Moving on to baseball...

Ben and Jack played another year with the same group of kids that they played with last year.

This is their "mean" team picture. They weren't really mean. ;-)

Jack still loves, Loves, LOVES baseball. He kept track of his batting average in his head and could always give all of the details of the game. He was a consistent hitter and a natural at 2nd base. He had a great year.

Ben also had a great year. He enjoyed playing a lot of different positions. He also got a lot stronger as the season went on. If he made good contact with his bat to the ball....LOOK OUT!

This was the first year that it was "kid pitch". Ben really like pitching and got quite a few opportunities to show his stuff. It was a lot of fun watching Ben pitch. He was able to get a lot of batters out and his "style" was...ummmm...interesting. ;-)

Drew and Charlie were #1 fans!!
In addition to a great baseball season, it was also a very fun baseball season!! The highlight of the "fun" part of the season was the First Annual Mom's vs. Kids baseball game.

Everyone took the game very seriously.

Extra coaches were even called in...

Both teams fought very hard and the game ended up with a tie. It was a real "tie" too. I was shocked, I really thought the moms were going to kick some 8 year old bootie, but the kids played really well. It was actually a lot harder than it looks when we are yelling instructions to our kids from the stands.



Just wait until next year....

Soccer

I was going through my pictures tonight. It makes me sad that I have so many really good pictures, but haven't taken the time to throw them into my blog. So, I am going to make an real attempt over the next couple of weeks to get these pictures onto this blog. Because the pictures are covering about the last 6 months, some of the groupings might be kind of weird, but if it gets the pics on my blog, I'm happy.

We'll call this post "soccer". Over the last 6 months, the boys have all played soccer. The big boys played on a soccer team and Charlie took a few classes at the Park District. Some of the boys liked it more than others, some were more focused than others, some were more "gifted" than others, but all of them were very photogenic playing soccer. ;-)

We'll start with Charlie...

Charlie seemed very comfortable in his soccer class...

He learned a lot.

And, has shown a lot of improvement since he stopped crying everytime another kid kicked "his ball".

Ben, Jack and Drew played for the "sometimes green, sometimes yellow" team in our local rec league last spring.
They each learned quite a bit about soccer.

Drew is not particularly competitive (impossible, I know), but he found his own ways to focus on the game. "Mom, when I find myself getting distracted and thinking about Wipeout, I just start knocking myself in the head until I start thinking about soccer again."

Nice.

Jack happened to get a turn at goalie on the day that I brought my camera.

Isn't he a cute goalie?!?!

Ok, one of you needs to KICK THE BALL!!!

Ben really likes soccer a lot and decided that he would like to play on a more competitive, year-round team that started this fall. We were just going to sign him up for the rec. league again, but he convinced us that he wanted to try-out for this new team. He was very nervous and a little intimidated because the kids were a lot better than what he was used to, but, he showed the coaches that he had some descent soccer skills, a lot of potential and is an excellent listener and learner. He made the team, got fitted with a cool new uniform, got an awesome soccer bag and has already competed in a couple of tournaments. He likes to play defense and seems to be doing very well with it. Here is his "new" team. Pretty intimidating, eh? When he gets his soccer scholarship, we can all say that we knew him when...(click here for a funny Ben soccer story)

My New Speller...

Drew has always LOVED letters and words. People that did not see him spelling words when he was 2 do not believe me when I tell them what he could do. Unfortunately, I didn't blog back then and was not even good about recording him, but it was amazing. Here is a little video that my dad took in fall 2004 when Drew was 28 months old. He was distracted and the brothers were trying to "help", but it gives you a little bit of an idea.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Charlie has recently noticed words and often asks us to spell things. He has known all of the letters and sounds for quite a while thanks to the Letter Factory and has recently started applying this knowledge to figure out the beginning sounds of words. Usually, he can get the first letter of a word and then throws a bunch of miscellaneous letters on the end for fun. Pretty good for 3, but every once in a while, he gives us a little reminder that although he's doing good, he is not quite a spelling "genius"

For example....

A couple of weeks ago, Charlie wanted to show off his new spelling skills to Daddy, who was taking him to the bathroom.

Charlie: "Daddy, Daddy, I know how to spell POTTY!!!"

Daddy: "That's great Charlie, how do you spell potty?"

Charlie: "Ummmmm....POTTY is spelled B-E-N!!!"

Poor Ben. ;)

Who says 1st grade is too academic???

I'm not so sure I agree... ;)

Nice elephant Ben!!

Nothin' but the truth...

A friend forwarded these mom/kid interview questions on FB. So, of course, I had to do it. I interviewed each of the boys. Here is what they had to say. My comments are in italics.

Enjoy!!

Jack...

