MegaBlast

The end of Fall soccer brings the Kickers MegaBlast Tournament which Jack has played in the past two years.  It's a lot of fun, though the competition is fierce.  Last year we braved freezing temps and lost every game.   This year with new coaches in tow we won 1 of the 3 games and enjoyed some great sunshine and time with friends! 

 Munford Lightning 

These boys...Jack and Chase are 2nd grade soccer buds - and Matt is Chase's mom's boyfriend, so they get a lot of extra coaching and they are really, really good.  They are also really, really good kids and I'm thankful that we found his family.  

Max thinks Chase hangs the moon and they are sweet to include the little brother in their fun.

PS, this picture was taken at Sergio's...I spent more hours than I can count there in high school and was back with my family of 4 in my minivan full of soccer balls.  It was a little bit surreal...but a lot of fun!  

Soccer

This Fall was filled with soccer, soccer and more soccer.  Kenny coached both teams and enjoyed them both for different reasons.  I watched for the most part, in awe of his ability to deal with so many kids at once and teach almost all of them a thing or two!

Max's team was the Falcon Teammates and it was filled with preschool friends.
They came a long way!  The first week we had several in tears that refused to practice and by the end, I think all scored at least one goal. 

This goofball perfected his slide tackle and played the last few games as though it were the World Cup.  It was a super fun season and I can't wait to see what these kids will do in the Spring!

Jack's team was the Tigers and it was full of Munford friends.  One of my favorite parts about soccer at school is how it has allowed us to really get to know so many great Munford families.  

Kenny was lucky to have a fantastic assistant this year, Matt.  I am so thankful for him because Kenny had someone to talk soccer to (besides me)!  And I know it helped Kenny to have someone who was as into it all as he was.  The Tigers were UNDEFEATED!  They played hard every game and really, these kids, while under 8, have some pretty impressive skills.  I'm in awe each week of what they can do.  They are so much fun to watch and they really played like a team.  So proud of them!  Not so proud of how I forgot to take the camera to the last game to get a real pic, so all we have is this iPhone picture. :(.

Jack Lion hat parade

The project was to choose a word from a list and make a hat that depicted the definition.  I expected it to be a parade through the halls wearing the hats and almost decided against going to see it.  I was very surprised when I arrived and saw them filing onto the stage one by one to talk about their hats.  I could not have been more proud of Jack...he was so calm and clear.  What great preparation for grownup land.  Love you Jack Lion.

Things you might not have known about St. Patrick's Day...

Don't give up...the piece at the end is worth the wait!

7

Seven!  How did that happen?  7 is such a big kid.  And I have one?  No way!?  It's true though.  I do.  And he's fantastic!

Jack is full of life.  He's excited about the fun stuff, and sad about the bad stuff.  He's wise beyond his years and worries about things most kids his age probably don't realize they will have to worry about one day.  In fact, just last week he asked if he had to pay for college.  7 going on 37.  But he can laugh about the silliest things and he loves hard too.  He still wants to snuggle and while he can certainly drive us crazy, he still wants to be around us and still wants to be held and loved on.

His laugh makes all others seems like little giggles.  He laughs hard.  And has a hard time stopping!  He's recently gotten into jokes and he thinks he is so funny!

His smile lights up the room. He's still only lost one tooth, and that one ended up having to be pulled because the big tooth came in behind it.  I thought I would miss his baby smile, but I really love his big kid, toothless smile.

He's tall and thin.  Nothing new there.  He eats few things, but never complains about having to eat them often.  I do not think he will ever be one to want to try new things, but maybe he'll prove me wrong.  He still loves a peanut butter and apple butter sandwich a whole lot.  He packs his lunch, well, I pack his lunch every day, as he wouldn't dream of eating school lunch.  I'm ok with it, as I like packing healthier things for him, but I do sometimes complain about all the lunch packing.  He's little over 50 lbs and just a smidgen taller than 48 inches.  Just about 50th percentile for both height and weight.

