Wyatt is 7!

I can't believe that my first born is seven years old.

Looking at this little collage of his sweet little life, I realize that as much as I hate cliches, the days really are long, and the years really are short.

His second day of life, second Christmas, first soccer game, hugs from Woody at Disney World, building train tracks, and baseball games and hockey lessons...all of these things, these moments, have shaped this smart, funny, active, emotional little boy of mine.  And they've shaped me too.  The tantrums that seemed like they might not ever end. (and oh yes, we've had them.  Sometimes we still do.)  The sportsmanship that we still have to work on at every game.  The shyness that sometimes makes him uncomfortable and extra silly in new situations.  I don't always know how to handle our every day.  But I'm learning with him.

And some of these things?  They're just my worries. Not his.

When I worry about whether or not his shyness-turning to-silliness causes him problems at school.  He is fine.  He has friends that he loves to play with.  He is doing so well academically. And he talks non stop while I'm there on Monday mornings.

When I hold my breath during every at bat worried that he might get out.  And that an out might be followed by a helmet flying across the dugout.

His coaches have that covered.  He is probably going to get called out every game and he needs to get used to it. And some parents see his passion and tell me they love how much he cares about little things like getting out. 

He is such a sweet boy, with an extra dose of competitive fire.  It drives him to be better at some things.  And it can sometimes get in the way of his relationship with his little sister (who is also competitive).  But it's who he is.

He has more energy than anyone I know.  He jumps out of bed (usually before the sun is up) and comes to ask Brian the scores of any games they watched the night before, then he starts playing a sport in the living room.  But do not interpret that as "he likes waking up and getting ready for the day." Getting ready for school is not high on his list of priorities.

He loves hockey and baseball and soccer, but that's not all of him.  He has a heart for animals.  He adores them.  Books about them, shows about them, seeing them in person.  He still dreams of being a paleontologist when he grows up.  And he has a memory that you wouldn't believe.

He loves his friends and family.  He and Reese are so competitive, but they love each other so much.  He and Hudson are "best buddies." And he and Finley?  They are super sweet together. When he finds friends that he clicks with, he is so happy.  It's one of the things he loves best about sports.  Sure, he gets to go play, but playing with Hunter or Aden or Evan or Jack - that's what he really loves.

He has other interests - super heroes (his current favorite is Captain America.  Probably because we let him watch it last week), Lego, his Hockey Guys, reading about things he's interested in (Elephant and Piggie, National Geographic books, and Berenstain Bears are his current favorites), and he's also developed a bit of an interest in Titanic.  But more often than not you'll find him in my living room with a hockey stick or a baseball bat.  It's just what he wants to do all the time.

Loving him and watching him grow has been such a fun, educational, emotional, crazy ride.  I can not wait to see what the next year brings us.  Actually, I can.  I'm hoping time slows down just a bit before we hit 8!

Happy Birthday, Wyatt! We love you!

Soccer and Baseball, Oh My!

I promise that our lives don't consist of Wyatt's sports and nothing else.  Saturdays are just the only day that I'm able to pick up my big camera!  I'm going to TRY to be more conscious about it next week.

Last Saturday was INSANE.

10:30 Soccer (which means out of the house by 9:45)

12:00 Birthday party for one of Wyatt's good friends 

1:00 Tee Ball for Reese 

3:00 Baseball scrimmage for Wyatt (which means home at 5:30).

Needless to say, it's good that we're now a two-cars-that-can-fit-more-than-one-kid-each family.

Wyatt's soccer game was really fun to watch (I use "fun" loosely because, well, it's soccer. And soccer to me is meh.  But my kid was playing, so FUN!).  His team had only played together twice before Saturday's game (at one practice and another game), and they played a team that has been together for awhile.  And it's a team of all girls.  Wyatt's last team suffered a tough loss to them, and our hopes weren't high for this game.

 But he and his buddy Jack scored a goal apiece.  Wyatt has headed the ball in the last two games.  It's weird because no one has taught him how to head the ball.

 A little celebrating occurred.

 He also got to be an official goalie for the first time.

 He was excited to try it, but I don't think that being goalie is his jam.  He needs to be in the middle of the action.  He spends his time in the goal following the ball at the opposite end of the field.

 The other team ended up tying the game in the last 30 seconds (really), but that made it exciting.

And after a birthday party, some pizza, Gatorade, a juice box, and water, this kid was ready to play baseball (not what I would feed him on a typical Saturday, but you know, birthday party!).

After a quick change of clothes, he hopped behind the plate.

 And then headed up to bat.

You know, just a typical Saturday.

Jumping the Boards

...is that what it's even called?  

We've been so busy with soccer and baseball over the last week and half that this poor guy hasn't been able to skate.

And in his words, that's "just not cool."

Brian set up two more skating sessions for him this week.

And he was really happy to be back on the ice.  