1. What is something mom always says to you? You don't have to whine.
2. What makes mom happy? when I do my homework without whining
3. What makes mom sad? when she has to get up in the morning
4. How does your mom make you laugh? by tickling
5. What was your mom like as a child? she liked jumproping (I have no idea what he is talking about)
6. How old is your mom? 37
7. How tall is your mom? 5.6
8. What is her favorite thing to do? play with Charlie
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? youuuu play with charlie
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Rock Star (LOL...except that I can't dance, or sing)
11. What is your mom really good at? taking care of us.
12. What is your mom not very good at? singing (see!!)
13. What does your mom do for her job? you don't have a job
14. What is your mom's favorite food? cookies
15. What makes you proud of your mom? making breakfast (frozen pancakes in the microwave)
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Mickey Mouse
17. What do you and your mom do together? sometimes I bake treats with you
18. How are you and your mom the same? we almost have the same initials, just one letter away
19. How are you and your mom different? our age
20. How do you know your mom loves you? you always kiss me good night (awww)
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? I think, the mall

Ben...

1. What is something mom always says to you? Do your homework
2. What makes mom happy? when I do jobs without asking
3. What makes mom sad? when our room is a mess
4. How does your mom make you laugh? when I say funny things
5. What was your mom like as a child? like, a little bit smart
6. How old is your mom? 37
7. How tall is your mom? 110 inches, or centimeters
8. What is her favorite thing to do? go on your computer
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? go shopping
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? cleaning (I'm as good at cleaning as I am singing)
11. What is your mom really good at? opening cans (a talent that not everyone has?)
12. What is your mom not very good at? parking in a straight line in the car
13. What does your mom do for her job? you don't do work
14. What is your mom's favorite food? pop
15. What makes you proud of your mom? that you're my mom
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Mickey Mouse, no way, Minnie, because you're a girl.
17. What do you and your mom do together? puzzles (Ben is my puzzling buddy)
18. How are you and your mom the same? we both have light skin.
19. How are you and your mom different? I'm a boy and you're a girl
20. How do you know your mom loves you? you do nice things
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Target

And, Drew....

1. What is something mom always says to you? That I'm cute (he is!)
2. What makes mom happy? when I come back to mom after I do something
3. What makes mom sad? when I do something wrong
4. How does your mom make you laugh? by asking me questions (I was laughing when I asked him these questions)
5. What was your mom like as a child? just liked having fun
6. How old is your mom? 37
7. How tall is your mom? 5, 1/2 feet
8. What is her favorite thing to do? play sudoku
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? I think you work...going to stores with Charlie
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? math (because I can beat *him* at Otter Creek ;) )
11. What is your mom really good at? remembering stuff (like coats, shoes and backpacks)
12. What is your mom not very good at? sometimes you get sudoku wrong (NOT!)
13. What does your mom do for her job? you get stuff from stores and stuff
14. What is your mom's favorite food? swedish fish
15. What makes you proud of your mom? when you do something that I really like and I don't expect it.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Mrs. Pickles
17. What do you and your mom do together? sudoku
18. How are you and your mom the same? we're in the same family
19. How are you and your mom different? I'm a boy and you're a girl
20. How do you know your mom loves you? you smile a lot at me
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Target and the beach

How Cute is He!!!

And, doesn't he look so grown up! Of course, I think that all of my future daughters-in-law are lucky ladies, but with Ben, the thought that he is going to make someone a great husband pops into my head quite often. It must be a combination of his overall thoughfulness, the love and patience that he shows toward Charlie, the way he likes to help me in the kitchen, especially when I am making salsa, his silly sense of humor and his dashing good looks. But, mark my slightly biased words, the girls are going to be lined up to be Mrs. Ben.

Is the grass greener over there???

Ben (yesterday, in a whiney, snotty tone) said: "I can't wait to be a grown up so that I can do what *I* want to do all of the time".

Are you friggin' kidding me?!?!

To say I was a little ticked off would be a bit of an understatement. Maybe if he would have said it for a reason other than he was just ticked off because he would not have any more "free time" to play Wii for the day, I would have been a little more understanding. Or, maybe if he hadn't said it on a TUESDAY! when I spend the whole day running all over heck for my family, I might have been a little more understanding. But, the fact that he chose yesterday, a day that I spent not doing a single thing for *me* (except blogging and showering), until 8:45 at night , to basically announce that grown-ups, (and he was totally directing this at ME!), spend all of their time doing exactly what they want to do every day, was just not good. And, it really didn't result in my best Mommy-ing Moment.

I don't remember exactly what I said, but I do vaguely remember mentioning grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning floors and laundry. And, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that Cub Scouts, Soccer, Wii and reading "My Weird School" books was mentioned too. And, if I had to guess, I would guess that my tone was probably a bit on the nasty side. Like I said...not my best Mommy moment.

So this morning, I remembered the "conversation" with Ben from yesterday. Since today I was able to spend time thinking about it with a clear head, and not running into the Park District building with kids and dinner, to pick up another kid from baseball, because we had 1/2 hour to get all of us to R.E., I was able to be a little more objective.

