The End of Soccer

Maddux had her last soccer game this weekend. She and her team came really far and had a great last game, complete with one goal by Mad Dog. After the game they had pizza and cupcakes and trophies (Oh My!). Maddux is already asking to be signed up to play again...

Bible Verses

So the kids and I did some extra driving last week as we went on our 'field trips'. As always, I told the kids to bring a book in the car. (Not that I have to remind Eli; he has a book with him very often these days.) I didn't realize it until we were halfway home, but Eli brought Harry Potter AND his Bible. The reason I found out he brought it was he started asking me about my favorite verses. Whaaaat? So he asked me to tell him my verse so he could look it up. Then he'd read it out loud to verify it was indeed the one I thought it was. Amazing.....

Fall Field Trips

What a fun week! The kids had early release all week to accommodate parent-teacher conferences. That means they got home just after noon, allowing for much afternoon play time. I tried to fit in some fun 'fall' activities that are usually more difficult for us to fit in after school. One day we had a massive play date in the cul-de-sac area, one day we went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the Halloween scarecrows (an annual trip for us), and one day we hopped in the car and headed east to a paved hiking trail I discovered a few months ago.

On that particular day, I threw the kids' scooters in the trunk and we drove about 45 minutes to the spot I thought I'd visited before. Unfortunately it was not the same spot. Luckily the place we landed had a playground, so the kids got out and played for a few minutes while I tried to find the 'real' location on my phone. Ten minutes later, we were in the right spot. The kids strapped on their helmets and took off. Maddux brought a little bag with her so she could collect leaves...love that. This trail is part of the PATH system, so it's paved, but it meanders through the woods. The colors of the trees really make it a nice walk/ride, and the weather was picture perfect. We stopped a few times for a quick snack, and eventually turned back to return to the car. Their favorite part was where we turned around: the path got 'squiggly' and they thought it was hilarious! Even though the path was hilly, the kids had a great time AND they went about 3 1/2 miles.

Muscles

So the other night we had an Eliason standard of 'summer' vegetables sauteed with potatoes and chicken sausage. As usual, at least one child initially resisted the peppers. And as usual, once said child (this time it was Maddux) finally tried them, it was instant love. She couldn't stop raving about the orange bell peppers.

This carried over later than night into her bath. She told us: "Look at my muscles!!! You know those peppers I ate at dinner? They grew them! People will see me and be like, 'whoh! where did those come from?' and I'll tell them cuz I ate my dinner and sweet peppers." We had her repeat herself for the camera, of course, cuz we're those parents.

Little 5 Points Halloween Parade

It's a tradition for us: the weekend a full week before Halloween we get dressed up and head down to L5P for some over-the-top Halloween fun. This year we started preparing an hour ahead of time, to make sure we had time to put on Maddux's face make-up and get all of our costume pieces in place. (The kids and I decided it was a great way to 'test drive' our costumes before Halloween.)


As always, there were ghosts, ghouls, vampires and lots and lots of gory random zombie-ish things. The kids had a blast and saw many costumes they may incorporate in the future. Maddux's Wicked Witch of the West was awesome, but she was a little hesitant about it as we arrived. However, we saw a few green-faced witches in the crowd and parade, and that seemed to redirect her to her character.

Last Game

Not the 'last' last game, but the last one of the regular season anyway. Eli and the Mudcats finished strong this weekend with a fought-to-the-finish win over their opponent, winning by one run, and ending with a total score less than one team usually scores on their own. Eli didn't make any outstanding plays this time around, but he continues to grow in his skill. (Is that PC enough? :) ) Here is a little video of a few games from the season looped together.

Bringing NOLA to ATL

Last night the four of us drove to a little college about an hour north of us for a very special family date night. Preservation Hall Jazz Band was performing in a small performing arts center and Lehr got us front row seats. The kids were really well behaved during the show, especially considering it was a very 'dignified' event, with the audience both in the 60+ age bracket and sitting securely in their seats the whole time. Both kids loved when the trumpet player used his mute...they thought it was hilarious.

