Soccer Star

Eli had his first soccer practice and game this week. He was so excited and was so cute to watch. He's the youngest member of his team by almost a year, and this was his absolute first experience with soccer. (In fact, as we walked over to the fields, Madeline asked me, "Mommy, is that basketball?".) It was obvious that Eli was a little green, but he had a smile on his face for the entire hour and a half and we can't ask for more than that!

The team did some different drills during practice and I had to laugh because Eli told me afterwards, "I wasn't very good at running backwards. I fell down and bumped my head, so I think next time I'll just walk backwards so I don't fall." At another point, he ran over to the sideline and asked, "Where's Madeline?," and then said, "Oh! I see her! Hi, Madeline!".

Madeline had a blast at soccer too because she got to run around and play with a friend on the bleachers and playground. Soccer and ballet are the first activities that these twins have done separately and as I expected, they're both doing great with having their own extracurriculars. I'm really proud of how patient they have both been while the other practices and it's been fun for me to watch them interact with other children without their best buddy at their side.

We Call Him "Wardy-Woo"

This sweet boy is growing like a weed. He had a check-up at the doctor's office today and he has gained 5 pounds and grown 3 inches since birth.

In the past couple of weeks, we've seen his hard outer shell start to crack. His constant serious expression has given way to the sweetest open mouth smiles that we can't help but reward with tons of kisses. He's also cooing a bunch (love that sound!) and I'm sure we'll hear a giggle soon because he seems to be right on the verge of it sometimes.

Apparently Ward is afraid to miss any of the action around here because this little newborn baby fights sleep like no baby I've ever seen. It's bizarre to me that he will have the most tired eyes that he can barely hold open and will just be miserably sleepy, but he just will not let go and sleep. He's even gone entire days without a real nap. Thankfully, he's very cooperative when we're out running errands and will sleep then, he falls asleep with no protest at bedtime (of course, he's exhausted by that point!), and when he does fall asleep, he sleeps great for hours.

Every one of our precious children has ended up with a nickname and so we fondly refer to our sweet baby as "Wardy-Woo," pronounced "Wordy-Boo" by M&E. Speaking of M&E, they adore their little brother. They have had a cold for the past week and it's killing them to keep their hands off of him. When I told them they couldn't be in Ward's face, Eli came up with the compromise of kissing his little feet instead. Hopefully the big kids will start feeling better soon, so they can get back in this sweet little face.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We love you!

Somebody thinks his big brother is really funny...

Ballerina Girl

Madeline started ballet two weeks ago. She goes one morning a week and she LOVES it. I peeked in the classroom window last week...

This is my little girl who cannot stand still to save her life and look, not only is she still but she is hanging on every word the teacher has to say! The girls often get to dress up in tutus and tiaras and magic wands AND they get to dance around the room. Madeline is in heaven!

(As an added bonus, the church gym where ballet is held also has a well-stocked game room complete with arcade games and an air hockey table so Eli also likes to go to ballet!)