We're Busy!

I keep setting goals to update this blog more frequently and time keeps slipping away from me. 

Spring season kept us busy - both kids played soccer with Capital Soccer Association, an awesome club that I am so happy came up first in google search when we moved to town. The coaches care as much about the kids as we did for the kids we coached in track. They really focus on technical skills and the kids have come a long way. Gavin is getting to an age where the soccer games are so intense - they are really fun to watch! Sam had a one hour a week session where they spend most of the time focusing on drills, and then 15-20 minutes scrimmage time. He has one more year (fall and spring) before he moves to a one practice / one game a week format. 



Gavin had one last tournament during Memorial Day weekend. All he needed to do was get through the weekend uninjured before turning our focus to peaking his training for track nationals at the end of July. In his second to last game, he went down funny on his knee trying to keep a ball in bounds. It instantly swelled up so off we went to the urgent care clinic. Fortunately it was just a sprain and he was only down for a week.





In running news, both boys participated in the Mayor's run where Gavin ran the mile twice, breaking 6 minutes for the first time in a road mile. Sam did an awesome job running his second mile race of the year in 11:24.

Gavin has been rocking his track meets. The last one he attended in Omaha he was the clear winner in the 800m (2:38.83) and 1500m (5:19.23). No one close to him. He is starting to get quite the fan club, a little girl came up to me after the 800m and said "was that your boy in front? He's really fast!"

He even got some good words from little brother "wow, Gav is pretty much the boss at running!"







Sam and I had a special project one weekend planting a container garden of veggies and herbs on the back deck. He had fun posing for the camera.



And last weekend Chad and Gavin ran a rainy hometown race. Check out Chad's race recap here. 







Next up - Sam starts t-ball this weekend and it's state track meet time!!

Sam's First Soccer Game

Both boys are playing soccer with Capital Soccer Association here in Lincoln. From what I can tell, it appears to be a pretty serious soccer league with well trained coaches. Gavin is about a month into his season while Sam just started.

The little guys just meet once a week on Sundays and practice for 45 minutes followed by a little scrimmage. Aren't their uniforms so cute??

It was 99 degrees out at the start of practice. His cheeks were red before they even started playing!

Gavin had a game in Omaha, so Chad took him there and I took Sam to his practice / game. Afterwards we each took the boys out 1:1 for dinner. It's really nice to spend that one on one time with them.

Sam handled practice and the heat like a champ and said he had a lot of fun, especially when he scored a goal. I was squirting water on his head during water breaks but by the end of practice the water was very warm! We stopped by the gas station to grab a cold drink and then headed to Red Robin for dinner.

Where he showed off his karate moves

And acted like a total goofball himself

I have to say, I love Red Robin! They have a salad I am obsessed with, plus it was way cheap to eat there. We started off with a little plate of fries, I had a salad, Sam had a corn dog kids meal with fruit and a drink, and we shared a dessert. All for $18! My budget loves it. 

And it wouldn't be a day with Sam without a hilarious tidbit coming out of his mouth.

Sam: Mom, what are you?
Me: ummm......a momma?
{shakes head}
Me: a girl?
{shakes head}
Me: well, what am I?
Sam: you are a WOMAN!!

First Day of School!

Gavin and I are hotel living in Lincoln! We checked into the Holiday Inn yesterday and are living there for the week. We closed on our house last Friday but we won't have our stuff moved until next week. More importantly, we won't have internet til next week. That was the deciding factor  :)

After a rough first soccer practice with his new team last week, Gav had a GREAT practice last night. They play at a big sports complex, so I took the time to get a 5 mile run in. By the time I came back to watch practice, he was easily chatting with the other kids (and impressing them with his stomach roll parlor trick).

We stopped by Red Robin for a quick dinner, and then hit the hotel for bed.

Gavin woke up excited and not at all nervous about his first day of school. We parked on a side street and I walked him in - seems like a lot of people were walking to school or parking and walking (there is not a bus program in Lincoln). We found where the 4th graders were lining up and got him into his line. I tried to ask a couple parents about the pick up process, but they were either new as well, or walked. I'm afraid it feels a little disorganized, but we'll figure it out. The good thing is that there seem to be quite a few new kids in Gavin's class, so he is not the only one.

