Shark Attack!

Eli had his second soccer practice tonight. He had to wear shorts to show off his shin guards. He would not let me fold his socks down over his shin guards, so the socks covered his entire leg! I think he's beginning to understand that he has to do what the coach tells him to do. You certainly have to have a lot of patience to work with a group of kids this age. It's so much fun watching him play.

All of the little kids look so cute running around the field kicking the soccer ball around. When Coach Cooper had them dribbling their balls around orange cones, Eli was very deliberate when kicking the ball. I say deliberate, but gosh the way he was kicking was so s l o w. But, when it was time to dribble the ball down the field and kick the ball into the goal, he took off...

Guess we'll have to work on that you don't use your hands in soccer thing. For some reason, Eli really likes to fall down on the soccer field. This seems to be great fun for him. He did it several times tonight. It didn't help that he was getting laughs when he would do it. There's no falling down in soccer!

The other day I asked him, "What do you do when someone takes the ball from you?" He answered with excitement, "Fall down!" "No, Eli you don't fall down in soccer unless you trip and fall." Today, I showed him some You Tube videos of different soccer games. One clip we watched showed two players fall to the ground in celebration after a goal. Eli looked so excited to see this. He said to me, "See Mommy, they fall down." He was right; they did fall down.

We have a team name! It was decided that we would be called the Sharks! Here is Eli's very first team huddle. Shark Attack!!

When we got home, I asked him if he heard me cheering for him. With a cute little smile on his face, he said he did. I'm sure he doesn't know this yet, but I will always be his biggest fan! Go Sharks!

I Don't Sew

I can sew on a button on a shirt, and I can even make a pillow. Once, many years ago Angel and I made clubbing dress that probably could have passed for lingerie. I think I'm pretty crafty, but when it comes to sewing, I just don't have the patience. I bought a sewing machine when we lived in St. Louis. I don't know what I was trying to make, but I ended up taking it back because the thread just kept getting raveled in the bobbin. Momma gave me her sewing machine a couple of years ago, and I finally used it for the first time just the other day. Mom and I had been talking about making pillow case dresses for Bella. I read about how to make them, and it seemed simple enough. WRONG! Ugh. I wanted to throw the sewing machine in the trash after this happened several times.


I was trying to load the bobbin (I guess that's what you call it), and the thread kept ending up under the bobbin spool. After that was fixed, I practiced sewing straight lines only to have the hem of the dress come out looking like this...

Look at that! It looks horrible. At this point, I wanted to trash the sewing machine and the dress. But... Mom came to the rescue.

We decided to make a ruffle to hide the horrible hem of the dress. Mom showed me how to make a ruffle... finally something was easy to do. After Sewing 101, I was well on my way.


The dress was made out of one of Momma old pillow cases. When I ironed it, it even smelled like her house, the smell I remember as a kid, not the musty smell that has invaded her house. The lace we chose for the ruffle was very pretty. We added some lacy ribbon for the ties, and the dress was complete. The big question was- What would this look like on Bella?


Success! The dress fits perfectly, and Bella looks like a little doll in it. Next project- making tutus!

Eli's First Soccer Practice

And so it begins... I have been looking forward to the day Eli would begin playing sports. Not just hitting the ball in the backyard or shooting hoops in the living room, but looking forward to him being on an actual organized sports team. I thought he would probably play tee ball at four or five, so I was surprised to find out that he could start playing sports at the YMCA even though he isn't three yet. It didn't matter that I know absolutely nothing about soccer; he was going to play. Dad made me play soccer when I was around six or seven. After the first couple of practices, I didn't want to play anymore. It seemed like all we did was run up and down the field. Ugh! I would have rather been dancing. Anyway, we got all of the necessary equipment (except for the socks), I emailed Kim and Jenny to find out the appropriate way Eli should wear the shin guards and socks (I am still not sure if the shin guards should go under his pants or on top of his pants- Guess they're getting another email from me today), and for the past couple of days, I guess you could say Eli has been having a dress rehearsal for his soccer practice. He loves wearing his cleats and shin guards!

Tonight Eli had his very first soccer practice. On the way to practice, he asked, "Mommy, who is going to be there to watch me?" After telling him that I was going to be there to watch him, he wanted to know who else was going to be there. Guess it doesn't matter if I'm watching. He wanted to know if Grandma and Grandpa were going to watch him play. I had to explain the difference between practice and a real game. I told him there would be other little boys and girls on his team and that his coach, Coach Cooper, would be there. "What's a coach, Mommy?" he asked. I had not even thought that I may to explain what a coach does. When we got out of the car, with his ball in his hands and his soccer bag on his back, he was ready!

When we got to the field we both realized how cold it was, so I had to put on his big, puffy jacket. He looked so cute running around in that big thing. All of the parents were there cheering on their children and trying to help out. Seeing all of the dad's out there coaching their boys on the field really made me feel sad for Stephen and for Eli. I so wish he was here to do this with Eli.

Before going to practice, I wondered how well he would pay attention and do what was being asked of him. When we got there, I found out that he was the youngest player on the team. He did such a good job! He listened to the coach and did what the coach told him to do most of the time. Look at well he's listening in this picture.
They began by playing sink the ship. I had never heard of this before. One person stood with their legs spread apart and the other person had to try to kick the ball between their legs. Then all of the kids kicked their balls from one end of the field to the other, trying to kick it in the goal. Finally, it was time to take all of the balls away, all except one. The coach wanted them to practice only using one ball. So, Eli got the ball and took off with it. When someone caught up with him, they both just kind of stopped and looked at each other. What happened after that was quite comical as you can see in this video clip.

