Recall or Bust

Our infant car seat was recalled so Thea just got an upgrade to a forward facing seat. She just now meets the weight requirement of 20 pounds and is 15 months (you have to be a year). We had intentions of keeping her backwards till she was 2 which is the recommendation, especially with a little peanut, however, the infant seat's buckle gets stuck and in an emergency could be life-threatening. The new buckle will arrive in 6-8 weeks. We'll decide whether or not to return her to the infant seat then. For now...

Lots if kicking of her legs and looking at Matthew!

Did you know "soccer" is an abbreviation for "association football"?

It's true!

I have never been one to sort of get into things.  It is not enough to hear a new song I like three times a week on the radio.  I need to listen to it on repeat 15 times a day until I get sick of it.  Which may never happen.  My wife loves it.

Today's new favorite song is the sport of soccer.  We will see if I get sick of it or not.  Because I am listening to it A LOT.  It started with the World Cup, of which I have watched every game possible since 1998.  The only difference is that in prior years, I never considered watching any kickyball other than the World Cup.  It was like Olympic swimming; I love Michael Phelps for 14 days every four years and forget his name the other 1,447 days.  The rest of the time he is just another overpaid Subway spokesman who I can only assume used to be enormous.  Well, that changed in a big way this year.  Surprisingly, the game that got me hooked wasn't the last-minute 2-1 US victory over Ghana in the WC opener.

SIDE NOTE: You know what's awesome about soccer?  We can all look at each other with a straight face and gush over our Cinderella victory over Ghana, a country with a GDP one-fifth the size of Walmart's revenue and a national population equal to our largest metropolitan area.

Nope, it wasn't that Cinderella tale that got me going.  Rather, it was weirdly when Portugal went all Mortal Kombat on our collective hearts and tied the game 2-2 with seconds to play.  That game, which started 1-0 Portugal, then was 2-1 US after two late goals, and then featured the latest goal in WC history to end in a draw, was crazy exciting.  It is incredible that a sport that usually ends in a 0-0 tie after 90 minutes of running and flopping can be called exciting, but the thrilling moments are so sudden, and so intense, that I NEED MORE.

In the last three weeks, I have started watching MLS games, not all of which included my deeply beloved for the last few days Chicago Fire.  I have also adopted Liverpool FC as my Premier League team of choice, reading countless articles on their upcoming season and off-season roster moves.  I have breathlessly told E how awesome it is that I can watch every Liverpool game on TV or my phone.  To her credit, she is supportive of my new hobby, at least during the times she isn't blankly staring through me as I tell her all the new things I learned about a sport she has never played, watched, or cared about.

So, we'll see how long this lasts.  My hope is that it is here to stay.  I think E is cautiously optimistic this is here to stay.  My buddy at work has zero faith in its longevity, asking "who will you talk to about this hobby?"  Fair question.  But I learned in the past two days I have two other Soccer Fan Friends.  That's what they'll call us.  Going back multiple sentences, I hope it is here to stay.  First of all, it would be nice to have three more teams to care about in the USMNT, Fire, and Liverpool.  Second, it would be great if Matthew could follow Daddy down the soccer highway, so that instead of playing football he wants to play a more peaceful game that involves having balls getting kicked off his face.  Lastly, I want to buy a USMNT jersey that has the number 76 and the name "LANDOFTHEFREE", "HOMEOFTHEBRAVE", or "STARS & STRIPES" on the back.  I haven't decided yet.  Because, 'Merica.

I Got a B+

Art was one of those subjects I really liked in elementary school.  I tried really hard.  I always thought, this is the year that my skills will have improved.  Then I got to painting, or drawing, or anything.  What was in my head, never made it on the page.  I was a constant B+ art student and I think that was just because I was a nice kid who tried hard.

It is summer time and Matthew is on break from school so I have been working to increase the amount of art projects that we do at home.  Father's Day was approaching and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for projects.  Matthew has given homemade cards to family before, but this time I was aware that he was capable of more than painting and wanted to give him the time and support to be creative and grow.  Thea also joined the action this round.

Here's what we had a blast making:

(They require explanation for you to know what went into them.)

The first card we made was for my brother John.  Matthew painted the rocket and then pasted the stars, planets, moon, rocket and passengers in the sky.  The fire coming out of the rocket is Thea's handprint.  

The card below is for my brother Paul.  Matthew pasted all of the balls to this card and cut one of them out himself.  Can you tell which one?  If not, it's probably because I'm a B+ artist.  He then used the stickers as a guide for drawing the lines on the balls or placing the black shapes on the soccer ball.  Then, of course, each ball sticker was placed directly on top of the corresponding ball.

