Bad Kids

I was so proud of Hailey this week. At soccer on Wednesday there were a bunch of boys who act crazy every class and never pay attention to the coach. Hailey just moved into this class in December since she had just turned 3 and I wasn't sure how it would go since the parents sit on the sidelines and coaches take over teaching soccer. She, however, has done remarkably well paying attention and just keeping up.

These boys on the other hand never pay attention in class and the coach is often using most of his time to deal with these hoodlums. All the while, the parents/babysitters sit there and chat or are on their phones totally oblivious to the entire situation. Well, this week these boys were especially bad - kicking down the cones as the coach put them up for drills and tackling each other. One of them happened to hit Hailey in the face with a cone as he was fooling around and she started to cry. Already irritated by these crazy boys it took all my strength not to go out there and sit those boys out myself or confront the babysitter/parents, but I didn't, I held back. I saw the coach comfort Hailey and then I saw Hailey wipe away her tears as she tried to hold the barrage of others back. Then the coach asked her to perform the drill first. Still crying and wiping away her tears she took off with this look of sheer determination on her face. It was as if she was saying, I will complete this drill and I will not go get my mommy. She ran right by me without giving me so much as a glance as I rather loudly cheered her on.

You see I've had a few conversations about not crying at soccer (this isn't the first time these crazy boys have made her cry by kicking a ball at her, etc.) since she had been running to get me everytime something went wrong. I have been telling her to shake it off and showing her at Austen's games when someone gets hurt they don't go get their moms, they stay and shake it off. And, shake it off is exactly what Hailey did. It was a proud mom moment and gave me a little peek inside to Hailey's future personality. Here's my little soccer star following in Austen's soccer footsteps:

An Interview with Hailey

Who is Hailey? Well, she's a lot of Austen and a little bit of Peyton all rolled into one cute and smart little girl. She's athletic like Austen. Talks a lot like Peyton. Plays great by herself like Austen. And, has a sarcastic sense of humor like Peyton - for example when I ask her what she had for snack at school, she'll pretend she's thinking real hard then says, "Eyeballs! I had eyeballs!" She's drawn more toward boys as her playmates than girls and right now is dying for us to take her anywhere with Mickey Mouse!

Get to know Hailey - what she thinks of her brother, her sister and her puppy Sadie. Learn her favorite color, who is her favorite pup in the Paw Patrol and what she likes for dessert. Here she is...our one and only Hailey Kate...

10 Month Old Sadie

Sadie definitely is going to be bigger than Adler. She's already taller and probably will be heavier too. She loves to sit on our back deck and survey our yard for prey like a lion atop a mountain. Spotting a squirrel or bunny she flies off the steps and just misses catching them before they scurry under the fence. She's surprisingly quick for a big dog and agile too.

And, she loves to chew. Her favorites are the woodwork by the windows where she rests her head to look outside or the corner of our bottom stair. Her favorite snack is the mulch in our yard or bark from a tree and of course sticks. She does love a good treat or a good bone though. 

She is not as big of a jumper as Adler which is helpful when others come to visit but she does have an annoying habit of tugging on our clothes to try to get us to play. The kids don't dare hold a stuffed animal or shoe or shirt when walking past her because she basically tackles them trying to get whatever they have. She also loves to go for rides in the car but sometimes eats the seatbelts, and if we leave her in the car sometimes she'll jump over the seat and tear up some papers just for fun!

She's amazingly loveable though as she flops down on your lap if you're sitting on the floor or she'll attempt to climb on your lap if you're sitting on the couch. She's great at holding her bladder and waits a really long time to go. She's starting to sleep in more now too as she waits for us to get up most mornings instead of waking us to play or go out.

Sadie still has a lot of puppy in her and more training to do, and she's still a lot of work but so are our three kids. Someday life will get easy again...when Sadie grows up and our kids don't need us on a minute by minute basis. That's when will miss this.

Happy 10th Birthday Austen!

Double digits this year for Austen. Hard to believe my first born turns 10 on Wednesday. 10. Unbelievable.

As his 4th grade teacher said, "he's such a good boy." I hear that a lot from other parents about Austen. He's the kid who is friends with everyone. You won't catch him being mean to another kid (beside his sister Peyton). He is organized and always has a clean room and offers to help his sisters clean theirs. He's a caretaker. Loving and nurturing, he's the one who walks Peyton home from school and makes sure that at a party full of kids on New Year's that Hailey wasn't left downstairs in the basement by herself for the balloon drop, but comes upstairs with her big brother guiding her and holding her hand. He's the one who wakes up early to get his 30 minutes of reading in before school and buckles down right after school to get his homework done. He's the one who was chosen to play Joseph during his religious education program because he was the best behaved boy in religious ed class (even though he declined the offer and didn't tell us - we found out two weeks later from another parent). He's the kid who readily steps up to help out without asking and does so without whining when we do ask. He's the kid who lives and breathes sports all day. Doesn't matter which one. He loves them all and tapes games to watch later - fast forwarding through them for the highlights. He's the one who hates to lose - even at board games. He's the one who doesn't like to go to bed with his mom mad at him because he was a sore loser that night during game night and couldn't pretend it was just all okay.

He's the one turning 10 on Wednesday and in just 8 1/2 short years will be off to college. He is why I quit my job two years ago. I didn't want to miss one more minute of his games or helping him with his homework after school or driving him to his practices. I'll have the rest of my years to go back to work after Hailey leaves the nest, but now I have this short time - this really small window in his whole life to really be there and be his mom. And, it's a role that I love playing for a boy who I couldn't be prouder of. I love you Austen. Happy birthday buddy!

Happy 7th Birthday Peyton!

On Friday, Peyton turned 7 and if she could have celebrated all month she would have. The countdown began as soon as December started and while most kids would've been sad that Christmas was over, Peyton looked forward to her birthday and celebrating with her friends.

This year, she had a friend movie and we took 14 of her girlfriends (with the help of Papa and Grandma) to see the new movie "Sing." It's an animated piece about animals and a singing show like American Idol. What could have been more perfect for Peyton - animals and music?! And, the movie was super cute. She enjoyed her friends singing to her after and handing out her goody bags (which are very important to a first grader's party).

The goody bags!

She got lots of presents which is what she wanted! And I have to say all of her friends must know her really well because she had lots of animal presents! She opened more presents from us and then even more from her grandparents and relatives. We topped off the evening by going to Red Robin for dinner - Peyton's choice.

It may have just been one of my favorite kid birthday parties! Hoping 7 turns out to be just as fabulous for her!

 The Friends and Peyton with Hailey (Austen didn't want to be in the pic)!

Hanging out with her friends at the movies

Really? More presents?!