He was actually quite good, and most importantly, he had fun and wants to go back again. Their first game is March 22. GO ------ !! We don't have a team name yet. I'm not quite sure what will be on their shirts that have already been ordered if we don't have a team name. Just their name and number? Guess we'll find out next week. This is going to be so much fun!

Make Believe

Eli has definitely entered into the stage of make believe. This morning, he asked with great excitement in his voice, "Oh Mommy, do you see all of those little ducklings in the kitchen?" Did he have to ask? Of course I saw them. They were all swimming in the pond, under our dining room table. He went on to tell me that there was snake slithering around in the play area, and that there was a baby moose standing next to the front door. We came to the conclusion that the baby moose was waiting for us to leave so he could go outside. He's been making up things like this for a while, but it has become more frequent and elaborate just this week. I think reading What Would You Do With a Kangaroo? has really made his imagination soar when it comes to animals being in our house.

For some reason, Eli is scared of skunks. On the way home from Mom and Dad's the other night, there was a skunk walking on the side of the road. I, of course, pointed it out to Eli. When we got home, he was almost in tears talking about how the skunk was going to get him. He told me that he didn't want that stinky smell on him. While in his room last night, he said, "Look Mommy. There's a skunk." Playing along, I said, "Oh, I see it over there, and pointed to his open closet." He jumped up, got in my lap, and started to cry. Poor baby! I felt awful for scaring him like that. Guess I can play along as long as it's not a skunk he's talking about.

Nap time has been a problem since Eli stopped sleeping in his crib. Eli thinks of anything and everything he can to get out of bed. After getting out of bed for the third time today, I wasn't even going to listen to what he had to say. I mean he had water because he was thirsty, an extra blanket because he was cold, and he had Eddie and Mickey to sleep with him. What other stall tactic was he going to come up with now? I told him to go back to bed. He kept trying to tell me something, so I finally gave in, "What is it, Eli?" With concern in his eyes, he replied, "Mommy, Eddie keeps sitting up in bed." Eddie. What was that bear thinking disturbing Eli's nap like that? I told him to tell Eddie that Mommy said to lay down and stop getting up. This make-believe stage should be a fun one!

My Little Stud Muffin

It took Eli a very long time to get used to the idea of going to Mother's Morning Out one day a week. Would he ever stop crying and not wanting to go to school? For the first three or so months he cried every time I dropped him off and most of the time when I picked him up from school. I never thought he would get used to being away from Mommy and going to school. Then one day it happened! My little boy kissed me goodbye (a kiss I had to ask for), walked through the half door of his classroom, and began taking off is backpack and coat. He was officially a big boy now. Whew! Finally, no more crying and having to feel like I was devastating my baby when Ms. Judy had to peel him off of me to get him into the classroom. What a relief! This small Wednesday class consisted of nothing but boys until a couple of months ago when the class finally got a girl. Since then, they've added two more little girls to the class. Maybe having girls in the class is what it took for Eli to actually like going to school... Last week while talking about school, Eli said to me, "Zadie's cute, Mommy," and followed up with, "Kylie's cute, too." I thought it was really cute that he said that. Well, when I was talking to one of his teachers after school this week, she said to me, "Eli really likes Zadie." She then informed me that Eli tries to sit by her at lunch, and he pulls her mat next to his during quiet time so that she has to sit by him! Really? Is this happening already? I was trying to get my mind around it. I remember thinking a boy on my t-ball team was cute when I was six but I never would have told anyone. Then I remembered something. I remembered going with Aunt Kathy one day, many years ago, to pick Jenny up from school. She was Eli's age. I remember her kissing little boys though the window and telling us all about her three boyfriends. I got a good laugh thinking about that and so did Aunt Kathy when I told her about it. Anyway, I'm happy Eli likes school and is excited to go each and every Wednesday. Gotta love this face...

Has It Been 10 Months Already?

When I'm out and see someone with a newborn baby, it reminds me of just how much Bella has grown and changed since she was born. I can't belive she's ten months old already!

I'm just waiting for her to take off at any moment. She will take several steps before falling to the ground. She looks so adorable when she walks; she's such a tiny little thing. It just doesn't seem like she should be walking. She loves taking things out of baskets, buckets, closets... if she can empty it, she's all about it! Today, she emptied the entire bottom shelf of the linen closet. Bella also likes to take away, or tear apart, anything that Eli has or is trying to build.

**Bella is not 10 and 1/2 months old, and I have yet to finish this post. I'm posting it eventhough it is not complete.

Time For An Update

This update is long overdue! It's been over two months since I posted anything. It' not for a lack of trying. I guess you could say I had some computer issues. This won't be long. I'm just trying to play catch up. Wow, where do I start? I guess I'll start with the wonderful Christmas we had this year. This was Bella's first Christmas and the first Christmas where Eli was actually excited to play with his Christmas presents. The best thing about Christmas this year is that Stephen was home! Well, actually Stephen came home on the 26th. We were able to enjoy being a family for two weeks. Here are some pics from our many Christmas outings and celebrations throughout the month of December.

Santa's Village

Christmas Baking At Aunt Kathy's

Classic fist time in Santa's lap pic
Eli and Bella at their Christmas music recital

Christmas Eve
These pics were taken Christmas morning.

Welcome Home, Daddy!
Road trip to Troy



Happy New Year 2010
Christmas at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Kerry's on New Year's Day