Mid-April through end of May is the busiest time of the year! We are having a lot of fun but, I can hardly wait for summer break and the long hot days with less structure and more free time.
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Middle children never get to go first so, just to be out of the box, I'll start with Hay Hay. This spunky little girl started her first season of rec center soccer. She is way too young and in hindsight I should have passed the invitation but, here we are. The season is 8 games long, over a month. She started the season out running, pushing her way in the crowd and even got a few kicks but, now that we're near the end she has completely lost interest and she walks way behind the herd. She still says she loves it and is happy to go. She even said "Thank you for my soccer game" in a prayer last week.
I don't know who is in charge of ordering size XL for 3 and 4 year olds but, it's ridiculous. These clothes are too big for Andrew, who isn't small. After the first game we ditched the "shorts" for leggings and decided the top looks better as a dress than tucked in as an Oompa Loompa costume.
Picture day was sooo cold they have little red cheeks and noses
Hailey spends a lot of time keeping herself entertained at baseball and soccer games for Andrew and Ashley. Most of the time she does a pretty amazing job of it too except the 2 or 3 times she's snuck away at baseball to the playground that is out of sight.
On to Andrew...
Andrew man loves legos like just about every other 7 year old
Andrew is finishing up his spring soccer season. He has one game and one practice a week. He loves to play soccer and does so well that it is no surprise he likes it so much. His team is made up of first grade friends from school and most of them have been on this same team since they were 3. Andrew is very competitive (I wonder where he gets that?) He scores lots of goals and blocks tons too. His big advantages at this age are that he can read the field, anticipate very well and he is usually faster than everyone else. He has been very frustrated if he comes out of the game and the other team starts scoring but, he is ever learning to work harder while he's in and then not worry about what happens while he's out. No one keeps track of the score officially but, you better believe the kids do. In the seven games they've had so far here are his stats.
Game 1: Win 10-2 (Andrew scored 9) Game 2: Win 7-0 (Andrew 4). He loved the first 2 games because it was Spring Break and with so many kids out of town he got to play all or nearly all of the game. Game 3: Tie, good hard game 3-3 (Andrew 2). Game 4: Loss 5-3 (Andrew had 3). This was a hard game for Andrew because they were playing against a team of their friends from school. They usually beat that team but, right when Andrew came out the score went from winning 3-1, to losing 5-3. That was hard on him. Game 5: Win 5 or 6-1 (Andrew 4 or 5) Game 6: Loss 4-1 (Andrew had 1) can't win 'em all Game 7: Win 7 or 8-1 (Andrew had 6 or 7). Looking at this makes it seems as though he is a ball hog but, that is not the case. He passes, blocks and is a fair player all around but, he is very good at anticipating, defending, stealing, and just shooting that ball into the net, and he is fast. We love to watch him play. I haven't taken any pictures of him during games. I love to watch him and completely forget to take out my camera!
Andrew is also really busy playing baseball twice a week with one practice. It is machine pitch this year and he has been doing great. He is on a team that...um...struggles but, as an individual he has done great. He has hit well consistently, and does well in the field too. He really likes it and we've been so proud of him game after game. He has hit every time at bat and made it to base all but one time (except his first at bat for the first game, having never practiced with the hitting machine, he didn't hit it that first up). He gets left out on 2nd and 3rd base a lot, without a chance to run home which is disappointing for him and he's had to learn about being ok with teammates that are learning, or just struggling. He's also had to learn how to deal with one friend from school who plays on another team and loves to tell everyone that his team will cream theirs. The first game against that team was nerve wracking and Andrew felt very intimidated. Andrew was a good sport and we had worked hard to arm him with correct responses. Funny enough, Andrew's team won and Andrew was gracious and kind just like we'd practiced. It was nice to not have to use all the responses for a loss that we had talked about. They played that team twice, and the next time they played Andrew's team lost and that was ok too, thanks to the first win.
Dave is not the coach but, does help a lot each game. Here Andrew is on first base while Dave was first base coach.
Sweet Ashley girl
Ashley is so busy right now because she wants to do any sport Andrew does and she also wants to do dance and gymnastics too. It works for now with half day kindergarten and we'll see how we adjust next year when school is all day long.
Ashley's dance recital with Tanner Dance was at Kingsbury Hall. She was beautiful and I was choked up watching her dance. I am so proud of her dancing, her hard work and sweetness.
Cute cousin Lizzie dances at CDT and missed half her soccer game to come watch Ashley dance. That meant a lot to Ashley. Ashley loved the flowers Lizzie brought her. They came in a tiny flower pot and were her favorite. She planted it in our garden as soon as we got home. Nana and Papa were there too, of course. They brought Ashley a darling bag full of one of her favorites; cherries (she had reminded me that morning that we desperately needed cherries, blueberries and blackberries). We left Kate home with a babysitter and Andrew too, since he had baseball practice.
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Ashley is playing baseball too. Two games a week. She is in the coach pitch age group. The kids get 5 pitches and then the T if they still need it. She used the T 2 or 3 times in the first couple of games but, has done great hitting every time up since. She is one of 2 girls on the team, and has 3 friends that are boys from kindergarten that she has lots of fun with. She doesn't notice or care at all if her friends are boys or girls.
She spends most of her time in the field doing handstands
But, when the ball comes her way she does what she's supposed to.
And more Baseball from a different game.
Nice hit! Her favorite person in the world was first base coach and she was extra happy to get there!
Almost there
She launched herself into his arms like a true daddy's girl.
Playing first base
Up again and doing such a great job
Ashley is part of a 4 girl, 4 boy soccer team that she loves. She is lucky to be with other girls because most the teams she plays are all boy. She has improved and is kicking the ball a lot more. This season she's had 2 goals, which was super fun and she's also had many helpful kicks. She is one of happiest and most optimistic kids on the field for sure, and so very supportive of her teammates.
A nice kick in the middle of the action
They just don't get cuter than Ashley.
Ashley's kindergarten class had Fairy Tale projects and presentations. She wanted a Fairy Tale with dog character because they could come in costume for the presentation but, we just couldn't find one. So, she chose Peter and the Wolf so she could dress up like a cat. Ashley was one of 5 kids to present on the first day of the week. She went second and was the absolute cutest thing ever. She read each of the pages she'd worked on and did it all so well and once again, I was beaming with pride.
Here is her poster board map of the story.
And here is the cover of her presentation. I should take a picture of each page inside too because it is all so fun to read and cute. Her handwriting is really nice too.
More Ashley, moving on to Cute Katie
Kate and her Little Mama playing after church. Ashley is a huge help to me.
Ashley threw this soft yellow ball smack into Kate's head. It's so soft that Kate hardly noticed but, Ashley was in hysterics and tried to replicate it over and over.
Ashley is always doing handstands around the house and if Katie sees her she wants to copy. Katie does her Yoga Baby pose and waits for Ashley to lift her feet. It is so, so, so funny.
Katie has to come to a lot of soccer and baseball games! She thinks this face is we want when the camera is out.
Back to pulling her pants down every chance she gets
Or this grumpy face if she's not in a good mood. But oh my she is cute.
A little better
Kate has reached the stage of serious trouble maker. She learned about self coloring from HayHay. I leave her alone for just a minute and this is what I get. Her hair looks like this every morning.
Katie had her 18 month well visit at the end of March. She weighed 20.0 lbs (3rd %) and measured 32.48 (75th %). Her head is so huge it is off the charts (just like Andrew's). We weren't surprised by the weight or head but, her height is sure a fun variation. We figure she'll pass Hailey in the next year or so.
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