Soccer

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend so far.  We are having some beautiful weather down here so we are trying to make the most of it.  Today both Kaelan and Max had their 1st soccer games.  Kaelan has only had 1 practice before this and for Max, this was his very first organized sporting experience.  I was beyond excited for him.  I knew he would love running around and being outside with other kids his age.  Only problem was, we were also participating in a community yard sale this morning, which was so necessary to clean out our garage (and Nana's attic).  So, I stayed home to man the sale and Mike took both boys to soccer.  They came home between games briefly to eat lunch and to drop off Max.  Mike said he did a great job and was the only one who wasn't whiny or pouty when he fell down.  He ended up playing the whole game because of "injuries" and couldn't have been happier.  You can see that he did a lot of chasing but didn't actually make a lot of contact yet.  However, his attitude and perseverance made up for that.  Plus, he was actually running away from the ball on offense so he could receive a pass.  Even big brother got in on the action, standing on the sidelines to be sure the ball didn't go too far out of bounds.

Happy boy before the game started

You can tell he's really trying hard with that tongue out...haha.  :)

Love this action shot Mike got!!!

Listening to his "soccer teacher".  He's just so cute you guys.  His excitement about everything and the things he says make my cheeks hurt.  As Mike and Kaelan were leaving for K's game, Max goes, "Bye Bubby!  Remember to do what your teacher tells you."  It was adorable!!

 Mike said Kaelan impressed him so much today.  He played as hard as he could despite the fact that he'd only had 1 ever soccer practice, it was pretty warm, and his coach encourages them to run, run, run.  He had them run before the game and, as Mike put it, "is no joke".  It's kind of refreshing to have a little (or a lot perhaps in his case) competitive spirit in a coach.  Understandably before this experience, Kaelan's coaches have been super kind, supportive, and patient, whether to avoid crushing a spirit or to avoid an uncomfortable parent interaction.  Kaelan is not super motivated when it comes to sports or doing a lot of running (especially in the heat).  He likes sports and likes to run while he's playing with his friends, but just doesn't have the best endurance.  However, Mike said he kept going, going, going today and didn't complain or have a bad attitude at all.  I hope this continues and that he can enjoy this season of soccer as much as he thought he would when he decided he wanted to play.

I love the "all business" look he has on his face here.

Playing defense (where Mommy's heart is).  He cleared multiple balls and was very proud of himself.  :)

They stopped at McDonalds to grab a quick lunch between games.  Although he had a chicken nugget happy meal, he preferred sharing my cheeseburger...quite literally.  "You take a bit in the back and I'll take a bite in the front."  Thinking it was cute, I said OK and waited for him to take his bite.  He stood there and looked at me, waiting, with the cheeseburger held up to his mouth.  He repeated himself and I repeated my OK.  And finally I realized, he's waiting for me to take a bite at the same time as he takes his bite.  Sweet boy!!!!

March

March was a busy but fun month with lots of new developments for little Blake.  He started waving, dancing, and cruising.  He's also trying to talk.  He knows the sign language for "all done" and when he does it, he makes a 2-syllable sound that starts with "ah".  It's really cute!  We've been trying to get him to say "uh-oh," although he can only get the "uh" part, and to blow kisses.  He's super sweet and cuddly and gives great hugs.  He is a huge Mama/Nana/Grandma's boy, which of course makes us all very happy.

Kaelan also had a first, his first soccer practice.  We also had a lot of fun just hanging out as a family.  Here are a couple videos of how we passed the time 1 night.  Kaelan realized that the casing for a toy drawer made the perfect tv.         Kaelan TV          Max TV

As you know, we are big fans of music in this family.  The boys love listening to, singing with, and dancing to music as well as experimenting with different instruments.  Here's Max rockin' out on his air guitar.

Blake loves being outside!!  I just wish he could go play.  Although I don't want him to grow up too fast. 

