you say soccer...I say snacks

Another first we had the pleasure of witnessing recently?

Boo in his first official soccer league!

Here are some pictures from the first game in April.

Time to warm up!

The league is 3 on 3, with a ref, on a good day...otherwise it's up to the Dads.  

As the game progressed, we learned that the "sky blue" team is, um,
slightly more advanced than us.

We also learned that our little crazy extrovert

is much more interested in the social aspect of the game, 

than the actual competitive notion of it.

He could more often be found hatching plans with buddies than, perhaps, following the ball.
{Though I seem to have captured a disproportionate amount of the latter.}
*

In last week's game, when he noticed a classmate {on a different team}
pass by on an adjacent field, 

he stopped in the middle of getting the ball down his field 

and with hands cupped to his mouth, started yelling:

"Marshall!  Marshall!!  MARSHALL!!!"
Then double-waving like a madman with the most enormous smile on his face.

In all, his favorite part, in regard to the actual sport, was to fetch the ball out of the goal. 

Which is awesome because he got lots of chances to do it.
The final score?  48 {them} to 2 {us}.  

To keep herself busy, Zee decided to be the cheering section, 

after she found some old cotton balls in the cupholders of our folding lawn chairs.

Pretty clever, right?
  

Here's his buddy, from preschool, whom he was ECSTATIC to see at the first practice.
ECSTATIC, people.  I am absolutely not kidding.

All said, he had a spectacular time, and seems perfectly happy with the whole arrangement.

Especially the snack end of the bargain.

"Snack bag, Momma?"

"Daddy, have you seen the snack bag?"

"Has anyone seen the snack bag?"

"Coach...where's the snack bag?"

"Snack bag???"

"Snack Baaaaaaaaaag?"

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Boo likes to have all his toys gathered around him whenever he sleeps, 

so I just went to grab this to carry it up to his room for bed.

Then I noticed a stowaway...

Apparently we are sending Zhu Zhu pets to the moon now.

all aboard

Here is Boo being Boo today.

"Tittet, peas!"

Then the ticket-taker raises the stick and you may pass.

*

Last night during dinner, Boo, who normally chatters away nonstop and at high volume, 

but is largely un-understandable, 

was scooping up some corn onto his fork with his fingers and piped up:

"All ABOOOOOOAAARD!!!"

It took a minute to register the little joke he'd just made, but more importantly, 

that I'd understood it.

Finch and I looked at each other and then completely cracked up laughing.

*

Later, we were marveling over it.

Firsts, especially at this point, are pretty exciting.

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Time again for Boo's haircut.
Finch and I have a running disagreement on the best length for Boo's hair.
I say longish with curls.
He says short.
Boo has a crush on his Daddy now, so whatever Finch says is Gospel Truth.
But, someday, someday...I'll convince him to go native.

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This morning Boo called me up to his room.

He wanted to show off this.

He is so into his play men and play vehicles.

He has a very rich imaginative life.

Now if we can just unlock the communication tangle so he can let us in on all of it.

I long for that day.

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Our first day to wear our new rain jackets together to school.

Zee also decided she wanted "two poofs, pleeeeeeeeeeease Momma."

Which came as quite a surprise since she is pretty steadfast in her devotion to

"ONE barrette, on top, in the middle"...despite my suggestions for an occasional bit of variety.

She loved them SOOOOO much she wants them again tomorrow.

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Finch working with Boo on his Speech Therapy homework.

We walk a fine line with trying to get him to practice, 

yet taking care to not make him sick of homework at the ripe old age of five-and-a-half.

Part of the plan is to keep Momma out of the mix.

Let's just say that my strengths are definitely not in the area of patient repetition.

Finch though? 

Well, he is never more Atticus Finch than during moments like these.

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My boy...the fireman.

We found this jacket recently at Sam's Club, of all places.

Cousins T & J have the same, as Boo in his usual obervantness pointed out to me.

Today was his first day to wear it in all its fireman rainjacket splendor.

Oh my goodness...this picture makes my heart melt.

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Boo had his Valentine's Day party at preschool today.

Can I just say what a sweet boy he is? 

He got out all of his booty and let his sister pick a few for herself,

since her party isn't until Monday.

I love you, Buddy.

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Ya know what's worse than being sick?

Being sick and having vertigo too.

*

This is the progression of how things looked when I got up this morning.

Zee is sick now too, so, planning lots of nothing today.

Mr. Impenetrable Constitution {Boo} appears to have escaped with a runny nose. 

Hoping for a better day tomorrow. 

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We experienced an exciting first tonight.

Boo's former, delightful Speech Therapist Miss C

became our family's first bonafide babysitter.

Oh, Miss C, how we love you so!

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We are sick over the tragedy at the Domodedovo airport in Moscow.  

Finch has flown through that airport many times.

Russia holds a special place in our hearts.

May God's peace be in the hearts of the survivors and loved ones of those killed.