Soccer Girl

Maddux is still loving every second of soccer. We will definitely be playing this sport again. This morning, Maddux and her team progressed even further, playing actual positions a few times during their game. At one point, Maddux, who was playing goalie, took the ball all of the way down the field, scoring a goal. When she ran back to her position, very far away from where she'd traveled, she looked at another girl on her team and said, "I just scored a goal for our team. Did you believe?!?!?" (She meant, "Can you believe it?")

Be Still My Heart

Tonight we had another late-late baseball game. (When the first pitch is thrown AFTER bedtime, I consider it to be late-late.) I suggested one of us stay home with Maddux to spare her the abbreviated sleep; Lehr ended up with the girl and I took Eli to his game. He was sleepy in the car, but perked up as he always does when we pulled into the parking lot. He had a great game, making an out and getting several hits. When we had about 15-20 minutes left, he came to the fence between innings and asked me if the game was almost over. He was smiling as he said, "Cuz I'm pretty sleepy."

The highlight for me came in the final inning. The boys were up to bat which meant Eli was in the dugout. I was flipping through pictures on my camera when I heard, "Mom. Mom!" I looked over and saw Eli smiling at me, trying to get my attention. I waved and then he blew me a kiss. Yeah. Life is good.

OUT!

Eli is thick into baseball season these days. We have at least two games each week and a few practices on top of that. (Truth be told, we tend to miss many practices because we already spend so much time at the baseball field.) This is a season of 'firsts', as we are in an older league this fall, but tonight was a first beyond that. Eli was playing right field during a late game (6PM start, I believe? That is late for our 7PM-bedtime-having household :). The ball had been hit his way several times already, as it often is with these power-hitting 7 and 8-year-olds. Somewhere around the 4th inning, a line drive was hit to Eli, who happened to be playing a bit closer to the clay. He threw up his glove and WHAM!, he caught the ball. That in and of itself was not too out of the ordinary, but the fact that he was able to hold on to the ball and not drop it was a novelty. I think even Eli was shocked that it stuck! The game ball was awarded to my boy and he's officially part of the pop-fly/line-drive club now.

Beach Trip

We were very happy to travel to Watercolor this last weekend. School schedules have made it difficult for us to get in our usual trips there over the last few years, so we snuck away for a long weekend, pulling the kids out of school for one day. D, Renee and Bryce joined us, making it a fun, full house for three days. The kids all had their bikes, and we rode them everywhere.

The boys were primarily interested in skim boarding; both boys had boards and they threw them all day, every day. Maddux was more interested in the 'red river'. The section of beach we frequented was mostly deserted except for us. On one side was a large stream of water coming from the river/pond to the ocean and it was colored dark red from the sediment. Maddux loved it and wanted to play next to it the whole time.

The water was amazingly clear, as always, and we saw lots of ocean life. We caught a few crabs, saw several snails and hermit crabs, and had more fish-sightings than I can count.

We took a few breaks for the pool and bike rides, we ate enough seafood to feed an army, and we even had ice cream on the last night.

Gymnastics

Over the summer, I enrolled Eli and Maddux in gymnastics once a week. They really liked it, and with Eli's feet, the barefoot activity focused on balance is something that needs to be a regular occurrence. Since they enjoyed it so much, I signed them up for another session, right after school once a week. They are in different classes due to their ages, but their classes are at the same time. (The gym is huge!!)

Maddux is her usual goofy self, but she is progressing really far on the balance beam. She can walk the whole length (or more) 'scooping' her feet down each step and/or going backwards. She still falls often enough, but most of that is Maddux being Maddux.

Eli still struggles with the backwards rolls, but his cartwheels have gotten so much better, and he loves the rings. This last week they even got on the high bar and hung for a few minutes before dropping into a foam pit. The most interesting exercises his class does are bear crawls on top of the parallel bars and 'gator chomps' hanging and moving underneath the balance beam. Talk about an all-over workout!

Maddux's First Soccer Game

Maddux has been participating in soccer for the last few weeks, practicing on Tuesday nights, and this weekend she had her first game. So far she really enjoys it, and seems to have found a sport that works well for her social, athletic, and crazy self. Her first time on the field for the game she was a little timid; Lehr and I think she was just a little confused because it was so different than the drills they'd practiced. She would kick the ball and then just stand there, allowing the game to go on in front of her. After a few promptings that first time out, she got that a kick did not end her play. And the second (and third and fourth and and and...there were a lot of 'sub changes') time she got out there, she was aggressive (in a good way) and even helped score a few goals.  Eli was happy to support her and cheer her on, even participating in the 'tunnel' at the end of the game!

