Shark Vader

Not much to this post - the picture says it all.

Ethan went upstairs one afternoon rather innocently and came down in this outfit.  None of the pictures came out great as I was in a bit of a giggle fit.

Spring Soccer: Take 2

We signed the boys up for their first soccer season about a year ago.  To say it was a disaster is painting it a kind light.  It. Was. Horrendous.

The boys are currently in a Montessori Day Program and for those of you not familiar with this educational philosophy, it's a self-guided learning platform that instills a love of learning and teaches respect and courtesy.  Or, if you're Uncle Ronnie, you just tell everyone the boys are learning to be monks.

The Dino-Mites were a team of Montessori kids in a league of largely non-Montessori kids.  And for the better part of six Saturdays, no fewer than 7 of the 8 kids ended up in a crumpled, weeping mass on the field because the other kids kept stealing their soccer balls, pushing them down or just generally lacked the respect and courtesy.

We decided to take a break from soccer and wait a year before revisiting.  We asked the boys about a month ago if they'd be interested and they were beyond excited, seemingly lacking any memory of the previous season.  

The boys got new cleats, dusted off their Dino-Mites outfit and were ready to take the field.  Overall it was a good second effort.  They peaked in the warm-up, puttered out mid-game and Ethan brought it home with a goal at the end earning the Dino-mites their first victory of the season!

Here are a few pics of last weekend's festivities:

All is good the day before the game - good spirits and new cleats in the season's hottest colors.

Showing off their outfits for Ronnie

Ethan showing off his cleats in foreground and Pai showing off his leggings in the background

The boys taking a break after their first time on the field.  Noel asked if there could be fewer people on the field. 

Me explaining to the boys that they have to play (my left hand) in order to get a cookie (my right hand)

Coach Gregg trying to get Noel to play.  No dice.

Coach Gregg trying to get Ethan to play.  No dice.

Coach Gregg says, "Good hustle, boys!"

Ethan doing a post-game roll down the hill.

Soaring Spiders (aka Leaping Lizards)

It's pretty clear by now that Bruce is the more laid back parent of the two - a trait that I'm rather envious of at times.  

I get uptight about manners despite the fact that they're four years old.  I about passed out when Ethan asked the woman in front of us at the grocery store "Why do you look so scary?"  I once Googled "one ear smaller than the other" because I was convinced Ethan would grow up with one normal sized ear and one miniature ear after measuring his at 6 months old and they weren't exactly the same size.  

Well, Bruce is off on a work trip to Europe this week and we've gotten into a nice groove.  I've thrown caution to the wind because that's what needs to happen when you're rocking things on your own.  

Both boys: "Can we sleep in big bed tonight?" - Sure

Noel: "Can we have cookies after breakfast?" It's Saturday...why not?

Ethan: "Can we jump from the foot board of our bed onto the chair."  Before I could answer with a "NO!" our little daredevil did it anyways.  Throwing caution to the wind was letting them do it a second time while I captured it on film:

Notice I ask Noel what his name is, assuming he'd answer with Spider Man.  He answers so matter-of-factly, "Noel Milam"

As you saw at the end of the previous video, Ethan didn't want to be filmed.  This one just made me chuckle: