Soccer

Zach played soccer this year for the county and Steve was his coach!  This is not a sport that we have played much of at our house and Zach was definitely not a dominant player....  The first day he ran around behind the group looking over at me and smiling a largest smile I have ever seen.  As the weeks progressed he started to understand the concepts more and by the last two weeks he even scored 2 goals!!!!  We went into this sport just wanting Zach to have fun and run around with other kids but I was a little disappointed in myself with how inordinately pleased I was to see him score!

Scoring a goal during practice.

This was the little mob that followed Steve around!

Waiting his turn for 'coach' to call him back in the game!

This was one of Zach's breakaway goals!

One Year Later

I'm finding it very hard to believe that Eli is already 1 year old!!  We celebrated his birthday last weekend with family and he fully enjoyed being the center of attention.  Zach was very excited about Eli's birthday and helped wrap the gifts and then later helped unwrap them! 

My 'baby' is trying to run, loves to eat anything!! (finally an eater!), and already loves to wrestle and play baseball with his daddy and big brother.  He seems to be very determined also because a locked cabinet or a barred entryway does not necessarily stop him from accomplishing what he wants.  And if he can't out smart the obstacle than he frequently sits down and screams in anger at the offending object before he moves on (I'm guessing there must be fierce temper in there as well).  I am really enjoying having Eli be a little more independent and I love to watch he and Zach begin to play together!

Summer Sayings

Here are some of my favorite 'Zach sayings' from this past summer:

• While walking through our small zoo one day an announcement was made over the PA system.  Upon hearing the voice Zach said, "Mommy!  It's God!!" 

• Sunscreen was called 'sunscream'.  (Which was appropriate because he really doesn't like having it put on!)

•  When we're with another family and he wants me he calls out, "My Mommy!"  For example he will say, "My mommy, I want a drink." or "My mommy, watch me go down the slide."

• One day after church Steve dropped me off at Walmart while he and boys circled the parking lot.  Steve said that he never verbalized that they were waiting for me but after one turn around the lot Zach said,  "Where is that craaazy mommy?" 

• Zach's prayers have progressed from a simple "Thank you for this food!" to this one a few weeks ago; "Thank you Lord for wrestling, heffalumps, catching heffalumps and mowing the grass--Amen!"

Summer pictures

Nelson visit

Motoring

This little guy has started walking!! He took a couple of single steps about 3-4 weeks ago but hasn't really made any other attempts since then. Instead he has been able to stand independently waving his arms and lower down into a crouch and then stand again. I've been amazed that he has shown this much strength and stability without actually walking as well.

Yesterday, he walked 5 steps across the room to get a balloon, bent down to pick up and then stood again. No fuss. No fanfare. No attention. Just walked across the room to get what he wanted. I suppose this means he's a toddler now and no longer my baby...even when I'm watching they still grow up too fast!

We start them young at our house! 
(Actually I think the bat is wedge into his belly and is
helping him to stay standing!)

Vacation pictures

Zach and Great-Grammy enjoying the deck

Eli discovered this spot and loved to climb into the space every chance he got!!

Not sure what was said but it looks serious.

Eli and Grrrrrreat Aunt M

Wii Mario Kart.  I'm so ashamed.

A very merry un-birthday

The Birthday Boy

Way back on June 26th we celebrated Zach's birthday! My mother and sister made an awesome tractor trailer truck cake!!! Steve and I aren't sure how 3 1/2 years have passed so quickly but somehow our tiny baby boy has become a preschooler with his own personality and sense of humor. It is a joy to watch him change and grow every day!

Red Sox vs. Orioles

Eli went to his first Red Sox game last week and although he wasn't that impressed by the baseball game his big brother had a wonderful time!  We met up with some friends that we haven't seen since we lived in Boston and we all enjoyed watching the Sox beat the Orioles!!  Steve was disappointed that he didn't catch a foul ball like he did at Zach's first game but we did have all-you-can-eat hot dogs, nachos, ice cream and popcorn which was definitely a close 'second' to catching a ball! 

