First Game

Andrew loves soccer. Mostly he just loves running around and playing with the other kids.





That's right, Andrew, get your body in front of the other guy.



This boy is Carter, one of Andrew's best friends. They go to preschool together, they're in Sunbeams together, and they're on the same soccer team. And yes, sometimes that much closeness does get out of hand. I think they aren't allowed to sit together or stand in line together at school, something about dinosaurs attacking each other or some such nonsense.



And this is how he usually ends up about halfway through the game. Andrew is very social, very much the extrovert, but he doesn't have a single aggressive bone in his body. He likes to score and win, but the kid just doesn't have that killer instinct. Usually halfway through the game he loses interest in the attack and starts to wander around the field. He's such a sweetheart.

Bye Bye Binky

Where did my baby go? Willa LOVED her binky. Her binky was a permanent feature. She usually held multiple binkies in her hand, and could take a binky out of her mouth, hook it around her thumb, drink from her sippy, and replace the binky, all in one fluid move. It was hilarious.

Of course she slept with her binky (the trick was to keep about 4 of them in the bed, so she could always easily find them in the night).



And at baseball games.



While collecting Easter eggs.



You get the idea. But now she is binky-free. One night I took the binkies out of her bed and pretended like they didn't exist. Shockingly, she didn't ask for them. And that's how the binkies went bye bye. Because she was so hooked, I had probably dozens of binkies stashed around the house, in diaper bags, purses, church bags, everywhere. I'm still discovering hidden binkies and getting rid of them. Every time I find one I get a little twinge. When did she get so big? All her little baby-isms are disappearing. Now she's so smart, and independent (which is code for "she says NO all the time"), and it makes me miss my little chubby baby.



See the binky?



Now she's a big girl. And watch out, she's armed. But it's only in self-defense. Andrew tends to attack with little warning.

Fireman Andrew

Our local fire station has an open house every year, and Andrew has come to look forward to it. Just look at his face.


He's riding in the truck.



And working the line.



And they set up a zip line chair which is all kinds of fun.



And apparently here he's plotting to take off with the fire truck.

I'm a Soccer Mom

It was inevitable, really. But now it's official. Andrew started soccer this week. Today was supposed to be his first game, but apparently they don't play soccer when there's a hurricane outside. Wimps.

Here he is in all his gear, ready to go. Ever since we bought all the equipment he's been so excited to finally be able to put it all on and play. (And if you look closely you can see my new blue walls in the background. What d'ya think?)


He was actually pretty good at dribbling.


But not so good at listening to and following the coach. Where did everybody go?


And now he's kicking the other kids while they're down. Hey, if you fall down in front of the ball then you're fair game, right?


Andrew's friend from Sunbeams, Carter, is on the same team. They are also in the same preschool class this year. I'm a little worried that with all this familiarity Andrew's going to feel a little too comfortable at school this year, and start acting like he does at home. And that isn't good for anyone.


Willa had to play soccer too, and kept trying to take her ball out on the field with Andrew. You can see from how drenched she is that she was working hard.


All in all he had a good start, and only asked me once during practice if he could leave and go play at the playground.

You should see the other guy

It doesn't look too bad now, but you should have seen him when it happened. He was out playing with the neighborhood kids when the neighbor mom sent him home. He comes running in the door yelling, "It's not that bad! I don't need to come in! I'm fine!" Meanwhile, blood was literally dripping down his face. Casey just laughed and got the camera.

The Last Home Game

Summer really is coming to an end. Casey and Andrew headed to the Potomac Nationals' last home game, despite the cold and rain. I learned my lesson with Miss Cry-a-lot -- I mean, lovely Willa -- and stayed toasty warm and dry at home.


Check out this kid. This is his new thing, sticking out his tongue. Of course, I might do the same if my jeans were soaked through and I was stuck on metal bleachers.


One good thing about being the only die-hard fans in attendance: Andrew finally got a T-shirt.

Tagged...

My friend Emily tagged me like a million years ago, but I was on vacation and not posting at all, so now I'm answering. I've never done this before, but here goes...

Three JOYS
1. Casey
2. Andrew
3. Willa

Is that cheating? Okay, I'll do it for real.

1. My family (duh).
2. Cold coke zero when I'm really hot and thirsty.
3. The quiet of sleeping children. Sometimes I have a hard time going to bed myself when I have all those peaceful hours in front of me.

Three FEARS
1. Any harm coming to a member of my family.
2. Andrew's health will be threatened again and he'll need more surgery.
3. My children will know sorrow and disappointment, and there will be nothing I can do to prevent it.

Current Obsessions
1. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (I just discovered this blog and stayed up all night reading her story. I'm completely hooked.)
2. HGTV. I'm in the (SLOW) process of painting and decorating my main floor.
3. The IKEA catalog. Maybe it's because I was out of town for a month, but I'm feeling like nothing in my house or my life is in its place, and I NEED it (whatever "it" is) to be in its place. My husband is probably getting sick of hearing about the different shelving systems I want to install.

Three FACTS
1. Very shortly I will have lived in Virginia longer than anywhere else in my life. I guess that means I'm from Virginia. Which is weird.
2. I hate flying. I wish people would control their children on airplanes. Wait, those are MY hellions making all the noise...?
3. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Specifically eggs benedict.

I'll give my sisters a break and won't tag them...