First Pinto Game

Eli had his first game in the 'big leagues' last night; his current team is the Mudcats. This league has faster pitches, the potential to strike out, less players in the outfield, and bigger, stronger, faster boys. One of the cons of this new league is later games and practices. Last night's game didn't start until 7:15PM. We are an early-to-bed family and Eli and Maddux are in bed between 7 and 7:15 each night during the school year. Yikes. But he rallied and did really really well.

Eli played mostly in left field, which he loved. The outfield positions in this league are very active and necessary as most balls get hit pretty far. He threw it in several times to help stop the play. Somewhere around the 3rd inning he was assigned the position of pitcher. This position is scary for me because of the power behind some of the line-drives hit by the boys. In addition, we are still in coach-pitch mode, so the coach is sometimes slightly blocking the actual pitcher's view of the batter. (He does wear a mask, which helps!) Eli absolutely rocked that inning. He got all three outs, getting to the ball quickly as it was hit and throwing it quickly and accurately to first base. The Mudcats shut the other team out that inning.Really well...getting three outs in a row during his first game (as pitcher).

On the batting front, he did well also, scoring each time he was up except for once when he was stranded at second base. All around a REALLY good start to the new season!

Boosterthon 2012

Eli and Maddux both had the opportunity of participating in Boosterthon this year, and boy were they excited. Eli moved into a new time slot since he's now in 2nd grade...big deal. Maddux and the rest of the Kindergartners and 1st Graders kicked it off first thing in the morning by running up to 35 laps around the Boosterthon track. She had a blast, alternating between running and walking and talking and laughing and smiling. I was able to totally focus on her during that time and then switch to 100% Eli when it was time for his grade....so glad about that! Eli ran the entire time, stopping for water once or twice, but mostly sprinting. When he finished, he was a big sweaty mess, but he completed more laps than he has in the past, so he was super excited.

Triathlete

A little over a month ago, Eli and I saw a sign for a kids' triathlon at the end of August. Eli asked about the event and decided he wanted to participate. For the first week he did great with his training, but, as expected, his passion for training went away quickly. But once a week he would go to the gym with me and do a solid hour training with brick workouts or transition practice. And when the triathlon happened in the Olympics, he watched every second. (1 1/2 hours!)

Yesterday was the event, and it was an early day. We had to be at the aquatic center at 6:!5AM, which meant us pulling out of the driveway at 5 (gasp) 30 in the morning. (When I woke her up, Maddux said, "But it's still dark outside!!") We got to the staging area right away and Eli set up his transition. Parents were not allowed in that area at all, so Eli had to set it up by himself. Then we waited. And waited. Finally they lined the kids up just after 8AM and marched the first group into the pool area. Lehr, Maddux and I waited near the entrance to give him a final send off. Maddux high-fived him and Eli blew a kiss at her. MELT!

The race was aged 6-17years old, so Eli was on the young side. Out of 880 racers, he was number 62. Because I wanted to be outside for the transition and to see some of his bike and run, we did not go inside for the swim. We watched him run through the transition area perfectly, very focused, and get on his bike right after the 'mount line'. He did need a little help steadying himself because he was in such a rush :)

Eli came in from the bike telling me that his shoe was untied. Thankfully one of the coaches he knew was right there and helped him tie it. Then he took off running. I ran along side his course as long as I could before the out and back intersected and I was forced to stop. I caught him again as he came back (he told me he and Drew saw each other over that line as well and high-fived), and he sprinted to the finish.

100m swim, 3mile bike, 1/2 mile run...all in a day's work for Eli. He loved every second of it and already asked if he can do another.

Lucky Number Seven

As usually happens this time of year, I'm shocked at how quickly we got here. How quickly we went from diapers to baseball pants. How quickly we went from pureed vegetables to your strong preference for things like pistachios and tofu. How quickly we went from me reading board books to you, to you reading Harry Potter to me. How quickly we went from a stroller to a triathlon. How quickly we went from 24/7 to 15/7. How quickly we went from zero to seven....