 It's amazing to me when I think about his progression over the last two months.  When he started lessons he could barely stand.  And now he sprints across the ice, and even has little "games" with his instructor at the end of each lesson!

Pretty sure hockey academy is a must do for this little guy this summer!

Sporty Happenings

I know it's only the third week of March, but spring sports are back with a vengeance around here!

Wyatt had his first soccer practice last Thursday, and his first game on Saturday.  I will try desperately to spare you the details of my dissatisfaction with his league.  We still don't have a game schedule.  We're just winging it week to week.  I'm told this is the norm for soccer leagues.  This disorganization really makes it fun for the kids.

We actually had decent weather for the game.  This little girl was able to run around the fields with her little brother.  She decided not to play soccer this season.

It was an interesting game.  We think that the team he played has already played together, while Wyatt's team seems to be a combination of kids who haven't ever played together before.  With a new coach.  And one practice.  But it's supposed to be about having fun, right? 

(Sidenote: That's not fun for my uber-competitive first born.)

Reese decided not to play soccer this year in favor of tee ball.  She already has dance and art, so loading her up with two sports seemed a bit much (for her.  And me.)

Does she make baseball look adorable, or what?

We went to get her a bat bag last week.  And somebody batted her eyes at daddy and walked away with a new pink helmet, purple socks, and a pink bat, glove, and bat bag.  She's serious about her style.

She's also serious about hitting.

Big brother was filling in at first base during the practice.  This went about as well as you might imagine.

They are in separate divisions (thank goodness!) so we shouldn't have to worry about this sort of showdown again!

We're ready for spring sports around here, now we just need the weather to cooperate.

Hitting Clinic with Michael Cuddyer

Sooooo, I'm a little late blogging this.  About 3 months late.  Oops.

Way back in December Wyatt went to a baseball camp with Michael Cuddyer.  He's from our area, and for the last few years he's had small clinics for local kids when he's here.  Wyatt loves watching him play on TV, and he stayed up late to watch him in the Home Run Derby last year.

When we told him he was going to a hitting clinic with him he was over the moon excited.  It was only a few days before Christmas, and it was kind of fun because he talked more about the camp than he did about Christmas  leading up to it.  I guess it's not every day that you get to hit with the National League batting champ!
(BJ and Justin Upton were also supposed to be there, but they weren't able to make it at the last minute.)

He rotated through a few stations before he got to hit with Cuddyer.

So excited to meet him!

Here he is hitting while Cuddyer pitched to him.  He got an "ooooh" from his group around 55 seconds in.  Cuddyer told him that he did awesome and that's how you're supposed to hit the ball.  His little six year old life was made!

They got autographs at the end, and Michael asked Wyatt whether his favorite team was the Yankees or the Dodgers, and Wyatt said both!  He said he understood and it was cool  that he had an American League team and a National League team.

I can't believe I completely forgot to blog about this. It's a good thing Wyatt spent the rainy afternoon glued to the Dodgers/Rockies spring training game - served as a nice reminder - ha!

My Bookshelf

One of my "resolutions" this year is to read more.  My goal is to read for at least a half hour each day.  Here is what is currently on my Kindle app (Brian got me an iPad Mini for my birthday!), or my nightstand (I like "real books" too).  I have either finished them, am in the midst of them, or they are next in my "queue."

1.  Say Goodbye to Survival Mode - Crystal Paine: I have started this, but I keep putting it off.  Not because I don't want to say goodbye to Survival Mode (I do!), but honestly, I can't get into it.  I know it has great reviews, but I think there's a conflict between what I read and how it's presented to me.  Does that make sense? I just haven't found anything that is truly motivational for me in the book.

2. The Life you Imagine - Derek Jeter: I have often thought that if Derek Jeter's parents would just write a parenting book, it would be at the top of my "must read" list.  This is as close as I'll get for now!

3. The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin: I'm reading this chapter by chapter as part of a book club.  I really like the premise, and I think it's a better "how to guide" than the first book.  Oh, these things might make me happier?  Okay, I can do it!

4. Raising Your Spirited Child - Mary Sheedy Kurcinka: Honest to goodness, this is NEEDED.  I am in the trenches of raising a spirited child, y'all.  Like she says in the book, everything one of my children feels, does, reacts to, is just, well MORE.  I am only a quarter of the way through the book, but I like the approach, I like the advice, I like, well, everything about this book.

5. The Antelope in the Living Room - Melanie Shankle: Fun, relate-able read.  I really enjoyed this book, and there were parts that I actually read out loud to Brian!

6. Balancing it All - Candace Cameron Bure: Meh. It was good for the Full House stories.

7. Hands Free Mama - Rachel Macy Stafford: Next up.

8. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell: This is a regular read for me.  I adore this book, and I want to read it again this year!

