what's new?

Wanna know what's new with us?

Here's a rundown...

1.  Em threw my phone in the toilet.  So I lost all my pictures over the last year and have a cheap phone with no camera or internet.  It's been a sad month.  Please bless I can get my hands on the new iphone quickly.

2.  Ash got glasses.  When Dr. Shakula said he might have bad eyes we went to have them checked.  Turns out he was right.  About 20/50.  He now has cute little glasses, which he loved for a day and now could care less about.  The eye doc said he'll probably not care about them until first grade, and then he'll probably need them for school.

3.  Emers has started walking.  He can make it almost across the room.  We are still in the wobbly phase, but it's exciting to see him do it.  I honestly think I'll need a leash for him when he's really mobile, but hopefully he will start to listen to me better by then.

4.  Ash and Tom started karate.  They've only been once, but they both seem to love it and are excited to continue learning.

5.  Tom is coaching Ash's soccer team.  Tom loves working with all the kids, and Asher loves playing.  For someone who can't see well, he really has a gift at playing soccer.  He scores about two goals every game.  Last season we promised him legos if he got five goals, which he quickly did, so this season it's up to 9.

6.  Ash started kindergarten.  He loves it.  Both his little friends moved out of our neighborhood about a month before school started and he was ready to get out and play with some kids.  The first day he told me it was "freaking awesome".  Every day now he says it's just still the same, super fun.  He really likes PE and the ipods.  His little friend Gwen from soccer is in his class, and he has to say good bye to her everyday.

Ash's soccer...

Ash and Tom practiced playing soccer to get him ready. Every night when Tom would walk in the door, Ash would run up and say "wanna go play soccer?"




At the first team practice Ash had a ball. It was cold and rainy but he wanted to keep playing. He loves interacting with everyone and kicking the ball around.




Then came the first game. He was not so sure he liked that part. I keep wondering if I nag him a lot about things. Like taking toys from other kids. He refused to take the ball from anyone. He didn't like the chaos of the of the game. He just wanted to come out and practice on the sidelines.

So we worked with him at home on stealing the ball and playing a little aggressive. By the next game he did much better. He still needs to make sure he can see where I'm at (once again... I am always telling him if I can see him someone can take him and to stay close... another nag, but kind of necessary, right?). He got right in the mix and played with the kids.





By the next game he played the entire game and LOVES it. We bribe him with McDonalds after the game if he won't whine to come out, but by this game he didn't really need it. He just played and played.

It's really funny to watch the kids that age play. They are 3-5 year olds so Ash is kind of in the middle. All the kids just know to kick the ball to the goal, no matter whose goal it is. There is one 5 year old who gets it and stands mid field to turn the ball around. Ben... he's the little defender. Everyone else will run with the ball right into the next field and keep playing. Its hilarious.

Hopefully soccer is a long term love of Ash's. He still bugs Tom to play with him and Tom can't get away with grilling in the backyard without playing. Sometimes the neighbor kids will join in.

Today Tom asked Ash if he likes to play soccer with the kids. Ash said, "Yeah, but playing with dads is better..."

Soccer Sunday...

Tom and his friends switched from football to soccer about a year ago. They thought there might be less injuries in soccer than they had in football... yeah... umm... that was kind of true, but not really.

I started playing at the end of last year, but I had to stop about a month ago because my belly was getting too big. Well... really I got hit pretty hard by the ball and the bruise scared Tom into "suggesting" that it was time for me to stop.

This is just after I got hit and the purple hadn't really set in... but you can see how the ball hit so hard the grooves in the ball left a grid of broken blood vessels... not pretty:


I need to learn action photography better... most of these are blurry. There is either glass or netting between me and the game and the camera tries to focus on that.






For some reason Tom always manages to smack into the girls on the other teams... hmmm... maybe I should stay on the field after all...




He just plays at full speed. Running the entire field the whole time. I don't know how he does it. He loves soccer though.


Asher loves going to the games and watching us play... well mostly run around and eat candy... but he also enjoys the soccer:




Heather told me she signed up Dontae for soccer and I realized its time for Ashman to get in the game. He's going to start next week and he's really excited. He's got all the gear:


Hopefully he likes playing as much as he likes hanging out at our games!