This last year has been an amazing one for you, Eli. You have matured in a really cool way. When you went from five to six, we had many transitions to work out, mostly due to school. But this last year, in only your second year of school, you have matured in so many cool ways socially, emotionally, and spiritually. You've closed the door on your first league of baseball, and now you face the next step in what I hope will be a lifelong passion for you. You've started to branch out with your social circle; as much as you still hold your dearest friend near, you are no longer hesitant to join a new group. And the conversations I have with you on Sundays or during our special one-on-one times have allowed me to see a glimpse of some really cool growth in your relationship with Jesus.

And my how you and Maddux have grown. No longer is she chasing you for attention and affection without any reciprocation. You have started to include your sister in a really cool way and the two of you can often be found giggling and tickling each other.

Seven years. Seven years have passed since you arrived into our lives, our arms and our hearts. Seven years that have been filled with so much... Eli, we are so excited to celebrate seven years of you today!

Birthday With The Braves

Instead of a birthday party, this year Eli opted to invite a few baseball-minded friends to join him at a weekend Braves game. He picked three boys who also played in his league, and who he knew from school and the neighborhood. We all loaded up in our car and drove down to the game, baseball gloves and hats in tow. (Maddux chose to stay home and have one-on-one with her favorite babysitter instead of going to the game.)

As much as each of the boys love watching a 'real' game, we really only sat in the seats for a few innings. They were far more interested in the extra 'stuff' at the Braves stadium. We hit from a pitching machine, ran through the misters, got pizza, got peanuts, played ball in the kids area, got birthday milkshakes, ran through the playground at the kids area, and played ball again. We left just before the end of the game, driving four exhausted boys home. Eli had a blast and so did his friends.

Maddux's First Week

Maddux has only been in school for one week, but already it's been full of excitement!

On the first day, Maddux came home and told us she'd taken a nap at school. I was a little confused because her teacher had already told us that they would not be taking a rest-time in the afternoon, so I asked for more details. Maddux informed me that she'd found a hole in the ground on the playground and napped there during recess. Nice. AND the teacher had to come get her when it was time to return to the classroom, reminding her that 'the ground is not a place to sleep'. Perfect.

On day two, we got a note in Maddux's folder letting us know that she had 'smacked' her leg while on the playground. She'd received ice and was fine, but they wanted to let us know in the event we saw a mark/lump. That same day, I asked Maddux if Eli had walked her to her classroom from the bus (he did that the first day). She said 'no', because she didn't need help (of course), but SHE walked William to his class. Nevermind the fact that Maddux and William are equals in the same grade and William is a good deal older than Maddux.

Finally, the week ended with another note in Maddux's folder. This one was to let us know that Maddux had missed out on five minutes of recess AND had her seat moved due to excessive talking. As expected, when I asked Maddux how that made her feel, she told me, "I was sad to miss recess, but I know friends at the other table, so my chair moving wasn't too bad."

Good luck, teachers of Maddux, today and forever.

Surprise Visit!

At the last minute we were able to fly Grandma Cathie to Atlanta for a quick visit. As luck would have it, she flew in just in time for the first day of school, so the kids were very excited to have her accompany them up to the bus stop the first day.

Maddux and Eli have been very into 'scaring' people lately, often popping out from behind doors or walls and saying, "DID I SCARE YOU?!?!" Most of the time, we hear them a mile away, but fun nonetheless. I picked my mom up from the airport late Saturday night and told her about this, so she decided that's how she'd greet them in the morning (they did NOT know she was coming). So Sunday morning arrives and the kids get ready upstairs. When they go down, they get their cereal ready and sit at the table. A few seconds later, Grandma Cathie jumps out and shouts, "DID I SCARE YOU?" I think Eli jumped a foot out of his chair. They were totally surprised and excited. Much of the day was spent playing and swimming at the pool, catching Grandma up on everything they could think of.

The week went well, with Grandma waking up to see the kids off to school each morning and receiving them off the bus each day. Friday after school the three of them left right away for a special date: bowling, a trip to Target and a special dinner date later, they had thoroughly enjoyed every second of her trip.