Alex, the goalie!!
Alex had his first soccer game this weekend. And what RIOT it was! I never thought I'd enjoy myself that much at his soccer games. It all started with the kick-off (obvious, I suppose). Alex was chosen to do the kick-off. He must have been told, "Go stand on that circle, and when the referee blows the whistle, KICK THE BALL." So he did exactly that. And he was so thrilled with his success that he and his teammate jumped up and down and celebrated---and then stayed in their spots on the circle, awaiting more instructions from the coach. Meanwhile, one member of the other team (who must be much more experienced) took the ball down and scored.
Alex's team didn't realize that they were supposed to follow up---and continue to attempt to kick the ball! They did a fabulous job staying in their positions, though!
Little by little, throughout the game, kids on both teams started to figure it out. And, to my surprise, I was one of those "Soccer Moms," running along the field, cheering their kid on, shouting encouragement! It was so much fun to meet the other parents, chat about our kids, and laugh at their funny performances on the field.
Alex was selected as a goal during one of the quarters. Another one of the moms--who is a coach for her daughter's team--helped Alex out with the basics. He did a wonderful job and only let one goal past him. He really liked that he was allowed to touch the ball with his hands---and run out to the line to throw it!
(later, he told me he wanted to be on a football team, because it would be much, much easier. Really, I asked? "Yeah, Mom. You can use your hands." Hmm... maybe we should tell that to the Michigan football team?)
Alex's throwing abilities as goalie!
Hanging out with his team. (he's #20)
After the game, Alex and I visited Morgan and York (formerly Big Ten Market) to get pesto supplies, wine, and a treat for Alex. If you've never been there---it is a wonderful place to get wine, cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and random other "gourmet items". Sunday--as mentioned in a previous post--I celebrated "Basil-fest" by indulging myself in some PESTO MAKING this weekend. It was great! Upon tasting the pesto, Stefan announced that we will have to plant much, much more pesto next year and then freeze lots of it. (watch out---maybe you'll get some for Christmas 2008!)
School seems to be going well for Alex. He comes home with a lot of stories and seems to be excited to go every day. It does wear him out--he's going to bed early and falling asleep immediately! Also, he's a little bit more "needy" than normal. He needs a lot of "Mama time" when I get home from work. And, to my delight, instead of just calling out "Hello" when I come home, he runs outside and throws himself into my arms!
It shouldn't surprise me, however it does, that he is thrilled with some odd things. For instance, one day when he packed cottage cheese in his lunch he got a "spork" in the lunch room. That night, he talked more about that spork than anything else! Example: "Mama, did you know that a spork is a spoon AND a fork? So I can just pack the spork I got in kindergarten in my lunch. I can use it for food that needs a fork and food that needs a spoon!" Indeed, over the weekend, he picked out snacks that required a spoon (applesauce, cottage cheese, yogurt) so he could use the spork.
On Sunday, we celebrated the beautiful day and went for a hike in Bird Hills Park here in Ann Arbor. I hiked in these woods frequently during the last weeks of my pregnancy with Jameson.
Serious hiker:
Alex is a great hiker, especially when I have lots of snacks. I still had some power bars in my "Mama pack" leftover from vacation. Alex ate two of them! Later that evening, when we were working on a project for school, he answered "Peanut Butter Chocolate Power Bars" as his favorite food. Hmm.Jameson saw his brother eating a PowerBar, and was suddenly not happy with the cheerios Daddy was trying to feed him. So, I found a relatively healthy cereal bar in the Mama Pack and gave him half. "Here's a BAR, Jameson." A few minutes later, I heard some high-pitched cries... when I looked at him, he said "Ba.... Ba....Ba!" He was asking for another bar! I gave him the other half, which quickly disappeared. Luckily, I had another whole cereal bar in my pack, so he ate that up as well.
It was wonderful to be out in the woods on a beautiful day. It was a bit buggy, but we survived. Poor Jameson still shows a few bug bites on his little head.
Jameson got to "hike" with a hiking stick right at the end of the walk (most of the time he was in the backpack). He was having so much fun that he threw a big fit when he had to get in the car!
I can do it too, Mama!
Speaking of "throwing fits," Jameson has really come into toddler-hood in the last few weeks. He's such a "raw" little creature. His delights and joys are equally as intense and obvious as his frustrations. One minute he's amusing us with a new word or some new trick... the next minute he's screaming in frustration because he can't play with his brother's toy. Here are a few examples of "Jameson moments".
Shoes: Jameson is thrilled with shoes. Whenever he fits any shoes, he walks around the house with it, saying "sssssss... ssssssss" and then, if asked, will shoe you where a shoe goes. The problem here is that he leaves the shoe (without its partner) where ever he gets distracted with something else. Currently, the two pairs of shoes that actually fit him now are both missing the right shoe. So we are putting him in the old, beat-up, worn out shoes until the missing halves are located. He also moves our shoes around, so we're gradually learning to keep them out of his reach---behind closed doors.
Camelbak: On our hike, I realized that I forgot his sippy cup. So in order to give him a drink, I let him have some water out of my camelbak. He was SO excited to learn how to drink from it. Later on Sunday, he discovered my pack within his reach---with the camelbak spout conveniently located at eye level. So, in Stefan's words, he "tanked" on the water. I was in the kitchen (making pesto!) and he would drink from the pack, run into the kitchen, babble incoherently and excitedly, and then run back to the pack to drink more. This occupied him for at least twenty minutes!
Back Pack: One morning last week, I was carrying Jameson out to the kitchen and chatting with him about his day. When I mentioned that he would walk Alex to school in the morning, he immediately said, "Ba Pa"! He knew that walking Alex to school meant that he would ride in the back pack! Smart baby!
Toddler rules: When Alex was a toddler, someone sent me one of those email jokes containing "Toddler Rules." The gist of it was that a toddler's perspective is this: If I see it, it is mine. Well, Jameson is no longer content to be near-by as I play with his brother. He wants to be in the midst of our play, holding Alex's toys, actively engaged. And he is VERY INSISTENT about this. He jokingly call him the "Emperor." It is becoming harder to play the games Alex wants to play (usually Star Wars) when Jameson is around. Luckily Alex is normally pretty flexible and lets Jameson hold one or two of the characters, but I feel for Alex---he needs his time with his parents too!
Mealtime: Jameson has developed a very frustrating habit of THROWING his food off his tray when he is finished eating. So we have a lot of work to do in keeping the floor clean---and in watching him closely to try to stop him before this happens.
Refrigerator: After dinner last night, Jameson was playing in the kitchen while the rest of us finished our meals. Suddenly, we noticed that he had OPENED the refrigerator. We all laughed! I shut the door to see if he could do it again. I mean---it's a big door! He's pretty little! It must have been cracked open, right?? Well... he did it again. Two more times. Suddenly we realized that we need to stop laughing about it and convince him that this was NOT allowed. (when he gets into the refrigerator, he pulls random items out and then goes running off with them... he seems to know that we're going to take the items back)
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