Matthew painted the tie and pasted it to this card which was for my dad.  Thea and Matthew both painted the inside together.  It is hideous because Matthew really wanted Papa to have a card with all of the colors.  When he was finished he said that it looked "yucky," but that Papa would love it because it was from him.

This one doesn't need much explaining, other than it's for their mountain climbing Papa.  Matthew pasted/placed everything on this card and both kiddos painted the back and it looked pretty.

  

This is where my talent in cutting really shines through.  Below is a picture of ice creams (uh huh) and it reads: Being with you is a special treat!  This card was sent to Mike's grandfather, the kids Great-Papa.  Matthew pasted everything here and picked all but one of the stickers.  Thea's choice was the cherries.

A bonus card here...my dad turned 69 the day before Father's Day.  Matthew helped cut the red balloon and decided Mommy would just do the rest.  There is a 6 on the red balloon and a 9 on the blue balloon.  Matthew wrote both with a guided hand and then colored right over both of them.  Both kids got to color this card after Matthew pasted the balloons to the paper.

Fingerpainting

There are really only a few things from my early years that I remember. Fingerpainting is one of them. I remember thinking it was so unusual that you were allowed to get so messy. And not only that, it was encouraged!! I was totally intrigued by this piece. Plus, I'm super good at art (read: that's a lie, I'm still at the first grade level). 

So today we fingerpainted for the first time.

Thea wanted nothing to do with it. Well, now wait a minute, that's not fair. She did put her fingers in it...and tasted it. 

Matthew loved it. He is the kind of kid that doesn't love a mess (he used 5 paper towels during the painting time just to try to keep some sort of cleanliness going), but he really enjoyed it. 

The picture in the second row, on the right is the hand prints of Matthew and I. And the purple smattering...let's just say we gave feet painting a try! 

Messy but delightful!

Well That Went Awful

After arriving at the park and unbuckling Matthew, I heard a young girl screaming.  My first thought was "I'm at the park, that's totally normal."  But as a listened more closely, it wasn't that type of scream.  As I stepped away from the car, I noticed a four year old on a bike...and her pregnant mother running after her.  I quickly offered help, which the mother declined.  I was hesitating to accept her refusal for help as I heard her daughter yelling "I don't know how to stop," but I was unsure of what to do - lock my kids in the car and run after her daughter?  And then I hopped in the car, told Matthew to hold on, and followed the girl.  Thankfully, a teenager had come to help and the girl was unharmed.  Phew.  We drove back to the car and I opened the door to the back seat to find Matthew sitting behind Thea's car seat holding on to her car seat's sun shield.

Now time for fun after a LOOOOONNNG morning!

Until Matthew fell through a netting at the park.  I was there to catch so no harm done, except that I scratched his neck, causing him to bleed.  No tears but sheesh!

And to end our forty minutes of great fun, Thea out of nowhere bumped her chin on a bridge.  Since she bit her lip she was bleeding and got her first fat lip.

Yep.  It's time to leave.

And She's Walking

After at least a month of squealing every time her hands would be held, thus allowing her the opportunity to walk...Thea took her first steps on May 12th.  She walked to me and was so proud of herself.  Just yesterday, she really started walking!  Here she is (so happy):

Not that this relates at all, but here is a video of Thea on a slide that she and Matthew went on just 15 times each last Friday.

Since we're just posting videos of Thea here at random, here are she and Mike playing peek-a-boo:

Only One More Day of School

Last January when my mom asked me if I was going to enroll Matthew in a two year old preschool program, my thought was "What? People do that?" I had no idea. But I looked into it and agreed that it would be great for Matthew. He would only be able to start once he turned two in October so this was going to be an extra year of school. I thought he would love the social aspect of it and if he learned anything, great.

Matthew's First School Picture

I am beyond grateful that Matthew was in school this year and had such phenomenal teachers. His growth blows my mind and I know they had something to do with it (vs just normal development or me teaching him). He can sing the alphabet (which he often does to himself before his nap - amazing) and recognize his letters (answering where is the letter p?). His social skills have greatly improved: understanding sharing, asking to use a toy, playing with (vs side by side) other kids and imaginary play. He is more expressive today, sharing that he is excited or frustrated.  He can rote count to 11, skip 12 and then add 13 and he is starting to count objects as they exist ("I have 3 books").  Matthew's teachers have not only guided his social and educational learning, but they have taught us with weekly newsletters with tips on how to further educate our children on things like sharing and shapes.  Matthew's class was for 2 years olds and he will be repeating it next year, with the same beloved teachers, since he was not yet 2 before September 1st.  And as I think about this last day, wow, does time fly.  I truly grieve the quick passage of these wonderful times.