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After a Christmas party last month we decided the cubs needed 

a little extra practice in the area of finger food retrieval.

*

So the above was served one night for dinner to much fanfare and delight. 

It's now Boo's "favit, favit, dinner."

Which, is good to know, since my little black-hole-omnivore has turned into

the-dude-who-won't-eat-unless-it-starts-with-"pipes"macaroni-and-ends-with-cheese.

As such, he was very excited for dinner tonight.

*

{They are also pretty good now with not picking up 3/4 of the pieces of food on a tray,

touching the tips of their tongues to them, exhaling on them whilst determining aroma, 

examining them carefully against the light and then discarding them disdainfully.}

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The other day I was scolding Boo for something.

He was laughing, I'm pretty sure.

That night when I put Zee to bed she pulled this face out at some point and said:

"I'm serious...you need to listen to me."

Having an inkling, I asked her what the face was all about.

"It's your mad face, Mama."

Right. 

{Caught a picture of The Face today.}

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Look what happened tonight in the middle of dinner with visiting cousin Joshua!

Daddy provided the extra pinch the hanging-on-by-a-thread tooth needed.

We're all very excited for our very first visit from the Tooth Fairy!

Congratulations, Buddy Boo!!!

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I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate built-in flash.

Blech.  Barf.

Other than that, I love this picture.

The kidlets have fallen head over heels in love with dancing kiddie shows.

This week's library rental...The Doodlebops.

As for the flash...I'm surfing over this minute to B&H to finally order

a new yummy, lummy Speedlight for my birthday.

Come to mama.

why I get so few pictures of boo

boo at the same party last night.

also with rainbow popsicle.

but, doing only one thing at a time is insanely boring for the little man,

so he is also spying out the folks on the couch with some "nockalars"

and dancing a party jig.

I usually get a whole lotta blurry pictures of the kid as a result...

if I get him in the frame at all.



merry christmas to daddy

Just a hint of the cubs gift for Finch.

Boo got "sooo tired of holding it...yawn" with Zee (after 2.5 seconds)

the little punk

So you can't see his orange-ish prints on the bottom.

Anyway, I submitted it to PW's annual Holiday Bokeh assignment

Doubt it will get picked, but I still love it.

Reminds me of the little gold plaster disk I gave my parents around this same age.

It hung on the wall forever.

Nothing says Christmas to me like tiny tot hand prints encased in metallic paint.

Ho ho ho.



imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

the little man has always loved mimicry.

this though?

freaking hilarious.

he sat here "reading" for ten minutes.

he just might have a career on the stage in his future.

a favorite retreat

This is one of my favorite places on earth.

It is a Catholic retreat center that just so happens to be near our home.
I grew up Catholic, and still am in many ways,
so it is very comforting at times to return to its rhythms and familiarity.

I took all these pictures five years ago
on a brief personal retreat there, while Finch was out of town.

Thoughts of motherhood and the hardships in Ethiopia were on my mind.
One month later, we received our first pictures of Bagu and Zeefa.

I haven't been back yet for a solo retreat, but the cubs and I have been many times since.

And, during her visits, Nana goes to daily Mass here, whenever it is offered.
I think she might actually love it more than I do.
It holds special meaning for all of us.

Our first year home with the cubs, we managed to get to church most weekends.

But, we were relegated to the Cry Room due to attachment complexities.

*
We tried, oh how we tried, to make the transition
into our Children's Church program the second year.

However, attachment issues became attachment nightmares,

and the progress we had all worked so hard to make started going up in smoke.
*
All because church felt a little too much like an orphanage,
and a little boy felt like he was being abandoned forever ~ all over again.

*
I wish I could say I empathized with him as much as I should have.
Still, we decided that for a time, it was best to quit going to church altogether.

But then Nana and I got the idea to bring them here.

So, every once in awhile that year, the {very little} cubs and I would go,
just to sit in a pew in the very back and attend a brief daily Mass.

Then afterward, we would explore the peaceful surrounding grounds
and {of course} climb on all the statues and benches and stuff.

*
The spunky, old ladies who regularly attended each Mass were very kind,
and even sought us out a couple of times when they saw us around town,
which helped me feel a little less mortified about all the noise

and chaos that surrounded us wherever we went.

It was an oasis, of sorts, during those long, dark days
when I wasn't sure if we were going to make it.

And, at the end of that year, we were able to get back to our church. 

It was still a rocky transition, but we made it.  

It's a good lesson for me to go back and revisit now during this season
of feeling as if progress is again moving at a glacial pace, at best.

There is another small lesson for me to remember during times like this.
{And in it, one of the reasons I love looking at life through a lens.}
At the back of the sanctuary, there is a large, wooden door
and in it, this small window:

All of the blurry pictures in this set are the result of
pressing my lens up against various panes in the little window

and focusing on the corridor just beyond the door.

Sometimes, the funk that obscures your view

makes what's ahead more beautiful

with the right perspective.

Oh how I love this place.