Ironically, in my objective state of mind, I was able to see that Ben was kinda right. I mean, of course, he wasn't right to say it to me in a snotty way when I was obviously doing the best that I could, for him and his brothers. But, he is very right that being a grown-up *is* cool.

I actually remember feeling the same way when I was a little kid. And, it was not like I had a rotten childhood. I actually had an awesome childhood and I like to think that my kids are having a pretty great childhood too, but the problem is that I (and probably Ben) like being in control. A child is not in control. They do spend a good portion of their time playing and doing fun things, but they are not in control. They get up when we tell them to, they go to school and get bossed around all day, they do the chores that we decide they should do, they watch the shows that we let them watch and they go to bed when we make them.

Being a grown-up is hard too, more than a 6 year old could ever imagine, but I personally like eating McDonalds and M&M's any time that I want. I like staying up late to read, or blog, or play Wii if I feel like it. I like deciding what to buy....with the money that Spencer gives to me ;), and deciding what colors to paint my house. I like picking out my own vacations and I'm always happy that I'm a grown up when I feel like wearing jeans to church...sorry Mom. ;)

After my epiphany, I was excited to talk to Ben this afternoon to tell him that I "got" what he was saying yesterday and I agreed with him!! I know that it did make him happy to hear that. I continued to talk, but I guess he had heard enough because he interruped me to see if *I* could get *him* a snack.

Ummmm....yeah, it must be nice to be a kid!!

Gotta love a man that makes his own salsa...

Ben is my salsa eating buddy. I love that!!! Recently, he has been volunteering to help me make the salsa. Woo Hoo!! What a cool kid Ben is!!!

Ben, hard at work making Superbowl XLIII Salsa.

Say Cheese!!!

First Grade Pictures are in.

Jack

Ben

Drew

Soccer Season Grand Finale...

Yesterday was Ben's last soccer game of the season and today was the end of the season PARTY!! The coaches took all of the kids out for pizza and the kids were all very excited to receive real trophies!! It was Ben's first trophy and he was very excited! As soon as the coach announced that all of the players would receive a trophy, Ben had the biggest smile on his face. What an awesome thing for the coaches to do. Ben can't wait to sign up for soccer again!

One happy soccer star...

Go Ben!!!

Ben had his first soccer game today. Spencer said that Ben did really well. He said that every time Ben was running after the ball, he had a big smile on his face. Ben had a good time and I think he was feeling quite proud. Yay Ben!!!

Big News!!!

Do you notice anything different about Ben?

That's right, the tooth fairy is going to be paying us a visit tonight. He pulled it out about 5 minutes after he went to bed and was quite proud of himself. It bled a bit, but that did not phase him at all. His brothers thought the whole thing was soooo cool!!!

I did think it was pretty funny that this particular tooth has been loose for about 6 weeks. But, the day after Jack discovered a loose tooth, Ben managed to pull that sucker out. Everyone thinks Jack is the competitive brother, but Ben is just as competitive, he's just not as obvious about it. I'm fully expecting Jack to yank his tooth out tomorrow after he sees what the tooth fairy left for Ben.

*THE* tooth

Drew with a mouthful of teeth...not even a wiggler.

By the way, Spencer walked into the boys' room mid-conversation tonight. Ben was telling his brothers that he knows 3 people that have A LOT!! of money. Spencer walked in and asked Ben how these "3 people" got a lot of money. Ben said that he didn't know, but he knew they had a lot of money because they are always buying people stuff. Spencer was a bit confused until he found out that Ben was talking about "The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and The Tooth Fairy".

Too sweet!

Another Bright, Shining Star

Today was Ben's turn to be the Star Student in his class. Another big day in our family!

In Ben's class, his teacher has agreed to give a "dolphin dollar" to any Star Student that reads the chosen book to the class, rather than having his/her parent read the book. Well, Ben has been thinking about it for a while. I didn't realize it right away, but he has been carefully going through the books in his bookcase for quite a while trying to find the perfect book for this occassion. He did not want the book to be too hard because he wanted to be able to do it all himself, but he didn't want it to be too easy either because he wanted to show off his reading skills. He picked "There Was an Old Lady that Swallowed a Fly". He did a fantastic job!! This is my child that was so shy and timid in preschool that he barely opened his mouth, let alone raise his hand. Today though, he sat up in front of his kindergarten class, with confidence and read an entire book. When he was finished with the book, he told all of the kids about his favorite things and then showed them and described all 18 of the pictures that he brought from home. When all of that was finished, he answered about 20 questions from his classmates. It was a great day for him and I was so happy for him....and proud, of course.

Ben and his kindergarten teacher

January 2008

Ben's favorite things...(as of today):

Food - Hot Dog
TV Show - All Grown Up
Ice Cream Flavor - Vanilla
Animal - Dolphin
Color - Blue and Green
Number - Eight
Month - May and Decembr
Superhero - Batman
Video Game - Cars
Holiday - Christmas and Easter

And for the 'This is your life' portion of the Star Student festivities, Ben chose these pictures to share with his friends.