115 (95 degrees + humidity=we're staying indoors this week!) When it gets this hot, it's not safe for babies, kids and well, anyone to be outside. So, we went to the pool as much as we could last week before it got too hot to venture out.


We have seriously loved having a pool pass this summer--it's certainly saved my sanity many-a-afternoons! All three of the children really enjoy the water and, when Kari gets too tuckered out, she has her car seat to catnap in!



One afternoon, Christian's swim instructor, Caitlyn, offered to take he and Emily swimming. She had them going, going, going, for 4 hours! They had a blast, and this picture below, proves it. (He still has his swimsuit on underneath the blanket--I managed to get his p.j. top on so he wouldn't get chilly.)


I think our favorite times at the pool are the evenings that we go with Daddy. We take turns taking Emily and Christian down the water slides or, Emily's latest request, into the deep end! She's totally become a water bug this summer and threw quite the tantrum when it was time to go home Friday night! ("I'm NOT tiiiirrrreddddd!!!!") Ah, little grasshopper, I beg to differ :-)!


So, as we appreciate the wonderful invention of air conditioning this week, we will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of some "cooler" temps so that we can get back in the water!

Grand-Ol' Times

Last week, Emily and Grandma Karen went to camp! The Fontenelle Forest offers a two-day camp for a grandparent and their grandchild. Emily, of course, LOVED it. (She got Grandma all.to.herself.) It was a busy time too. They took nature walks, inspected bugs, did crafts and, Emily's favorite, caught butterflies. Her least favorite part, though, was trying to eat lunch outside with daddy-longlegs spiders! The weather was HOT, but luckily, on the second, and hottest, day, they got to be inside more.

This week, it was Christian's turn for a little one-on-one time w/Grandma Karen. After swim lessons, their big plans included the Children's Museum....oh boy!

Christian liked the ball area and seeing the Clifford exibit as well. He liked having the one-on-one time with "Gra-Kerri" the most though!

We're just so happy that Grandma has her summers off and that she's able to take the kiddos out for such fun little playdates! Thanks so much--We love you, Grandma Karen!