Football... Nope. Futbol.

I think I mentioned that Jake is playing football. Oops. I wish that was right. It's actually soccer that he's playing. But, c'mon, guys. He's only three. As much as we might love to, we can't tape his pants and pads on and I'm pretty sure that they don't make shoulder pads in a size 2T. :)


Until then (hopefully), we have Jake in a sport that he really seems to love - soccer. 


He did so much better last week than I expected him to. He and the other players, including our little buddy, Joseph, did a really good job. It was a lot of fun to watch them. Be prepared... I'm sure there will be more funny stories, photos, and maybe, if I can ever get organized enough, a video or two. :) 


To treat you to the view, here are some photos of little man (and some of Joseph) playing ball. 

Status: Updated

I feel the need to blog. I want to write. I want to tell you all about everything. But, in all honesty, I feel like a broken record. 


We've been busy. 


We are tired. 


I have run (a lot). 


The kids are growing like crazy and doing every activity imaginable.


My husband rocks. 


I love my friends. 


I love my family. 


I am healthy.


I am blessed.

The end. :) 


Just kidding. Although, it does kind of feel that way sometimes. I guess a lot of times when I sit down to write, I think about all that we are doing and I write from that perspective. So, sometimes, I feel like my posts end up feeling like status updates (really long ones) instead of emotional posts. There's not anything wrong with these status updates, but sometimes I even get bored writing them, so I feel like someone out there just HAS to be bored reading it. lol. 


However, I am going to keep posting. :)


In thinking about where we left off, Jake did better at preschool on Thursday. He didn't cry when I left him, because he was busy playing with a train set. However, he assured me later that he did cry to Mrs. M once I was gone. :) He wants me to feel like crap... I am certain. 


Friday was wonderful for him... he spent the entire day in his pajamas, playing with his toys. I cleaned the house and we picked up Bailey from school. Then, Joseph and Paul came over while Rebecca and I ran. And, I ran 5 miles (nothing in comparison to Rebecca's 10 miles). It was the farthest I have run, so I was pretty excited. And exhausted. 


Saturday, we had our first soccer practice for Jake and Joseph's team. They were great. Brad and Paul are the coaches, and in comparison to the spring, all four of the boys were much more prepared. :) The kids really did well (all of them). Jake whispered to me after it was over, "Can we please play again?" Apparently, he loves it. And, then it was off to tailgate for the day. The kids had a great time hanging out with some other kids where we tailgated. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and relaxed. It was a beautiful day and the kids really enjoyed it as much as we did. When the game was about to start, we packed everything up. Bailey and I headed home, and Brad and Jake headed to the ballgame. Now, I am going to do an emotional post about this one... :) It means so much to have that male bonding time. And, I can totally tell you what a sap I am when I see a dad with his little boy going to a football game. :) More about that in a bit. :) 


And, then there was Sunday. Late on Saturday night, I decided that I was going to get up and run the 10K with Rebecca, despite my aversion and nervousness. It's 6.2 miles. I ran 5 on Friday. Surely, I could run 6.2, even if I had to walk a little. Well... Sunday morning, I decided not to. My legs had hurt all night long and I wasn't feeling up to it. I did, however, go and run that morning and was able to run 4 miles. I was reassured that I made the right choice by not going. My legs were too tired and I totally would not have been able to push through and run 6.2. So, that was the early part of Sunday. 


We spent the day at home, relaxing, doing laundry, and playing in the yard, until that evening. Bailey and Jake had a t-ball game, so we were off to the ballpark, again. :) They did well. Bailey played first base. I don't really understand what the coach was thinking. She can't really catch that well. At all. She ducked twice when the ball was thrown to her. lol. Fortunately, it only lasted an inning. Brad really tried to help her and she really tried to listen. She's just not ready for first base. lol. Jake did well hitting and running, but the outfield was another story. For example, I have cleat mark bruises on my shins from picking him up off the ground a few times and him kicking me. Needless to say, he sat in the dugout in "timeout" a couple of times. It was a very long ballgame.I was ready to kill my son by the end of the game. We are on the countdown now. I know that sounds terrible, but we only have 4 more games. Fall ball has not been nearly as fun as spring. It has been great for Jake, in that he has had an opportunity to learn without being in a competitive environment. It has been good for Bailey, because she's had opportunities to play in the in-field a lot. By the same token though, had we practiced more, I think she would have learned more. And, I have to think that if they gave her one position to focus on instead of moving her to each position on the field, she would learn how to play that one position well. Oh well...  Brad and I are both ready to get back to the spring season, where we have regular practices and games that actually keep score. But before that, we are ready for a break from t-ball. :) 


And, that catches you up on our lives. :) 


Status: Updated. 

About the kiddos...

In order to not focus on my frustrations about my ankle, I figure now would be a good time to give everyone an update on the kiddos.