Another good thing I noticed is that the traffic doesn't seem to bad in the morning (at least in the south part where our house / school / office is).

Now I am counting down the hours until I get to go pick him up and hear all about his first day! On the agenda for tonight is getting signed up at the Y and making dinner at the new house (and then coming back to the hotel to sleep - good thing everything is close to each other!). 4 hours and 37 minutes.....this day is going fast!

Sam: Soccer Star

Sam has been playing soccer with i9 sports this fall. I helped coach the team and twelve 3 & 4 year olds are a lot to handle!

Yesterday was his last game - of course, just as he was starting to get into it. The kid does not like the cold, and unfortunately most of his games fell on pretty chilly weekends. Somehow the nice weather has all been reserved for the work week this fall.

Sam's First Soccer Game

We had to miss Sam's first soccer game through i9 sports due to our trip to Baltimore, and last week's game was rained out. This week Sam had practice and a double header!

Last week, ready to go - until we hit a torrential downpour on the way there.

Unfortunately, the box of jerseys was misplaced when we got there Saturday. Forunately, the above picture was taken the week prior, and this time he had a shirt on, although he was a little bummed to not get his jersey.

He was pretty shy and hesitant when he first got there. They did a few practice drills like dribbling the ball up to the net and shooting, and standing in a circle passing the ball to each other. Then the games started. He did a good job running around the field, but kept giving up these goofy sideways looks "are you watching me? let me make a cute shy face at you while I know you are watching me". He was not terribly aggressive about getting in there and getting the ball, but I think that will change as he gets more comfortable.

The first game they were pretty good at rotating kids in and out every few minutes. By the second game kids were getting tired! So the coach was asking kids who wanted a break. Sam never wanted a break and played the entire second game!

Getting pretty tired by the end. Overall had a great time though!



Fall 2011 Soccer Team

No, I Will NOT Shake Your Hand, thank you

 

Soccer Stud

Game Face

This is an action shot from last weekend's game taken on my phone. Kind of a silly face! While the other team got more balls in the net this game, I was really proud of how the kids played. Gavin has such focus on the field, it is so fun to watch him really get into it! Every week they start to play more as a team and have scored some great goals by being there for each other. It will be sad to see the team break up after this season (as they move to the next age group and girls have the option of an all girls team), we've had a good group of kids and a great coach. He's really focused on just making it fun for them and Gavin really likes him.

Life with Gross Boys

Well, the boys all survived mommy being gone for 4 days/3 nights, and things seem to have returned to normal once again in the Sellers household.

Gavin played his first soccer game of the spring outdoor season on Saturday. I think the indoor season really helped build his ball control skills and after getting accustomed to playing together as a team, they had a really great game. Gavin played hard and was able to score some great goals. It's so fun to watch him on the field.

Sunday was a gorgeous day in Iowa! Chad said he heard somewhere that the temp reached 83 degrees....but this is uncorroborated. The kids spent most of the day outside - in the morning in our backyard attemtping to fly a (really crappy) kite, playing frisbee and baseball. Then it was off to my mom's for a lunch prepared on the grill, and more baseball, golf, soccer, and football games in the backyard. Sam helped her garden and dragged the shovel all over the backyard (pictures to come!).

Sam is such a character, and I can't believe the things he comes up with. Here is an example of the latest wackiness.....and an example of the potty humor that is prevailing in my house full of boys these days.

The morning I left for my trip, the cat threw up on the floor. Although not good for the carpet, or Chad who had to clean it up, it actually was good for getting me out the door because Sam was so mesmerized, he barely said good-bye to me. Saturday night "Uncle Zach" was over, and all of a sudden Sam started running to that spot on the carpet, pretended to scoop something up and then pretended to smear it all over Zach's feet. And then he would laugh hysterically and tell him he was covered in "cat poop". This went on for at least ten minutes.

Sigh. He also likes to run up to people, do an over the top pelvic thrust at them and yell "Tooooot!" And then laugh hysterically and say "I tooted you!"