18 Months Old!

Finley Quinn is 18 months old!  I can't believe it - I know how cliche it is to say that the time goes by so fast, but it's the truth.  I can't believe that I've only known this sweet, sweet face for only 18 months!

I snapped this with my new lens.  She's messy and eating, but I adore this smile!

She has gotten so talkative lately.

Some of her favorite expressions are 

"Where Daddy?  Where Daddy go?"

"What's dat?"

and "Let it Go!" 

She has quite a vocabulary, but those are her favorite phrases.  She adores Doc McStuffins.  She doesn't actually watch it, but she gets down to the music, and she walks around with her stethoscope around her neck all the time.

We realized that none of the kids had ever tried a twinkie, so we bought them some at Target last week.  This little girl is very LOUD when she sees the other kids getting food.  She wouldn't stop screaming until she had one on her tray.

Little toddler in a puffy vest!

She adores the swings.  We have been able to stop at the park a few times on nice days, and she does not want to leave.

She is a tag-along toddler.  She usually does well when we have to take the kids to ice skating or soccer or baseball or after school pick ups.

She had her well check up on the third.  It was ANOTHER snowy day, but the snow held off until after her doctor's appointment.

Her Stats (she's still itty bitty)
Weight - 24 pounds, 9 ounces
Height - 30.5 inches

At 18 months she loves:
books
all music
her boo (blanket)
her pacifier (it will be gone soon-ish)
her daddy & mommy
Wyatt. She adores her big brother
grapes, cheese, waffles, Cheerios
taking her shoes off in the car
her elmo crayon toy
pony tails and bows
giving mean looks to people (truth)

And for everyone's viewing pleasure, here are Finley and Hudson (and the rest of the family) performing a "Let It Go/Everything is Awesome" medley.

)

February Little Things

Well, February flew right by, didn't it?  I figured I should blog about some of the little things we did all month (in no particular order)!

Our trip to the aquarium on President's Day.  They love the turtles.

This girl is very attached to the tee pee.  It is her favorite place to hang out!

Reese made her Abe Lincoln hat and beard at school, and told me that this is what "Honest Abe looked like before he got shot in the noggin."  Yeah.

Wyatt was "caught being good" at school one day...in music class.  What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall in that classroom.  The note said he was being a "super listener."

Oh Hudson.  He has been an ornery little creature lately, but he has been so sweet while doing it.  He was doing so well sharing a room with Wyatt, but lately it has become a bit of a challenge to get him to stop trying to make Wyatt laugh at bedtime.  By 7:00 (which is bedtime), Wyatt is usually exhausted.  Hudson, however, has taken a nap and isn't quite as tired.  So he does silly things.  Like pull his baseball glove chair into his crib so he can read a book.  This kid.

Reese was ready to move to a big girl bed (she was still sleeping in her princess toddler bed).  She was insistent on a day bed, because she wanted more space to play.  In my mind I heard this:

Source

But it actually ended up being more like this!  She loves her bed and says that it's her comfy couch during the day, and it's a comfy bed at night.  The bed is wonderful and it was FREE!  My mom and dad have had it in their den/office/spare room forever, and my dad primed and painted it for her.  And my mom got her all the bedding.  It was the best Valentine's Day present ever!

This little girl can't climb on the couch yet, but she will hang out when I put her up there.  Excuse the bangs.  We're growing them out!

One of my favorite things about the way our house sits on our lot is this view.  Now, it was a lot better before the houses went up (WHY do neighborhoods have to be finished?  HA!), but the sunsets always look amazing from my kitchen.  It was more purple this night than the picture shows.  

Once it's July and 86 degrees at 7PM, I will complain about how freaking hot my kitchen is.  True Story.

This little girl has been such a trooper hanging out at Wyatt's ice skating lessons.  She is generally pretty happy.  As long as snacks are provided, that is.

There were hockey games last weekend, and Reese and Wyatt couldn't agree on who was going to the game with Brian on Friday and who was waiting to go on Saturday.  I made them write their names down on a piece of paper, and then Hudson drew a name out of the hat.  He took his job very seriously.

Reese's class learned about Presidents last month.  She brought this home at the end of the month.  I love her attention to detail in his pin!  Fortunately she has moved on from pronouncing his name as "B'rocking Mama."

Wyatt lost TWO teeth this month, on back to back days.  The tooth fairy forgot to visit the second night, so she left him an extra dollar the next day to make up for the inconvenience.

All dressed up for her pony pictures last week.  She spent time making sure she had everything she needed to look like a "real cowgirl."

And also a President's Day lesson.  You can't just teach them about the good ones, can you?  I sent her out in the backyard with a box and talked about Hoovervilles and the Great Depression.  What five year old wouldn't find that conversation to be fun and educational?

So that was our February.  Now on to March.  My birthday was yesterday, but now it's time to get ready for my big guy's birthday on  the 30th!