Green Slime Soccer - The Bumblebee Game

Green Slime vs. The Bumblebees.... at first it seems like an obvious win. The kids are small. They are running around like crazy and don't seem to be into the game. That is what we all thought when the whistle blew to start the game. Little did we know, their secret weapon was about to emerge...

It didn't take long for the entire team (and all the parents) to realize that the secret weapon was not a child. Oh no... it was Coach Bumblebee. She was part goalie, part kicker, part coach. She blocked our kicks more times than we could count (she feigned it was because she couldn't move fast enough, which I believed until it kept happening when Green Slime was about to score on a drive). During breaks, she was grabbing her kids by the necks and screaming at them. It was the weirdest game we ever played... hence how I remember the team name: The Bumblebees.

Above: KK trying her best to having a scoring run! She did great out there - so proud of you baby!

My fav part of the game: the after shot with our family! It brings me joy to get to share in KK's soccer achievements with family, and let them see her in action

And don't forget about AJ. While he is only an honorary team member, he loves soccer. Note he is wearing KK's jersey from last year. He wore it to every game so far and will keep doing so. He plays on the sidelines, working to keep the team who is waiting to play nice and warmed up (see below, he and Kenzie running drills lol)!

Go.Green.Slime! If we can handle the Bumblebees, we can handle anything!

AJ's 2nd Birthday PARTY

To follow up on our fun family birthday celebration on AJ's actual birthday ~ little man still had to party with 25 of his bestest friends. And party he did! With McQueen and Thomas decorating the tables with soccer balls (why pick one theme when you love all three equally), we invited all our friends to celebrate AJ's 2nd birthday with a party at the Playscape... as you can see, AJ was all smiles, he loved his party!



For those who don't know what a Playscape is: a church nearby has an indoor jungle gym that easily goes up three stories high and ends in a long long long slide down to the bottom again. The kids adore it... I'm not so sure the adults like me who tagged along for the climb up thought it was quite as amazing, but seeing and sharing in the laughs and giggles made up for the tight squeezes and dizzy heights! As AJ is part monkey, such an adventure was a perfect way to celebrate being TWO!



So here are some shots in between climbs to the top that we could get...

All our friends (well some were still climbing, but to get this many kids to sit when they were having fun is a feat in itself):

After playing for awhile, it was time to serve up some dessert. While Mommy made a "soccer" ball cake out of cupcakes, per the birthday boy's request, since our party was at 9am we also served AJ's favorite: donuts! With some fruit and juice boxes, it made for a somewhat well-rounded start to everyones day!



Everyone gathered around and sang Happy Birthday - AJ snuggled close and had to think about his wish for a moment before blowing out the candle...

It was a great party, AJ had fun and so did we! The kids left with little bags of gummy bears (because I wasn't really sure if the donuts, cupcakes and juice boxes were enough sugar opps he-he) and hugs from AJ. We have such amazing friends and family surrounding us here - such a blessing to get to share our special days like this with them!

So it is official little man - you are TWO! Two years old, two parties to celebrate... Hope your wishes come true sweetheart!

Family Visits :-)

Just in time for AJ's 2nd birthday and KK's Green Slime soccer season ~ Grandpa and our Aunt L and Uncle S came to visit!!! We always have fun on their visits, the kids adore the attention and the extra people to play with. The joy of grandparents, aunts and uncles is that they are easily talked into playing just about anything you can come up with... you can't beat that kind of love! I am going to fast forward really quick and show my fav picture of the weekend:

First event of the weekend: KK's soccer practice. Everyone enjoyed the warm evening while watching Coach C patiently work with the team to ready them for the upcoming game on Saturday.

The boys (AJ included) sat together - it was a sweet moment to capture! After we hit the showers, AJ sat down to open belated birthday presents from Grandma and Ju-Ju and everyone else. He loved everything ~ trains and Thomas and McQueen... they knew exactly what to get!

AJ giving Grandpa a big thank you kiss! And not just for the toys ~ for coming and spending time with us. That matters more than gifts! See more from our weekend in upcoming posts!

AJ's 2nd Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet AJ!

How is it possible that you are already two years old? You have grown so much in so many ways this past year. Before I start with that, let me just share my favorite picture of you. While it hurt to cut those baby curls of hair, your new Justin Bieber look makes you look even more adorable, who knew?



If you were a part of our small guest list for AJ's birthday party, then you received an invitation with that smiling face on it. We presented AJ with his birthday boy outfit and were immediately met with "I wear dat, I wear dat". He loved having such a cool shirt. So we thought, lets go outside and see if we can get at least one picture. Little did we know that our little "Bieber" was all about posing like a big boy with his baby blue eyes and toothy little smile. So adorable! Here are a few more outtakes from our impromptu photo shoot in our yard. Even KK joined in:


Its hard to know where to begin with my little man. It just doesn't seem that long ago that you were this tiny little bundle, so quiet and content to sit back and watch. Those days are gone. Your are small but your personality is mighty AJ! We never have a doubt about what you are thinking or feeling. Getting to watch you learn to talk is so much fun, I wish there was a way to capture you as you hear something and immediately repeat it. Usually as a question to me followed by a quick little smile to show me you know how awesome you are at learning things.

Thank you KK, as you teach AJ the joys of singing. My favorite, hearing AJ singing "Oh Baby baby baby oooohhhh" while playing in the playroom alone. And yes, sometimes you hit that high note and only dogs can hear you. When you were a baby, the nurses were shocked at how loud and high you would scream/cry. It seems that this has transcended your singing little man....