He loves sports.  Soccer is his favorite to play but he will watch most any of them on tv.  Except golf.  He's no fan of golf. He plays indoor soccer at SCOR and outdoor will be starting up again soon too. Kenny is coaching both boys' teams this Spring - wish us luck!  He loves Pokemon, or at least he thinks he does.  I sometimes think that some of the big kids at school like Pokemon and he likes to fit in, so he likes Pokemon too, but I get it and I'm ok with it.  He's into card games and board games.  He plays wii sometimes, and usually likes it, though he gets easily frustrated by it.  He likes time to not talk.  Whether that's watching tv or playing kindle or reading a book, he needs down time.  Kenny and I are both a little like that too, so I'm not surprised and like to help him find those opportunities.

He likes school.  He had a rough start to 1st grade and I could write pages about my speculations as to why, but suffice it to say that he sorted it all out and moved on, and I'm super proud of him.  It wasn't rough academically, it was rough emotionally.  He really didn't want to go, for a month or so.  But he worked really hard and thought a lot about what he needed and he communicated and we got it all worked out.  I cross my fingers that next year will be easier for him on that front, but I don't know that it will.  I do know that even if it is, he'll manage, and I'll try and do a better job of supporting him through it.  He is really smart and sometimes I think that creates more problems than it solves.  But have you met his dad?  They are the same person and Kenny turned out ok, if I do say so myself, so I know Jack will learn to manage his brain too.

He's an amazing big brother.  Just last night he was talking about this event he was hoping we would purchase for him at the silent auction coming up, and the event is for 4 people and he had already asked if he could bring Max and he wasn't sure who else he was going to take, but he knew he wanted to take Max.  They fight, they argue, but they love being together and they look out for one another and they really are best friends.  I actually think the beginning of 2nd grade may be fine for Jack, because he'll know Max is down the hall.  They are perfect for each other.  Jack needs Max's light hearted, funny personality to lighten him up and Max needs Jack's cautiousness to slow him down a little.  I love watching their friendship grow and while there are days I wish for a girl, I am so very thankful that these two have each other and I doubt they would have been as close had they not both been boys.

Kenny is reading Harry Potter to Jack, and they are both loving it.  They are on book 2.  Jack is also reading a book about the gold rush.  He loves history and hearing how things were "back then."  He always wants to know why things happen too, so I have faith his Science side will also shine.  Math comes very easy to him and he loves it.  His handwriting is spectacular, but he does not love to write. At all.  Art, which used to be a passion for him, really doesn't interest him much anymore.  He's a pretty concrete thinker and prefers to deal in facts than the abstract.

He has a lot of friends.  All sorts really.  And I love this side of him.  He is a lot like me, he doesn't always know how to make friends, but he always seems to work it out and he hangs on to them pretty tight.  His first buddy, Emerson, and he haven't been in the same school for 3 years now and they only see each other every other month or so, but when they are together, it's as though they always have been.   But Jack makes friends wherever he goes, in time.  It does a Momma's heart good.  I know how valuable friends are and I'm happy that he's chosen his wisely and that he understands how special they are.

He doesn't like change.  He likes to know what's coming and what to expect.  He thrives on routine and plans accordingly.  He needs a lot of sleep and doesn't like to be without us for long. His emotions are not hard to gauge and he is very aware of them. He loves to talk, but also loves to listen.    Speaking of listening, he loves music and singing along with it.  Kenny keeps a playlist stocked full of songs he thinks Jack needs to know and they listen to them to and from school each day.  It always catches me a little off guard when Jack sing long from the backseat in my car to a song I have no idea that he knows!

He got his first pet for his birthday, or pets I suppose!  4 fish from Grams and Gramps.  He was so excited about them and has done a great job taking care of them.

I hope that the next 7 years go as great as these first 7 have, but I hope they go a little slower!  I'm thankful that I get to be your mom Jack Lion and I am so proud of who you are.  I love you, love you, love you!

