Saturday, April 19, 2008

Grant's First Soccer Clinic


Today was Grant's first soccer clinic. He met his new coach and his teammates on the "blue team". He was a little shy at first about sitting down with the player from the Ann Arbor Arsenal that was running his section of the clinic, but given a few minutes to warm up ... he did awesome! He had a blast! We were almost brought to tears watching our little man playing his first organized sport! He has been pretty pumped about playing since Todd took him to get his shin guards, socks and cleats. He had to try them on for me as soon as they got home so that I could see what everything looked like!


He actually listened to instructions while they were called out in each exercise! He impressed us with a lot of his abilities and how he kept at it until he got it. He didn't even get frustrated! That was a huge boost for me since I've worried so much about him going to kindergarten and throwing some sort of fit if he didn't understand something! Phew! They had to come up with different ways to move the ball (besides kicking), different ways to move (besides running), and they learned how to change directions without touching the ball. Grant was really proud of himself when he "mastered" that! We even heard a few "Mommy...Daddy ... did you see that?!?!?"

Grant had a great time ... he scored three goals and reminded us of it several times. The above video shows the goal that resulted in the "clinic coach" saying "Nice Shot #19!" (that's Grant's number by the way .... ). How exciting...and the pride that I felt when I heard that! That's OUR child that they were praising! And, of course, Grant had to make sure that we knew that too!

When we came home, that's all he wanted to do ... play soccer! And, he can't wait until this week's practice on Wednesday or the game! He's so excited about soccer, he has Gavin DEMANDING that he should play too! Maybe next year ....

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Child Safety

So ... we've been trying to keep things in our house very safe. Gavin likes to open the refrigerator, open the oven, and get into just about every cupboard, room and closet that he shouldn't. We went hog wild with the child safety devices. We even attempted to upgrade the ones we had from Grant since Gavin had figured out how to circumvent them. Well, we now have SOME latches on cupboards that seem to work and covers on the burner knobs. All other child safety items have been destroyed or "figured" out by little Gavin. He is just too curious and stubborn to give up on getting into what/where he wants!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Little Bunny Foo Foo




The boys thought it would be fun to sing a little song while wearing the sunglasses left for them in their baskets by the Easter Bunny!




Quick Little Update ...

Well, it has been nearly two months since my last post. The boys have been keeping me very busy! When they are napping I'm busy keeping the house clean or getting dinner ready and then by the evening, I am ready for bed! So ... my updates have been very well ... I've really slacked off!

We had a lot of fun out in the snow this winter! I would shovel snow off our deck and down a set of steps ... the boys and I would then sled down the hill into the yard! We had a blast! It wasn't Dzia Dzia and Bushi's, but it was fun!

Grant and Gavin had a great Easter! Gavin had a hand in decorating the eggs this year, and he did a really good job! His eggs were one of two colors, but he still did a great job! Gavin did partake in the Easter egg dye to see how it tasted ..."mmm, like it" was his response, I do believe ... The Easter Bunny was very good to these boys! They got all the right candy, and all their eggs were hidden. According to Grant, though, "our Easter bunny doesn't hide eggs really well". Gavin found two eggs, while Grant found 16! Oh well ... Gavin will give him a run for his money next year I'm sure. Once Gavin found his basket, he wanted NOTHING to do with the eggs anyway!
Grant and Gavin have a lot of fun with their art projects too! They love to paint, and Gavin ... well, he likes to drink the water. This water wasn't as popular as the egg dye, but still ... he had to try it! They both have pretty creative imaginations and like to express themselves in many different ways. Grant has used nail polish on walls and furniture, and Gavin has used toothpaste on doors, carpet and walls to show their artistic abilities. I, however, prefer the more controlled atmosphere in the kitchen, on a table cloth, and mommy watching very closely for the dump of the art supplies onto the floor!
Dzia Dzia and Todd have started finishing our basement and it is really coming together. Almost all of the dry wall has been hung, and next will be the mudding. I'm hoping to get to help with that part of it. The boys have enjoyed watching all the progress and have gotten to "help" out a little bit. That really excites them, and they just talk nonstop about it! They have their own little aprons and they put them on when Dzia Dzia gets here. It is probably taking them a bit longer to do it because they have the boys tagging along, but both Todd and my dad seem to enjoy the time with the boys, and I know that the boys are really enjoying it too! They have even taken to helping with other things like mashing potatoes and they are helping me come up with ideas on how we are going to organize their toys down there. They cannot wait to have a room to play in and have a blast. Both Dzia Dzia and Bushi's house and Nana and Papa's house have basements with play areas that the boys LOVE to spend time in and we cannot wait for them to have the same thing here!
We took Grant for kindergarten round up this week! I cannot believe that he will be starting kindergarten in the fall! He took a little while to warm up, but once he did, he showed them what he knew and how well he knew it! He impressed me with his behavior and I am really looking forward to him going. We have planned a special birthday party to celebrate his 5th birthday and he is really excited about it! We are going to have some of his friends included which makes him really happy! Grant has also decided that he wants to play soccer ... so we registered him for the Spring season, and he will be starting April 19th! I'm gonna be a soccer mom! Look out ... here I come with my soccer mom SUV and my little men ready to play!
The boys and I have had our rough spots over the winter months. We've struggled with the cabin fever that set in when the temperatures were so low that we couldn't go outside. We tried to get out and go to the mall to play, we lunched at McDonald's with play areas, and we have ventured over to a little playscape place close to home. We have made it to the warmer weather again, and I am really looking forward to playing outside with them ... walking, riding bikes, going to the playground, blowing bubbles, using sidewalk chalk, watching Grant play soccer and hitting the zoo!