T-Rexes

Louis and Reid are playing soccer with the YMCA.  They are on the same team, the T-Rexs.  They practice once a week and then have a game on Saturday.  It is ridiculous how cute the whole thing is and how much of a hot mess they all are.  I missed the first practice because of work and then the second practice and game were cancelled because of rain.

I was on board for the next practice, though.

Lou is really into it.  He likes to get the ball but is not overly aggressive, gets distracted easily, likes to flop (ie, throw himself on the field in a dramatic fashion), and can sometimes be seen with his hand down his pants.

I actually had to miss the first game on Saturday because it conflicted with a Daisy Scout field trip, but dear god the cuteness was on maximum overdrive.

Thankfully, BVZ and the rest of the family were there to take photos and cheer him on.  The report I got was that:
1.  He had a great time
2.  He showed Reid his Batman underpants on the field
3.  He scored a goal
4.  For the wrong team
5.  He wants to do it again next week

Randoms

This is a random collection of photos from my phone over the last month or so...

Clean bill of health from the dentist again.  Which is actually kind of shocking given their wayward nutrition lately and the fact that I have to pin Lou down most night in order to brush his teeth.  The other good news is that he has completely outgrown his "paci mouth" and he no longer has teeth that look like Mater the Tow Truck.

Lou's hair is phenomenal.  It is thick and luxurious and has a perfect amount of wave.  It also grows exceptionally fast and within a week after a hair cut is hanging in his eyes.  I thought I could take matters into my own hands and buy us a little more time between cuts.  I thought wrong.

We went to to haircut place the next day.

The kids are excited to watch Longhorn Football.

See? Teeth are so much better.

GG sends the best stuff.  Here Norah is randomly sporting authentic Dutch wooden shoes and a crazy lady feather hat from Laguna Beach.

Norah had a hard time with me working so much, especially on the weekends and I often would wake up in the morning to her head on my pillow.

 Not to be outdone by the boys wearing superhero outfits all.the.time, Norah wanted in on the action as well.

Reid and Lou attempted a sleepover.  There was a lot of superhero fighting.

Popcorn eating.

And generally being adorable.

This was Norah's self-portrait she did at school.

Waiting patiently for a cupcake at a birthday party.

Norah went to a birthday party at one of those fancy dress up princess places.  She mentions it at least once a day and refers to it as "one of the best days of my life."

When your Batman costume is a little big it looks as though you are wearing a giant black diaper.

Swimming after 7:00 pm is the best because Lou does not have to wear a swim shirt.  It makes his whole day.

Lou's school does not open until 8:00 am.  Norah has to be at her school at 7:35 and even after navigating all of the crazy drop off traffic we still get to his school by 7:50 at the latest.  So I park and turn off the car and he gets to come to the front and push all the buttons.  I am sure someone will call CPS shortly.

Norah's friend down the street has the perfect climbing tree.  It is good to have a friend with a perfect climbing tree, especially one who lives down the street.

Superhero Run

Every year CASA (court appointed special advocates) does a Superhero inspired 5K and 1K fun run to raise money for abused and neglected kids.  It is a good cause and everyone loves a superhero so it seemed like a win-win.  I ordered Norah a Bat Girl costume from Amazon.  She loves it and I am ignoring the fact that I let my six year old dress in black vinyl.  Louis wanted to wear his Batman costume but it was "too wet" (ie, a drop of water spilled on it), so he decided to be Spiderman.  Spiderman with a Batman belt and Batman cape.

BVZ had a Spiderman shirt and I had a Wonder Woman one left over from Norah's fourth birthday party.

It was a huge event with a TON of people.  The kids were stoked to see "the REAL Batman."  There were also REAL stormtroopers but I somehow failed to photograph them.

Batman Reid joined us.

And Super Girl Camilla.

At the starting line.

Norah was really into it and BVZ had to keep telling her to slow down because Louis was not nearly as fast.  She was not about to take off without them so she did a little backtracking.  Girl can run.

They got medals for finishing the race.  I think Louis has worn his every day and has taken it to school for show and tell twice.

He also uses it as a monocle when he is pretending to be the Penguin (again, from Batman).

There were a ton of activities and booths after the race and three giant moon bounces.  There was also a field full of fire ants, mosquitoes, and chiggers but I seem to be the only one who got eaten alive.

It was a fun, fun, fun event (except for the getting eaten alive part) and I hope it becomes an annual tradition.

First Day of First Grade

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, first grade was upon us.  Both Norah and I were significantly less stressed about it.  We met her teacher (the awesome Mrs. C), bought some school supplies, picked out a first day outfit and we were on our way.

Norah asked for a short hair cut.  It is hot here and I think she was just tired of it in her face all of the time.  I will never again allow her to cut bangs unless she is ready to commit to them for the rest of eternity.  Growing out bangs for a kid who does not like to wear clips in her hair is a nightmare.  She sports the shaggy dog look 85% of the time.  

First day!

This is her school BFF, A.  She and Norah get along famously.  I am not ever really worried about Norah being one of the "mean girls" at school (it is just not in her nature), but I do always worry a little that she will become the next worst thing to a mean girl--a nice girl who wants to be friends with the mean girl.  Thankfully Norah and her close friends seem to be oblivious to the drama that goes on, even at this very young age, and are finding their way with humor and grace.  I have my eyes open at all times but so far we have been very lucky with the solid group of girls that make up her base of friends.

My smart, kind, sassy girl.

We are a month or so in and she is doing great.  She reports that she loves first grade even more than kindergarten.  Her favorites are reading, writing, art and science.  She is doing exceptionally well and we could not be happier with her school, classroom, and everyday environment.

Louis started pre-school at the new Spanish school where he and Norah did three weeks of summer camp.  He is in the Azul room.  He really likes it a lot and there are a few friends that were also defectors from his old school.  He is doing well--most of the time.  We have had a few incidents of him "forgetting to use nice hands with friends" and "not listening during circle time" but considering the fact that the majority of the instruction is in a language he does not actually speak, I think he is doing remarkably well. It is everything I have ever wanted in a pre-school--small, very loving, very involved teachers, etc.  He has only shown his underpants to kids on the playground once, so I consider us to be ahead of the game.

I did not take a photo of him on his first day.  I did however take a photo of the balloon he got from meet the teacher night that Bubby tied to his bed.  A balloon anywhere near a sleeping child is my worst nightmare.  It was removed immediately.

We are off to a good start.  Let's just hope the streak continues!