First Day of School

It was off to 1st grade for Jack and Pre-K for Max yesterday.  Before school Jack was ready to go and Max was not so sure he wanted a new classroom.  After school I think they had changed roles, but I know that in a few days, once the routine isn't so new again, they will both be happy and excited about all that there is to learn.

First up was a fun breakfast of "1" and "Y" (for Yellow Birds, his new classroom) sprinkle pancakes to get things started off right!  For the record, they were much more excited about the sprinkles than the shape, so next year I hope I remember that and save myself some trouble! :)

Then it was time for a few pictures before heading off to school.

Kenny dropped Max off at school and he never looked back.  We walked Jack to school and got him settled in.

 He was all smiles until we started to leave and then there were a few, just a few tears.  :(  Heartbreaking.

At the end of the day, I think he enjoyed a fair bit of the day, but he wasn't too keen on having to go back.  He asked me if I thought we could try homeschooling and my heart broke into a few thousand pieces.  But he gets it honest.  I have such a hard time with goodbyes and transitions and until I know what's going to happen and when, I'm a nervous wreck inside.  This too shall pass and before we know it, he'll be loving school again.  Right? :)!

Father's Day present

Here's a little video the boys made for Kenny for Father's Day this year...

Off to the river this morning...

Kindergarten cuteness

One of our favorite parts of kindergarten has been interpreting Jack's spelling and stories.  At this age, they allow them to sound out words when they write them instead of memorizing the correct spelling.  It's sometimes hard to let your brain "hear" the word based on his spelling, but it's often fun too.  I was impressed he came up with an animal for each letter!  Try to "read" them and I'll post a key at the bottom.

 Ant, bear, cat duck, elephant, fish, goose, hippo, iguana, jaguar, kangaroo, lion (of course he got that one right!), monkey, nautilus, octopus, pig, coral, rhino, shark, turtle, umbrella bird (I'm not sure what this is, but he swears it's real and he learned about it on Wild Kratts!), vulture, whale, x-ray fish, yak, zebra.  
Trdle is my favorite!

Buzz Lightyearn

Contrary to popular belief, the Toy Story character is NOT Buzz Lightyear, but Buzz Lightyearn...

We all laugh hysterically every time he does it.  Hope it makes you smile too!

Boy of Summer

Jack's playing tee ball for the Orioles this year.  It's our first season of tee ball and I won't lie, they are very serious about it, which makes it a little overwhelming for me, but we're off to a good start!

Saturday we had opening day ceremonies.  It had been postponed because we have had the longest winter ever here and last weekend it was cold and rainy.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day and perfect for kicking off baseball season.  

Jack was a little nervous before the ceremonies, but he loved being in his uniform.

The kids had to do a lot of listening to the history of Richmond Little League and take the Little League Pledge.  Then they got to run the bases and Rodney Ram even made an appearance.

 Then it was game time.  

We only got to play one inning due to all that listening the boys had to do, but they each got to bat and it was super cute!  Jack hit the ball really well and almost hit the fence!  He ran with all he had and was safe!

He chose to play 3rd base for the 2nd half of the inning.  Kenny tells me lefties shouldn't really choose 3rd base, so we'll see where he ends up next week.  Either way, he did great.  Funny story - after his 2nd tee ball practice, I think he realized that being a lefty was different.  He asked me what we would do if he went to play and they didn't have a glove for him.  I reminded him that we take our own glove to tee ball and Unk had bought him a glove made for lefties, so he was fine.  He said "No Momma, I mean when I make it to the major league!"  I assured him I'd be happy to buy him his own glove for that too...;)!

He took it so seriously.  See this kid playing in the dirt while Jack is ready for anything? 

 It was a good game and the boys all seemed to have a great time.

And look at that smile as he walked over to us after the game!  That's what it's all about!!

Go Orioles!