Double sigh And Gavin's latest trick is making inappropriate sounds with his armpit.

I suspect it's only going to get worse before it gets better......I may need to schedule some regular girly time spa visits, except I'm not really into that sort of thing!

Having a Ball

Weekend Games & Randoms

Life has been busy, so sorry for the lack of posts.

This weekend we have Gavin's first football game at 8 AM Saturday, and a soccer game at 10:45 Saturday. If you want to come cheer on the Texas Longhorns, or the Mighty Giants, email and I will give you directions. If you are a die hard fan that wants to attend both, you are welcome to stop at our place in between, although I will be running Gavin to soccer pictures at 9:45.

See what I mean about busy?

In other news, I got an email that the boys were selected to get their pics taken to use in promotions for Blank Children's Hospital. If they actually get used is a whole other story! Guess it depends on how well they behave for the pictures. I'm so excited, but mostly, am honored to be able to help promote Blank - I mean, if their cute mugs can't get the job done, whose would right? I feel such strong ties to that place, so it meant a lot to me to get asked.

Since I'm at it, here are the other brief updates:

Sam can pretty much repeat anything we say and is speaking more and more. His new phrase is "go away!" complete with a big arm gesture. So cute. So heartbreaking. So Sammy!

Gavin - my little smarty this one is. At the end of Kindergarten he was just slightly behind in reading/comprehension. Not bad, just part of the group that needed some extra help. We did put him in the summer two week reading and math review, but didn't do much else. (Kids deserve a summer break am I right??) Anyway, entering 1st grade had me nervous. But I have exchanged a couple emails with his teacher, who has described him as "a bright little guy" and "very smart, exactly where he should be starting 1st grade". And when I volunteered last week he wasn't in the group of kids that I was working with (the kids that need a little extra help). As happy as that made me, I knew he was a little bummed he didn't get to spend time with me. We are doing our reading time every night though, and he has had several homework assignments, so still spends time with "Mommy teacher". Last night there were a couple little books sent home for him to read to me, and he did SO FREAKING GOOD with them. I don't know where this development happened, but something has clearly clicked.

Sam, Sinuses, Soccer and Starting School

Let's start with Sam - last week we had his 18 month check up (late because someone was behind in appt setting). He weighed in at 26 lb, 6 oz and 33 1/4 inches tall, 54% and 80% respectively. So he continues to be my tall and skinny little man. Everything checked out well, but because his 12 month shots were delayed due to him being sick at the time, we couldn't get his Hep A vaccine for 6 months, and we were just shy of it. He will also get his blood drawn to re check for anemia when we come back for the shots.

The last couple days his sinuses have flared up, and neither Claritin nor Benadryl have done much good. Today Brenda thought he was complaining of ear pain so I ran him in to the Dr. His ears actually looked good, but he thought the sinus stuff was bad enough and had gone on long enough that it was no longer just allergies, but a sinus infection. So we are starting an antibiotic and we've got a new med for allergies (Zyrtec).

Soccer has started! I love soccer. I'm sitting at our second practice of the season as we speak (thank goodness for Wifi and multitasking!). They had a scrimmage game last week. I always think it's so funny Gavin complains about soccer and then gets out there and kills it and has a great time. He probably scored 5 or more goals, and more importantly had a bunch of fun. Our next game is this Saturday at 8:45. I have started an online calendar - if you would like access to it so that you can see our schedule, please email me and I will send it to you. Sometimes games will conflict, so also email/call if you are unsure as to which game we will attend.

School started on Monday and Gavin is officially a big first grader. He's riding the bus this year and so far it is going well. He loves it and thinks it is so much more fun than KTC. He has had a bit of an attitude in the evenings, but he has a rough time when life changes, so hopefully he will get accustomed in another week or so. He seems to like school so far and has even made a new friend that rides the bus, is in his class, and lives on our street "in the blue house".

I did get pictures and will get them posted when I get a chance.

I am attending my first school PTO meeting tonight. Very "soccer mom" of me, don't you think?

Football practices should be starting soon, and games start mid September. We will know more after the coaches meeting this week.