On the move

I have been extremely behind in my blogging and have yet to post any pictures of our very mobile Eli! He has been crawling since the middle of May and started pulling to stand one week later. I'm not sure why these skills have surprised me since a lot of babies crawl by 8 months but I guess it's because they change so quickly and go from little round babies who can't sit up to standing in 2 months time! All of sudden we are scrambling to remove small objects and Zach is less than impressed by Eli coming and trying to take all of his toys...the refereeing has begun already! Thankfully with the increased movement Eli's weight gain is starting to drop off for which my arms are very grateful.

Death is nothing

This was read at my cousin's funeral last week and I wanted to remember it.
’Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!’

excerpt from 'The King of Terrors'
Henry Scott Holland
May 15, 1910

Jogging

This spring I have endeavored to run two times a week. (Please don't fall over laughing!) It is one form of exercise that doesn't require a babysitter or a gym membership and therefore makes it ideal....except for the fact that it involves running of course. I won't bore you with the details about how much I hate it and about just how out of shape I am, but....well....they're both true.

Anyway, as a distraction while I run I like to peek at the boys sitting side by side in the jogger. And without fail Zach always reaches over to hold Eli's hand! This affectionate act is so precious to me and always causes me to smile (despite the fact that I'm running) and rejoice for Zach's tender heart.

"C" is for cookie

Here's a recent conversation with Zach while getting dressed for the day:

Zach: "No more diapers, I don't wear diapers anymore." (Can we take a brief moment for me to jump up and down with joy over the truth of this statement!)

Steve: "That's right. Now you wear underpants just like daddy!"

Zach: "Oh." (He pauses and adds with a quizzical expression)
"You have cookie monster underpants?"

An egg hunt

On Palm Sunday we decided to take Zach to a Easter egg hunt that the county was hosting. The whole event was really more of an egg gather because all the eggs were laid out on the grass in plain view. The children were suppose to gather the colorful eggs and then bring them to one of the workers to receive a piece of candy for each of their eggs.

So we lined up with Zach's age category, they said 'start' and all the toddlers and their parents spread out on the grass and started feverishly grabbing eggs. I watched Zach stoop over to try to pick up eggs and repeatedly it was snatched out from under his hand. At the end of the rush, Zach had managed to gather two eggs. Initially I assumed that there were just too many kids for the number of eggs but when we went to line up for our candy all the other children were handing in 20-30 eggs each!!! Zach was very content with his two eggs and was innocent to the injustice of the whole event. I was not innocent and I experienced a great deal of anger at the other greedy children and parents. The final kick was that once the 20-eggs-a-piece children received their candy, all that was left for Zach was gob stoppers and taffy (neither of which I could let him have). I don't think we'll be attending this event next year.

Wouldn't you share an egg with this handsome boy?

Sweet baby!

Eli continues to use any excuse to smile. Even while he has been sick with a cold he is just waiting to smile in delight at anyone.


He also LOVES his big brother!



And...
his brother loves him too!

Bikes

For Christmas this year Zach received his first bicycle with training wheels. After the snow filled winter that we have had it isn't that surprising that he has only had a few brief bike rides, which consisted of us not only steering the bike but also holding his foot onto the pedal as we pushed it around and around...basically it was very slow going and hard on our backs.


Two weeks ago, I pulled the bike out again and proceeded to do the hunchback stagger down the sidewalk as I tried to teach Zach how to ride. I didn't really make any progress. By the next afternoon Zach had the idea but would frequently get stuck pedaling.
Another 24 hours later he was steering and pedaling independently! I swear he has aged 2 years as I've watched him ride his bike around and around the driveway. We still have occasional spills when he tries to turn too sharply but so far he has gotten back on the bike every time. It has been such a fun way to spend these early spring days!