We interrupt this regularly scheduled (or, these days, I should say irregularly scheduled :-) blog because we are MOVING today!! Our house is ready (well, move-in ready) after 7 looooong months of construction. I don't know when we'll have internet up and running but hopefully I'll be back to blogging soon. Stay tuned!!

Team Soccerellas

Caroline is officially a soccer player...she is on Team Soccerellas :-) Matt and I were hesitant to let her start soccer so young, but we didn't want to pass up an opportunity for Caroline to be on a team with some of her besties. We knew it would be so much fun for her! We had our first practice last Sunday. We love our team and our awesome coaches, Coach Scott and Coach Casey!!

 

Goal!!

Caroline was very serious about her drills and did such a good job practicing:

However, when it was time to scrimmage, she couldn't be less interested. She decided it was more fun to play Ring Around the Rosie with Lucy instead ;-) Games should be interesting, ha!

Bubs had a great time practicing too. I think he is ready to be on his own team!

Two soccer balls...score!!
 

Things I learned from our first practice:

***Caroline LOVES soccer so far and has asked to go back to practice every day

***She is so excited to be on a team with her sweet friends

***Bows do NOT belong at soccer practice/games, oops :-)

***We are in MAJOR need of some athletic clothes and shoes

***We can't wait for our first game...go Soccerellas!!

14 Months Old

Matthew is 14 1/2 months old!!

 

Recently, Matthew...

• fully dropped his morning nap and now takes one afternoon nap that usually lasts anywhere from 2-3 hours
• HAS to go to sleep exactly at 7:00 and sleeps until about 7:30 in the morning
• Loves to eat breakfast and dinner but isn't a huge fan of lunch
• Loves pizza, eggs, pancakes, veggies, peanut butter sandwiches, french fries, bananas, graham crackers...these are just some favorites, however, he generally eats whatever we put in front of him (unless it's lunchtime :-)

• LOVES to read! Which makes this book-lovin' momma SO happy! I so badly want my kids to love reading. Matthew now requests/is obsessed with Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz. He says "dada" and points to the book over and over until we read it to him. It's part of every bedtime routine now. Matthew will also sit and listen to 3-4 books at a time. He loves to point to different things and loves turning the pages.
• thinks it's so funny to "give" us things and will try to hand us almost anything in his hands...he laughs when we say thank you

 

• has 3 new molars that just came in with 3 more teeth on the way...grand total almost equalling 14 teeth
• wears a size 3 diaper still but I need to move him up to size 4 diapers
• wears size 12-18 month clothes

 

• loves to wave "hi" and "bye"
• is still my cuddler before bedtime
• loves to smile and laugh
• is a little reserved/cautious like his sister
• is obsessed with cups/lids and bottles/caps...obsessed I tell you!
• gives head bonks instead of kisses :-)
• signs please, more, all done and nods "yes/no" appropriately
• loves animals and loves to point out dogs, birds, squirrels, etc... when we're outside
• makes the lion, cow, and snake sounds
• sometimes makes the letter s, b, and m sounds when asked
• says dada, mama, Yaya, cracker, banana, cookie, down, up, and a modified version of sissy, however, his main mode of communication is still screaming at the top of his lungs (sigh)
• can identify his head, tummy, and foot
• always closes doors and gets stuck in closets and rooms
• is walking everywhere and fast...he hardly crawls anymore
• loves to ride in Caroline's red car even though he can't push it with his feet yet
• likes to play with puzzle pieces and still likes to carry balls around
• he especially loves playing with soccer balls and can even walk and kick them
• hit a golf ball with Caroline's putter this month...Matt was proud :-)
• is really enjoying playing with Caroline more and more, especially in the bath
• wants to be playing right next to his sister at most times
• holds Caroline's hand in the car...melts my heart every time
• gets VERY mad now when Caroline takes a toy away from him
• still loves climbing and can scale a playground in no time
• wants nothing to do with: having his diaper changed, getting dressed, being told "no"...tantrums are now in full swing, getting out of the bath, sitting in a high chair for very long, watching t.v., swinging
• wants everything to do with: his sister and daddy, dancing, listening to music, playing outside (he asks to go outside all day long), doing the motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider", climbing on anything he can especially stairs, playing with legos

Happy 14 Month birthday, little man! Oh how we love your feisty personality, twinkling blue eyes, contagious smile with those precious dimples, and sweet hugs and head bonks :-) 

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

We got to ring in the New Year at the Smith's house with some of our favorite people...our Supper Club group! We included the kids and it was a fun, crazy time! We picked up pizza from Coal Vines and had a blast eating, talking for hours and playing Wits and Wagers (such a cool, new game). The kids enjoyed eating, playing & watching a movie.
Caroline & Saylor at one of the kids' tables

Press, James & Mae at the other kids' table

The three "littles": Julia, Gray & Matthew...I have no idea who or what they are looking at in this picture but I love all of their expressions:

Matthew and Gray stayed up very late...7:30 p.m. :-) The other kids made it until 10:30 which was surprising.

Matthew liked Morty, Erica's cat, at little TOO much:

Deep in conversation...I can only imagine what they were talking about. They're both talkers!

A sweet sibling moment

The "bigs" enjoying popsicle time

Saylor couldn't hear the movie with all of the noise the kids were making so she pulled her chair right up to the t.v. Funny girl!

Our Supper Club:

(Top, from left) Jason, Kelly, Amy & Craig

(Bottom, from left) Erica, Matt, me & my Matt :-)

Love these folks!

Thanks for hosting, Smiths! We had so much fun!