While you are the little brother, you make sure KK knows she can't push you around. More times than not, you push back or push first... but I am so thankful that you and your sissy love each other so very much and don't fight often. Your favorite time is time spent playing together, usually in KK's room playing Barbie or dress-up (that is after playing any kind of ball or lining up your matchbox cars over and over again or playing trains - all things you can do for hours on end). Listening to you and KK talking to one another, such fun little conversations between brother and sister that Daddy and I love to listen to when you think we aren't around... it warms my heart more than I can explain. Some of those conversations drive us a little crazy or to uncontrollable laughter. AJ, you are quite the contrary little man. If KK looks out and says its very sunny today, you will undoubtedly respond immediately with "It's not sunny". You love to rile her up and it doesn't take you long to do it.

Soccer is still your favorite game ever. There are still days in which only clothes with soccer on it will do. But we have branched out. We now have a Mav's jersey and shorts that you refuse to take off. You have come home some many times covered with sand and dirt, and while Mommy tries to bath you and put clean PJ's on, you demand ever so forcefully to wear that dirty "baskball" shirt to bed and again the next morning. Convincing you to do something you don't want to do is such a challenge. You are such a stubborn boy sometimes, but I say that with nothing but love as I only have to look in the mirror to see who taught you that. There are times I laugh as I have no idea what else to do with you. Like when you were in time out for throwing something at your sister. You sat there, looking so defiant and when I made you chose between more time out or saying sorry, you immediately sat back down in that time out chair and didn't crack a smile. I had to leave the room I was laughing so hard. Oh sweet AJ, you bring such joy to our lives, even when we don't expect it.

Sorry for the rambling... part of me is trying to write down these moments and memories as they will be gone soon. I will focus now on your big day! You were all smiles, loving every minute. Of course we wore our birthday boy shirt. Mommy made, per your adamant request, a soccer ball cake! Thomas the train and McQueen were they decorates, again per your request and who can blame you - why pick only one of your best friends?



As tradition in our home - the day was celebrated with our cousins in style: pizza, cake and presents! The cake was a big hit and the night was perfect. The kids had fun together!



Of course everyone joined in to blow out the candle!


Before presents were finished, the kids discovered that all they need is tissue paper to party




AJ was given so many wonderful gifts from our families. They were all perfect for AJ, Thomas and McQueen were the theme for gifts and everything had to be inspected and played with before opening the next gift.



So Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet AJ! Daddy, KK and I have been so blessed by you ~ we love you so much! We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings with you :-)

Ida's Baptism

My sweet niece Ida decided to let God into her heart, what an amazing thing for someone so small to do such a big thing in her life. Praises! I pray for her that He lives in her heart and that she grows and learns to walk with Him all the days of her life.

Such an important decision should always be celebrated with family - and so we hit the road to Missouri with our cousins to share and be a part of her day!



Our Ida ready for the day to begin (and for the pictures to stop, just like her Momma, she doesn't like to hold a smile for long).



KK was so excited to spend the weekend with her cousin!



Please don't take this shot for granted... it took 15 shots to get one in which all the kiddos were looking in the general direction of the camera. How special to have KK, Gracie & Ida all together. They haven't all been together in months!

Ida with her mom, Oma and Opa (her godparents)! I was waiting for lightning to strike the church, but we all made it out alive, huh Pops? Teasing!





While Oma & Opa had to leave town right after the baptism, our family was able to spend the rest of the weekend with our Aunt and cousin/niece. It was a fun weekend, we had a lot of laughs and good times! Some good memories: Ida has a little puppy named Lily. Well Lilly must have thought AJ was just her size, and showed her joy by jumping on him and licking his ears. You could hear him yelling every few minutes while playing "No Lily No" and then running away from her. It was so cute. There was also AJ stripping down to his diaper for the neighbors. If you can't sit back with a (baby) bottle in your underwear at night, there is something wrong I guess. There was also the disapearing peach pie I brought up... My sister swears we all ate it, but I do remember leftovers that never saw the light of the fridge thanks to her late night cravings hehe. Like I said, it was fun and I hope we do it again soon.



The girls posing together - they played so well together!

Green Slime Soccer - Game 1

The time has come... the time you are all waiting for.... GREEN SLIME SOCCER! That's right, Coach Carl is back and our team is better than ever this spring. We are so blessed to have such an amazing team this season filled with all of our friends. The kids love playing with each other (the parents love chit chatting with each other on the side lines), it makes for a great season.

Now game 1 had it all - well except for uniforms. Those didn't make it in time... But we had frigid temperates, interesting clothing pulled on last minute to keep the players warm, crazy plays and moves by each player... it was a great game. KK even scored her first ever goal!!! I wish I had a picture of it, we were too busy cheering her on to think to capture her moment. But what a moment it was, she kicked the ball in and then looked back and just beamed. She ran over for some high fives and then ran back onto the field to keep playing. We are so proud of you KK! Way to go!



I thought I would bring the game to life in pictures as my video's aren't downloaded yet. First (above) we have KK with her bestest friend KJ. Striking a pose and trying to stay warm. They did attempt jumping in place at one point to stay warm.

Poor Kenz is yelling to share her thoughts on the cold winds that were hitting us :-) That isn't a team huddle, that is our pledge before the game.. KK was in the middle of that enjoying the warm.



Cody and C-bug were all smiles, at least for that moment before the ball was kicked. And there goes Gracie after the ball with her extra long sleeves hehe.



Gracie showing us her moves... and the GREEN SLIME waiting for our turn to kick the ball. We look fierce (or frigid depending on your vantage point).



It was so cold even our little cheerleader wasn't in the mood to jump onto the field and cause chaos...



Finally, here is KK, going through the tunnel at the end of the game all smiles... it definitely looks like we are going to have a great season ahead of us! GO GREEN SLIME!