Soccertime

Sophie and Bella are doing soccer this fall, and they are loving it so far! They have been practicing for a few weeks and had their second game today. Though neither one of them has played soccer before, they are both giving it their best and enjoying the camaraderie and competition . . . ., but not the bugs. In fact, Bella refused to go close to one side of the goal when she was playing goalie for part of the first game. She said "there were two big, loud bugs over there, and I didn't want to get stung." Luckily for her, the shots were all on the side she was willing to defend and she stop all the goals but one. Her coach and team even gave her a standing ovation during halftime for all the goals she stopped.

If you know Bella, you know that she is somewhat reserved in public and doesn't like a lot of public attention on her. So playing goalie was not her favorite assignment to say the least. She ended up in tears before her rotation was through, not because she was playing poorly, but becasue all of the attention was focused on her. At one point, during a water break, her Dad had to go on the field and give her a little pep talk. Emme saw that Bella was upset, so she ran on the field too and gave Bella a big hug and said, "It's OK, Bella." It was so dang cute!

Sophie also played a little goalie her first game, to slightly less stellar results (the opposing team was pretty good), but when she got in the midfield, she displayed strong dribbling and passing skills. Her coach applauded her in front of the whole team for her hustle and effort. And during her second game, which her team one, she had an assist and a couple of other passes that could have been assists if the goal kicks would have gone in.

Well, so far so good with soccer. But let's see how everyone is feeling about it come mid November when the season ends. That seems like a long season for little league soccer, doesn't it? And with two practices each week for both girls, it sure is a lot of time at the soccer fields for our family. But, as I said, so far so good!

Cloudy with a Chance of Parakeet

So, Bella has been wanting a parakeet for a while now, and she has worked hard in spurts to earn one. She closed out last school year really strong and tried hard this summer to keep some scholastic focus while enjoying the break. Recently, her desire for a parakeet reached fever pitch, and she has been upset that her parents haven't made good on their end of the bargain with her. So she took matters into her own hands.

Sunday night she disappeared into her room for over an hour with several pieces of paper, a pencil, and some scissors. Later that night and the next morning, we learned exactly what she was up to. In strategic spots across the house, she had placed several handwritten and carefully cut versions of the the following note: "Can I please have a Parakeet?" In her Dad's shoes, on the computer keyboard, in drawers, on picture frames, and as you can see below, on kitchen sponges and in the refrigerator (I guess she knows my weakness for sour cream!) appeared these persuasive pleas.

Well, who can say no to that kind of diligence and creativity? So today Stephen took Bella on a daddy-daughter date and got her the brightest blue parakeet the pet store had. Bella named her Cloudy (Cloudy Blue Sky Calvert, if you were wondering what the full version was) and has been on cloud 9 herself since 11:00 am this morning.

Of all of our kids, Bella is the most fond of animals. Unfortunately, her allergies and Harrison's allergies to dogs and cats have prevented us from owning a typical pet so far (though we did have a labradoodle, named Lola, for a couple weeks about 4.5 years ago before we knew of all the allergies). For now, Cloudy the Parakeet will have to do. If today is any indication, that is just fine with Blue Girl.

And the little ones are off now too

My little two started preschool on Friday, and I must admit I was lonely and sad without them. But they had a great time, so my frown turned upside down when they returned with a good report. I'm sure in a few weeks I will be glad for the time to myself (but just then it will probably turn into time at the elementary school having lunch and doing activities with my older two). Do you hear a tiny violin playing? :)

Batter Up!

We had been meaning to take the kids to an Astros (or should I say Lastros) game this summer, but things never lined up. This past Wednesday, Stephen scored some sweet front row tickets from work and off we went!


One of the opposing team's (Pirates) coaches tossed Bella a baseball between innings, which she loved despite not being a rabid baseball fan. She named it "Ballie" and made a bed for it at home that night ... :) Harrison was not too happy that his sister got the ball and he didn't. As you can also see in the pictures, we ate all the ballpark food we could -- pizza, burgers, fries, cotton candy, and ice cream -- which made the free tickets not seem so free anymore. Oh well, we had a good time! Sophie and Bella particularly enjoyed listening to Stephen cheer on the players and yell at the umpire, and they even got in on the act a few times. "Go Stros!"