My Soccer Superstar

  
So, Rob plays soccer now.  I mentioned here all about his 1st practice.  The kid looooves soccer!  It is definitely an active sport.  I don't think he yet understood the philosophy and strategy of baseball.  He got bored while defensively working a base.  He played in the dirt ('cause...you know...no other 4 yr old has ever done that, right?)  

Anyhoo, onto soccer, which was an instant hit!  This week was his first game.  Rob was so excited.  If he knew who David Beckham was, he'd definitely think he was DB's alter ego!  I am so proud of my little man, too!

(L-R) Keegan, Charlie, Rob and Ryan

Here are some "bigger life lessons" that we learned just in the first game:

1.  Sometimes you just have to follow the rules -- like it or not.  Rob wanted to wear red shorts.  I told him that Coach Sarah asked all the players to wear black shorts.  When you sign up for a team, you are agreeing to be a part of that team.  You decide as a group or you obey a chosen leader which direction to go.  Even when you are a grownup (yuck) you will have to follow rules like work uniforms, etc.

black shorts...check!

2.  Sometimes you are going to lose.  There was not much talk of a score, but at one point I heard my sweet 5-yr-old keeping up with the score in his head.  I even lost count.  The other team beat us somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-2!  After the game, Rob caught me off guard by asking me if his team won or lost and I changed the subject.  At home, I revisited the discussion and tried to gingerly tell him that his team lost, but it was okay because I am sure he had fun.  Rob interrupted me and said "Mommy, I know we lost.  Did you not want to tell me at the game because you didn't want to make my teammates sad?"  Sweet boy!

One of many goals scored by the "other" team...

3.  Sometimes the best things in life only come to you as a result of hard work.  The next morning I have to physically drag Rob out of bed for school and he whined about being exhausted.  I mentioned something about maybe we shouldn't play soccer if this is how our mornings are going to go.  He shot up out of bed and said, "No!  I love soccer.  I'll wake up, I promise!"

This is fun!!!

Here are some shots I took of his first game.  Enjoy!

Hahaha...perhaps she's so embarrassed by the score, she's in cognito!

Meet The Newest Morris Ladies

      

Waaay back in December, a jolly ol' man named Santa Claus brought this to Rob:

It's a Ladybug Land dome.  We had to fill out the enclosed paperwork and send off for live ladybug eggs.  Well, they finally arrived yesterday!  (Admittedly, we waited a bit before mailing our request.)  Rob was so excited when we found these in our mailbox, I could hardly get the garage door closed before he was tugging on the mailing tube trying to open it.

Much to my surprise, we did not receive eggs...we were sent ladybug larvae.  See that tiny black speck on the yellow paper above?  That's one ladybug larva.  The next step is pupa where they will "bury" themselves in some kind of white covering before emerging as an adult ladybug.  FUN!

It turns out ladybugs don't need very much water.  Just a moist sponge to add to their humidity.  Rob loved using "the special watering tool" as he called it.

We covered up our new village of larvae and now we are waiting on them to grow and prosper!

What, you may be wondering, did Caroline do during our animal science class?  She hung out and watched her beloved "Duppies" a.k.a. Bubble Guppies on Nick, Jr.

I Love 1st Birthday Parties

         

This weekend, aside from it being Palm Sunday, was pretty low-key for us.  One of our highlights was a sweet 1st birthday party at a local park.

For those of you (most of you) who know these subjects personally, isn't it awe-inspiring how babies come into our lives for so many different reasons?  I think that Maddox is a constant reminder that life goes on...somewhat pleasantly.  "Marvin" as he is sometimes called is one of the happiest bouncing baby boys I have been around in a long time.  And look at the smile he brings to his pretty Momma's face:

Quick DIY alert below!  A party guest told me she found this idea on Pinterest for Maddox's happy face banner.  (Who doesn't love Pinterest these days?)  Somehow I missed it on the "Big P" but I know I will be recreating this look.  The crafty lady said she just printed several headshots onto heavy cardstock and cut them out.  She didn't specify, but I'm thinking a good laser printer would be more ideal than your everyday ink jet variety.  She then took heavy scrapbook paper and fashioned party hats.  These are iPhone photos only (oops, me!) so you can't really tell the quality in the picture.  But a line of grosgrain ribbon, a trusty hot glue gun, and you have a super-memorable, personalized birthday banner!

Poor Maddox is going to be quite a busy body.  His momma says he is trying to walk all over the place, hence his boo-boo under his eye.  How cute is a chubby, semi-naked baby?  In a party hat?

 Time for cake!

I'm loving the idea of this cake (below) which really consisted of individual-serving cupcakes!  Especially handy for on-location parties where you don't want to be stuck cutting and serving the entire time.

I mentioned this party was at a great park.  It was a nice day, and my own kiddos were having a ball.  Here's a quick photo montage of what R and C were up to during the event:

This week ahead is looking pretty packed.  More to come.  But for now, remember that Holy Week is named so for a reason.  Happy Easter, early from my family to yours!

It's A...

...gender reveal party!  So, Bobby and I are 17 and 1/2 weeks through this 3rd--and likely final--pregnancy.  At first we thought since we have one of each healthy version of offspring, we would not find out this gender.  But after several reasons, we decided to peek and share the news.

We put together a last-minute gender reveal party.  Looking back, I almost wish we, too, had been surprised at the reveal, but we actually knew the gender and forced ourselves to keep it a secret for 48 hours until tonight's party.

Tonight we gathered together our family and closest friends for a "Pizza and Peeking Party".  Guests were encouraged to dress in either pink or blue to register their own prediction.  After pizza, we had a specifically designed cake.  Here are some highlights from the evening...check out the pictures to find out the gender for yourself!

I threw together an Easter/baby centerpiece.

There were only a few "votes" for girl.

The "votes" for boy doubled the girl ones.

Rob was allowed (with assistance) to cut the cake.

It's a boy!

We are thankful that Baby Morris #3 is healthy and now we can start using the pronoun "he" instead of "it".  Haha.

My Soccer Sweetie

After 3 seasons of tee-ball and coach-pitch baseball (2 springs and 1 fall) Rob broke Bobby's and my heart by announcing he did not want to play baseball this year.  Seriously.  Sad news.

Then one day Rob brought home a flyer informing us that Prince of Peace soccer registration had opened.  Rob caught wind of this (let's face it; it's not like Rob read it himself) and immediately started wanting to play soccer.  Wait...what??? Bobby was less than enthused.  He has never been a fan of this sport, but he did admit he was happy Rob wanted to do something. 

So, with no further ado, Rob is now a soccer player.  This past Thursday was Rob's first practice. 

There are 6 kids on the team: Rob, Ryan, Charlie, Abby, Olivia, and Keegan.  They all are either in Rob's class or in the other 4's at POP.  Bobby and I were secretly hoping he wouldn't like it and we could direct him back to the baseball diamond. Rob LOVED it.  I think it really helps that Rob already knows these kids and is surrounded by his peers.  He now says all the time "I can't wait until next Thursday!" That's his next practice.  Here are some shots from practice #1:

...and that's a wrap!  Hope you all are having a great weekend!