His 1st hot dog...LOVES it!!!!  He really enjoys meat (chicken, ham, & beef baby food) and is very interested in "people" food.  He's always straining to see what I'm cooking or putting on our plates for dinner.  Last night he had yellow rice and loved it.  His big brothers have been nice enough to share their chicken nuggets, french fries, and fish sticks with him, which he likes as well.  I hope he continues to be a good eater.  Would make life so much easier!  :)

And he can climb the stairs.  Luckily Mike was home and put up the gate very quickly.  ;)

A morning hike

Causing mischief

I visited Max's school to hide empty eggs (signifying the empty tomb) to celebrate Easter.  Here's Max enjoying his snack.  The kid loves him some oranges. 

Happy guy

Kaelan's 1st soccer practice

We were in Disney over Easter so we did a small egg hunt at home before we left

Max is 3!

Of course it's April, but let's face it, we're lucky I'm only a month late.  Anyways, Max had a great birthday weekend.  His celebrating began at school on Thursday.  Then, Grandma and Grandpa got here Friday (they come down for each of the boys' birthdays every year).  Saturday, we celebrated his actual birthday with Papa and Nana as well.  And finally, on Sunday we went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch and to play for a bit. Here are some pictures from his big weekend.  

Max and his fabulous teacher Ms. Silvie and Ms. Moye 

The birthday boy at school

Enjoying the birthday cookies we brought

He loved his take-home birthday hat/crown!!!!

The cake he chose

 

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A rescue set from Papa and Nana

 

A Bubble Guppies microphone from Grandma and Grandpa

One of our gifts to Max.  We also got him this scooter, which he hasn't quite figured out yet.  

I guess he figured since a storm blew the fence down, he might as well cut the tree down too

 

Not sure why he was still in his pjs but oh well, who doesn't love a baby in jammies?!

"Look what I can do!"  :)

Big 3-year old can swing from the trapeze now!  :)

His 3-year well visit was fantastic, the best news, perhaps, being that he didn't need any shots.  YAY!!!  He had his first hearing test which he passed with flying colors and his first vision test.  His vision is currently 20/40 which they assured me was perfect for this age and that it would improve over the next couple of years.  I asked again about his size and again I was assured that there's nothing "wrong" with him.  He's proportionate, he's just small.  Here are his stats compared to his 2-year well visit as well as Kaelan at around 3 1/2 (we were between drs so I was late getting his 3-year well check).

Max 2-year well visit = 22.6 lbs (below 3rd %)  33.25" (28th %)

Max 3-year well visit = 26.8 lbs (6th %)  35.25" (7th %)

Kaelan at 3 1/2 = 31.8 lbs  38.5"

Other than his speech (still having trouble with the hard "g" sound (usually substitutes a "d" sound) and "k" sound (usually substitutes a "t" sound), his development is perfect.  His motor development, both small and gross, is right on track.  In fact, his gross motor skills are better than Kaelan's at this age.  He is a much smoother runner and as we've seen with his baseball skills, his hand-eye coordination is fabulous!  He has a great attention span for the most part and enjoys doing/playing lots of different things.  However, like his big brother, Max's favorite activity is role-play.  He is very expressive when he plays.  He uses facial expressions and noises that are quite intense (and hilarious).  I wish I could record him all the time because I never seem to get the best stuff once I finally get the camera turned on.  He continues to be extremely laid back and plays well with others (perhaps mostly because his over-bearing, bossy big brother wouldn't accept anything less...haha).  He's super funny, super fun, and super cute.  He can also be naughty at times.  He doesn't always obey the first time or tries to get away with things because he knows he's cute.  However, he's starting to learn that the cute factor, the smiley flirtations, don't work with Mommy and Daddy.  He has also picked up some bad habits from big brother like whining, complaining, and talking back.  He now loses a marble every time he asks "Why?" after we tell him to do something.  ANNOYING!!!!!  Normal, but annoying.  :)  I know there's so much more to say about this little guy but since most of the people that read this know him well, it's ok that I'm probably leaving out some of the best info.  

A post of general March pics and videos as well as our recent trip to Disney will come later this week (hopefully).  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring weather (but not the ALLERGIES...ah-chooo...UGH!).