They are, as always, great... busy, but great. T-ball is consuming our lives right now, as Bailey's team fights to bring back a great team from last year. We are young (we only have three 6-year olds, with one of those being a first-time ball player and another being a very young 6-year old). So, our season has been up and down. They have improved SO much since the beginning of the season, which is truly exciting. We are doing much better than many of the teams in our league, but hey, we were nearly undefeated all season last year. As competitive as we are, we like to win. Brad is helping coach and I help by keeping the stats for our team. That means, Jake and I are confined to a dugout full of kids that yell and scream, love to hit each other, and find ways to get on each other's nerves. lol. It's really fun... despite how it sounds. Bailey is doing decent. She's still not ready to play the in-field. I can't recall if I posted a blog about her being hit by the ball while she dug in the dirt instead of paying attention at the beginning of the season. That was when they were thinking she might be able to play the in-field. That isn't happening. :) She does really well with hitting and running the bases. It's slightly frustrating for us with Bailey. She can run so much faster, hit the ball so much harder, and actually throw so much better than she does when she's on the field. We can't really understand why it is that she just takes her good ole sweet time getting to the bag after she hits the ball, but she does. I guess she's just a little girl... lol. As competitive as she is with everything else, I just don't see how she hasn't figured out that she's racing the ball to first base. But, oh well... she'll figure it out or not and we'll move on with life. In any case, she enjoys going and likes the social aspects of the sport, so we continue. And, we love it, too, which helps. :)

Jake's soccer season is just about to end. His last practice will be on Saturday. The team is just now figuring it out and it's already time for it to end. lol. Brad is the coach and it's quite hilarious to see him and our friend, Paul, keeping the attention of ten 3-year olds, but they have managed pretty well. Jake is so proud of his daddy for being the coach, even if he only plays a portion of the time (the other portion is spent chasing Paul's son, Joseph, around and then tackling each other). Every time we mention soccer to Jake, he says, "Jake play soccer... and Daddy play soccer, too." It's so cute. He's so eager to be a part of all of these sports. T-ball practice proves to be difficult because he just can't understand why he can't get out there and play too.

Another thing Jake is saying that is so cute... "On Monday." Every time Jake asks me if we can do something, like go visit grandparents or Cilla, I'll say, "One day..." Jake has turned that into Monday. Now, every time he asks me if we are going to some specific place and I say no, he responds with, "Ok... we go on Monday." It's hilarious.

Well, I know there's so much more to write, but I'm tired and have to get Brad motivated to pack. Yep... he's out of town for a few days for work. So, I'm on my own with practices, kids, etc. Fun times. :) He will be missed, but thank God I'm not working. Life is so much easier now. :)

Play ball...

It is that time of year... spring. The time of year that my allergies kick in, so I am living in a semi-foggy state. All the same, one of my favorite times of the year. It is time to get out of the house and play some ball. And this year, we are not only fully-engrossed in t-ball with Bailey, we are playing three-year old kick start soccer with Jake. Talk about hectic... We are now parents of children involved in three sports... soccer, t-ball, and swimming. And, to beat it all, Brad is assistant coach in t-ball and head coach for soccer. Yes, you read that right, head coach for three-year old soccer. Yes, he has a wish to have a stroke before he's thirty. He'd have to, right? He and our friend Paul are managing (or attempting to manage) ten three-year olds while they teach them soccer skills. Funny that neither of them has ever played soccer. :)

Anyway... our schedule is filling up with all these things. And, we love it. Saturday morning, we were at the soccer field at a bright and early 9:45 for Jake's soccer practice (they don't really play games, just learn skills at this point). I was dreading to see how he was going to do. I had to miss the first practice the week before to take Bailey to her t-ball game that was at the same time. Apparently, Jake was horrible at his first practice. Brad had to run after him a couple of times, after he attempted to run to the parking lot. Yes... we have THAT child. :) Yet, this week was much different. He still came off the field a few times and had to be physically moved to line up a couple of times, but he did spend most of the time on the field, actually kicking his soccer ball. He and his friend, Joseph, are on the same team and also enjoyed a few moments of tackling each other and wrestling on the ground, while the rest of the team played freeze tag with the coaches (Jake and Joseph's dads). :) Funny how that works out sometimes!

Bailey is also enjoying t-ball this year. I was a little concerned at the beginning of the season that we were going to have to play her in the in-field because our team is pretty young, but after putting her in the second base position and allowing her to get hit by a ball because she was busy digging in the dirt, I think the coaches (and everyone else) realized it was a good idea for her to play outfield again. lol. She gets bored with the outfield, but understands that until she's really ready to watch the ball the ENTIRE game, she is going to have to stay out there. She asked me why she didn't get to play in the in-field and I explained to her that she had to work really hard to watch the ball and throw it to first if it came to her. She responded with, "Well... maybe I'll just stay in the outfield a little while longer." That's my girl. lol. She is hitting really well and has increased her speed this year, which is good. And, she knows how to run the bases, which helps. So, maybe a softball future is in the cards... we'll see. :) As long as she's having fun, right? And, she is. The whole team is. They have these chants that they yell in the dugout. I think I could hear them in my sleep because they really are that loud. But, that's what they love... being loud (and obnoxious). :)