Soccer Mom

I gave new meaning to the term soccer mom this year. As we were signing the boys up for activities I decided they should play soccer. I had to register Mason and Easton separately because they were in different age groups. When I called, the guy told me they were really in need of coaches and asked if I would be willing to help out. I reluctantly said I would be the assistant but not the head coach, but only if they absolutely needed me. (and I stressed the absolutely) Little did I know when you volunteer they jump all over it. So I got 2 phone calls telling me I would be the assistant coach for each team. It was quite an adventure for both me and for the boys. So lesson #1... don't ever hesitantly say yes to coaching they take it very definitively.

Mason: I requested Mason to be on the same team as his friend John that lives in our neighborhood. Little did I know that this team of boys were superstars and my poor kid had barely ever even kicked a soccer ball before. The other boys had been playing together at least a year and maybe 2. So not only did they know what to do they were very competitive and most of them were really amazing. It should probably be noted that one of his teammates is Dan Gable's grandson and another of his teammates is Wes Obermueller's son (he was a professional pitcher), and while my son is my son... you know I was an all star in High School at soccer, oh wait yah NO I was terrible but had fun trying. ha ha. So it was a learning experience and in the end we learned he could be good if he tried but he wasn't real into it. He did score a goal in one game which was a proud moment for us all...too bad daddy was at home with the naughty little boys.

Easton: Now this was a completely different experience. Easton along with most of the team were 3 years old and had never played a day in their life. We did have at least one girl and one boy who had played the year before and boy was it obvious! Mostly Easton followed me around the field and payed no attention to what was going on. At one point I told him he needed to go after the ball and he replied, " I don't like all that wrestling." He was referring to the mob of kids all kicking at the ball and each other. Can't say he's not logical. It was challenging to say the least to get him to even get out there but in the end he did a good job and I think enjoyed it some. He also scored a goal at one point... but for the other team.

Safe to say neither of these kids will be playing for the World Cup... Sutton is my only hope.

Preschool Graduation

Mason has accomplished his first official educational milestone. He graduated from preschool this spring…two times! He attends 2 different preschools. At Creation Kids they had a little ceremony where they sang a few songs (he looked less than thrilled), and then each child said what they wanted to be when they grew up. We eagerly anticipated his turn and placed bets on whether he would say semi driver, dump truck driver, or concrete truck driver. As the children came up the girls seemed to have their heads on straight and many wanted to be doctors, there was one little boy who wanted to be a Transformer, but a majority of all the boys in the class wanted to be… a cop. Mason concurred. One of his classmates has a father that is a police officer and apparently he’s been pretty influential.
Next up Kinderfarm graduation, he got to walk up the podium and shake Mrs. Shoemaker’s hand. She was one of his teachers this spring. He even made his own graduation hat. He's thoroughly enjoyed Kinderfarm, it's like a dream come true to be able to take care of the animals while at school. Now it’s onto kindergarten and he couldn’t be happier. He is ready, we are ready…and we even got word he’ll get to ride the bus which is probably the thing he is looking forward to the most. Way to go Mason Man, we are so proud of you!

Our mom has an unhealthy obsession with dressing us alike.

It’s no secret that I love to dress the boys the same. Although it started because I thought it was cute, I have actually found it to be quite practical as well. For example, when I go into a store to buy new clothes for the boys I don’t have to figure out what I am buying for who and I don’t have to look around much. I just buy 3 of the same thing, convenient and quick! But the other more practical part of dressing them the same is that some day when we are in public one of them will disappear, wander off… who knows which one, that could change by the day. And when the police come to question what they are wearing I will simply point to one of the other boys and say, "he was wearing that!" The funny thing is that Mason now enjoys dressing the same and often he picks out everyone's outfit the night before and lays them out on the dresser...he hates it when Easton doesn't want to match (yah he's my mini me, ha ha) Here are a few of my fave matchy match outfit pics.

We have hit a milestone... they no longer fit in a regular bathtub together, it's my whirlpool or our walk in shower these days for getting clean.

I am the comedian and I LOVE my paci:

I often refer to Sutton as comic relief in our house. He is always doing something goofy and making every one laugh. Sometimes it's on purpose and other times it's completely accidental but still hilarious. I guess he has realized his role in the family. He’s not only the family comedian but he is still after all the baby. One night I found him taking advantage of the small amount of time he has left with his paci (I think he was maximizing his time with paci at night since he doesn’t get to have it during the day at school). Funniest part was that he acted as if this was very normal to just have 2 pacis. This has become yet another way he gets us all to laugh at him and big brothers often promote it by finding him 2 pacis.

The incredible climbing kid

My kids have all been climbers compared to many other kids their age. However Sutton has taken it to a new level so to speak. Other parents often gasp when in the presence of Sutton because he is often up on top of something he shouldn’t be. While I usually stand there watching calm, cool, and collected just shaking my head, I can't tell you the number of times I have heard someone say to me, "he's making me nervous." I guess I should have expected this when at the age of 11 months he could easily climb out of his crib. Here are a few places I have found him lately:

Nothing in the pantry is safe anymore:

He can get in the fridge He's crafty...ladders are necessary when there are no lower shelves to start on.

And his latest was climbing up the outside of the staircase, luckily he thought just sitting on top of the banister would be sufficient.

Happy Birthday to Sutton and Me!

Happy Birthday to Sutton and Brooke. Here we are on our shared birthday, he turned 2 and I turned 31 years more than him (gasp).

The previous weekend my parents got me my very own cake! Most of you who know me know that my favorite part of my birthday is the cake and I was less than thrilled to have to share MY day with my youngest son when he decided to steal my birthday. Thankfully I have been spoiled each year thus far (yah I know it's only been 2 years) with a cake of my own!
The next weekend Sutton had a Wonder Pets Birthday Party, he and his brothers are obsessed with the annoying show and I am counting down the days until everyone grows out of it.

He of course got way too many gifts. One of his favorites was golf clubs. Of course not only can you hit a ball with them they also make choice weapons for hitting your brothers! Sutton also got a great new picnic table and the box it came in was quite the hit as well. We then went out in the yard and played with one other present, a very cool bubble machine that makes millions of bubbles.

Easter

We started off Easter a bit early with an egg hunt in Grandma Lana’s basement. The boys had fun racing around trying to find as many eggs as possible.

Next up coloring Easter eggs. We have pretty much adopted a fourth son that you will soon get to know very well through the blog. Last November we got new neighbors (the husband was one of my high school friends) their son Chase has become our fourth son. So the 4 boys spent time coloring eggs, and the table… oh and Sutton ate part of a color tablet. The Easter bunny stopped at our house and brought some new jammies, sidewalk chalk, and the crowd favorite of all boys in our house Cadbury eggs. Then it was off to Chase Eisenbach’s for an outdoor egg hunt. After a long day, I found all 3 boys snuggling on our very large sectional (wonder how long that will last?).