Team Monkey Joe's

Well we did it, our first foray into the world of team sports.  Sam has completed his first season on a soccer team.  That's right, I am no officially a soccer mom.  And actually, I am Team Mom as well, but that's another discussion.

I signed Sam up through Katy Youth Soccer Club, a huge league that organizes teams all the way up to the teenage bunch.  Sam's U5 division was the youngest, and is a non-competitive 3-on3, no goalie division.  Their fields are tiny and the kids are taller than the goals.  Each team has 10 kids and plays 2 fields simultaneously on Saturdays.

I can honestly say that we saw dramatic improvement over the season.  Honestly, after the first few games I had resigned myself to the fact that Sam wasn't going to be good at soccer.  He was great when he had his own ball, dribbling around, shooting, etc, but as soon as he got onto the field, he lagged the others, didn't get after the ball and showed little interest in the actual game. 

Halfway through the season something clicked.  At his 8:15 game in mid-October the boy scored about 10 goals.  He was in there, he was aggressive, he ran down the field with drive and purpose.  He wanted to score, he wanted control of the ball.

And here is where I show my true colors: I had more fun watching Sam play that day than any previous game.  Maybe Mommy is a bit competitive?

It wasn't just Sam that was getting it, though.  The coach was able to start working on things like passing (a novel concept in the pre-k world) and you could see the boys trying to use team work on the field!

Lest I paint you a picture of some near-pro athletes here, I will also reveal that by the last game: play still continued behind and around the goal (think hockey), parents kicked the ball back onto the field, there were no penalty kicks or throw ins, and very few conceptualized that kicking off was a bad thing (meaning that the other team had just scored).

The game schedule was all over the place and kept us guessing, but it was nice to have a game to look forward to each Saturday.  The boys practiced once a week and I got to know some parents that way.  They group the teams by elementary school, so I met people who live close by, too.  It was a bit comical to see the varying levels of commitment and "enthusiasm" amongst the parents in our league.  Some are of the notion that sports are of end-all, be-all importance, even in preschool, and some have zero commitment at all to the activity they signed up for.  It'll be interesting to see how the dynamics change as Sam gets older - I am told we moved to a sports-obsessed community and I'm already seeing glimpses of it!

Sam really enjoyed himself.  I think he felt quite big being on a team, with a uniform and all.  He also started having more fun with the games once he started scoring goals!  He has told me that he really likes soccer and wants to play again in the spring - since Daddy says he is too young for t-ball, he just might get his wish!

Oh, and the boys and coach cam up with the name Team Monkey Joe's.  Monkey Joe's is an indoor party play place around here - and we're going there for our team party tonight!  

Lately...

An update via iPhone pictures...

We've had two cold nights.  Temps in the 30's folks!  Sam and I decided it was time try out our fireplace for the first time and it was lovely.  So lovely that I sat there to finish my bible study after he went to bed.

Someone has been loving her baby doll recently!  She used to just hug and hold but she is getting better at feeding and trying to brush hair.  Just for reference: she calls baby dolls and stuffed animals "baby."  She does will not call a human baby "baby."

Sam asked me to take this one at the mall playground.  Your wish is my command!

Chris and I had bruschetta as a side dish recently, but we just gave the kids plane bread.  After watching us put things on top of our slices for most of the meal, Annabelle decided to put her carrots on her bread.

Sam was assigned a "Family Art Project."  How did we do?  That would be sequins, saw dust, ribbon, candy wrappers and newsprint adorning our bird.

Annabelle now recognizes the sound of the phone on my camera and says "see see!" as soon as I snap a picture.  She loves looking at her own pictures.

A big moment in a boy's life: his first time looking through the Toys-R-Us Christmas Toy Book/Ad.  Believe it or not this is more a lesson in restraint than greed - he is learning that he doesn't need all of the toys they make and he should think carefully before making a decision!

Halloween 2013

Wrapping up the October fun, its Halloween Week!

Sam's school does not officially recognize Halloween, but they do throw a might cute Noah's Ark Parade.  Everyone must come in an Animal costume.  Truth be told, most of Sam's class had no interest in being an animal for Halloween, so most of their costumes were back-ups or quick pull-togethers.  Sam was fortunate enough to borrow Leo's Elephant (you've seen this before!) and looked great for the parade.  I told him to wave to me during the parade, and he did with enthusiasm.  Only down side, I couldn't really get a picture without his hand in front of his face!  He was excited that "he was first" in the song they played - meaning that the elephant was the first animal mentioned.  Oh how that child loves to be first.

Sam's parade was only half the school - its so big!  I love the way they parade the toddler around - keep 'em contained!  And I love the picture of Sam's teacher playing double duty, parading with her class while simultaneously snapping a picture of her 2 year old in costume.

Pumpkin carving was a family affair this year.  Sam and I did they drawing, and yes there are 6 eyes per Sam's request.  And a tooshie, also at his request.  Sam and Annabelle made their best go at scooping out all the insides, and really they made pretty good progress.  Daddy and Sam did the carving, daddy with the knife and Sam with the pokers.  I think the end result was pretty awesome!

Trick-or-Treating almost didn't happen this year.  It rained HARD for 6 hours on Halloween morning, and most of the day before.  Streets were flooded, and the interwebs were abuzz with people making plans to head to the mall, etc.  But things started to clear up about 3:00 and we ended up with a really beautiful night.  The kids were comfortable in their costumes (not sweating!) and the skies were clear.  So thankful!

Annabelle totally got the hang of Trick-or-Treating this year.  Honestly, one house and she was on board.  She marched right up all those front walks and knocked on the door, ever more excited when she heard a "woof woof" inside.  She'd reach her hand in the bowl and pull more and more candy out until the bowl or her hand was moved away.  Occasionally she was so focused on the process that she dropped her loot into her brother's bag!

Sam of course is old hat by now.  He declared the requisite "trick-or-treat" for both of them, and was careful in his candy selections.  He declared that he was tired after a small number of houses, but I think he really just wanted to go home and eat candy.  I knew he'd be bummed later if we cut it short, so we pressed on.  Both kids returned home with a pretty good stash!

When we were done making our rounds we joined the rest of our neighbors in the center of the cul-de-sac for a mini block party.  All the candy bowls on one table (efficient for the kids!) and the neighbor's hobby truck all decked out with smock machine, pop up goblins and the like.  The adults hung out there until about 9 and had a great time being neighborly.

Happy Halloween!