Busy times

Sorry for the lack of updates. My ability to post pictures is intermittent at best.

Sam's final shots were Friday and the Dr. said they had fluid in there, but no pus. A good thing, but since he still has fluid sitting there, I figure we're just counting the time until his next infection. As hard as that first one was to kick, as much as I hate it, I will probably opt for tubes as soon as we can. The antibiotics are horrible on his tummy, and the shots, well shots are awful, and still cause him tummy issues.

Gavin had another soccer game, and did a great job as usual. Unfortunately 3 out of 6 of the kids on his team flinch and run the other way any time the ball gets near them. Since 3 kids play at a time, he usually is playing out there with 2 kids that won't touch the ball. This weekend the other team had a ringer that scored often. Gavin was pretty bummed after the game and told me he didn't want to play anymore. So we'll see how next week goes!

A girl that is in his kindergarten class lives behind us; their backyard faces ours. So they have been back and forth all weekend between our houses. She is one sassy girl, I can't believe it! She's bossy and demanding and gives Gavin a run for his money since he likes everything his way and she just doesn't put up with it. This afternoon we walked her to her backyard and they walked together holding hands. It was just too adorable. And then I get all teary and mushy eyed thinking that these are the carefree days he will look back on. It sort of counter acts the working mom guilt, knowing that I am working to provide this life, this house, this neighborhood for my kids, and that they will look back on these days when they are older and smile (hopefully!).

Speaking of working mom guilt, the day after Sam said mama for the first time, I walked into day care with my chest all puffed up and proud and announced his new milestone. And got this response "Oh, he's been saying that for a while, I wondered when you were going to hear it". Knife. In my heart. Twisting. Now this wasn't his main lady as she doesn't get in til 8 am, and it was a lady that works in the 2 yr old room. I am sure she didn't mean to break my heart. But still!

Oh and swimming lessons are going better it seems. Gavin doesn't fight going, and he participates more. Although today he informed me he doesn't like diving boards. "Don't get me one of those, Mommy, ok?" "Gavin, we don't even have a pool, don't worry." "I don't like those boards, so don't get me any."

Got it Gavin. The next Michael Phelps most certainly will not be discovered in my house!

Soccer Games

Soccer games are at 10:45 Saturday mornings, most Saturdays for the next two months. One game is at 11:45, so tell me before you show up in case it's the odd time.

The fields are located at 4301 NW 66th Ave in Johnston. From the Merle Hay Rd exit off the interstate head north. Turn right (east) on NW 62nd. Turn left (north) on NW Beaver. Turn right (east) on NW 66th Ave and the fields are just up a short distance.

Gavin has had two practices so far and is really pretty good! Of course, he's probably the oldest since he just missed the cut off last year.

"Because We Are ALIENS"

Ok, I have many posts that I need to write to update on all the things going on these days, but I will start with this one by request of my friend Erika Star!

Last Thursday Gavin had his first soccer practice for his fall team. He's probably one of the oldest kids in the U5 league since he just barely missed the cut off last year - you have to be 4 by August 1st, and since his bday is on the 27th he wasn't able to play fall or spring last year. We were given the option to "play up" so he would be with his classmates, but we figured we can always decide to do that later if he turns out to be awesome.

Gavin tends to think of guys as his playmates rather than authority figures - Uncle Chris, "Uncle" Zach, these are people to joke with, that will wrestle with him and throw him up in the air, etc.

So with the soccer coach he was instantly goofing around and well, he's just not a great listener anyway. There are 2 girls and three boys on the team and one boy was shy and watching on the sidelines. Gavin and the other boy were rowdy and bad listeners - not waiting for the coach to say "go", or not fully listening to instructions.

Gavin was just really excited to be there and would take off running and dribbling the ball before he was supposed to or wouldn't stop when he was supposed to and the other little boy followed suit.

The coach was very patient about it, but finally said "Hey boys, you aren't listening or following directions very well."

To which Gavin replied (still running like a madman and dribbling his soccer ball) "Because we are ALIENS!"

Everyone got a good laugh out of that one. Gavin cracks me up on a daily basis with some of the things he says. I'll try to remember to keep posting them.