Sunday, January 30, 2011

Where did January go?

Seriously. Where does the time go? Wasn't it just Christmas? Didn't we just ring in the new year? I finally uploaded a few pictures from the month and realized I haven't been very good about posting many pictures lately. I guess that has been because we have been keeping busy, which is a good thing actually. So, here are a few quick snapshots to catch you up. Here is a long lost picture I forgot about. It seems I am not the only one around here who has possible OCD issues.... Yes, Connor has all of his trucks lined up in a row like a train. I guess he has inherited some things from his mommy. (I have no issue with this... daddy has a few things to say though! l0l)
Travis and Daddy also took some time out for reading.
On Martin Luther King, Jr. day I took pictures of the boys outside by the flag. Notice how Connor is dressed for the weather that day.
While Travis decided he needed to wear shorts. Oh well. Good thing we live in Phoenix where this is acceptable in January. Here is Travis enjoying the Monster Truck Jam last night. I can tell he was quite tired but he insisted he did not want to leave. He was having too much fun. Judging from the pictures I can tell there was a lot of destruction going on there, I guess he didn't want to miss a thing even though he could have fallen asleep right there in his seat.
I also realized that Connor was in dire need of a haircut. Off we went this morning to get him back on track. He loves sitting in this fire truck. It was hard, impossible in fact, to get him to sit still for a picture. This was all I could get.
Finally he looked up!
Oh my gosh, he is just SO DARNED CUTE!! He looked in the mirror, saw himself and just smiled ear to ear. He is such a sweetie... even if he did throw himself down on the floor of the haircut place and cry because he wanted to stay and play trains instead of getting his hair cut. Gosh, it sure is stressful to be 2 1/2 I guess!
When we got home big brother ran out to see Connor's haircut. Connor jumped into his arms and they hugged. I said, hold that I have my camera! I quick took this picture. Even though Travis' face looks pained it really was a sweet moment. Ready or not February here we come!!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Who's Sparky?

It seems like I spent a LOT of time in my car today. It's a good thing I like my car. It's nothing extravagant but it is comfortable, drives nice, and has been good to me. Today we already had a lot going on in Travis' busy social life. However, a little wrinkle was thrown in when it was evident yesterday that he was getting sick and was in need of an antibiotic for another sinus infection. Up I was by 8 am to call the doctor to get an appointment. Our office it not open on Saturdays so when this happens we have to drive in to Tempe, this is about a 30 minute drive from our house. One way. I was able to get him an 11:00 appointment with our doctor. Great! I figured he would miss his 12:00 soccer game. Nope. That's not what Travis (or Coach Dad) had in mind. We were signing in and Travis asked the nurse if they could please get him in quick. I told him he had a soccer game he wanted to get to. (As I said that I sort of rolled my eyes as if to say I know that's never going to happen!) She laughed and said she would see what she could do. Well, we were in and out of there by 11:05. Good thing we were already there 15 minutes early. Yep, sinus infection it was. Off we raced, stopping by Grammy and Grandpa's house to pick up Connor first, then off to the soccer game we went. Right after the game we raced back to the car, got home so Travis could quickly change, and off we went to Skateland for a birthday party. This was about 20 minutes away, in the same direction as the doctor's office visit was. (It felt like I was in that movie Groundhog day when the same things keep happening over and over again to the poor guy.) A few hours later back we went into the car to go home. Travis got to rest for a short while... maybe 45 minutes... and then off he went with Daryle to so see the monster truck show in downtown Phoenix. I am glad I got to stay home! I was concerned about him but Daryle just sent me this picture from his phone.... along with the caption, "See, he is having fun!" He looks a little bit tired but I am glad he is having a good time. Good thing he can sleep in tomorrow! I just hope he gets home early enough to squeeze in another breathing treatment before bedtime.


Thank goodness Connor just tags along and goes with the flow of his brother's social life. I have assured him that he will be just as busy when he gets big. Then he told me he wanted to be big. Now. Well sweetie, it just doesn't work like that! He is so funny. About two nights ago he started asking us where Sparky was. Who is Sparky? We kept asking him who he was talking about. I was beginning to wonder if he had an imaginary friend or something. After all, he does go around pretending to lick us and we have to call him "Puppy Connor". He crawls around on all fours and pants with his tongue hanging out. Then today we figured it out. We were standing in my bedroom and he yells and points, "There is Sparky!!" I looked and he was pointing to our dog, Rock. It seems he has renamed our dog. Poor Rock, he sure puts up with a lot. He makes up for it though. Tonight I bought Connor a sandwich from Subway. Connor left the table to get something and in a split second Rock had downed Connor's little sandwich. I feared a meltdown. Connor took it all in stride. Good thing he is ok with peanut butter. I guess what goes around comes around in our house. ;-)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Hair

I don't know what it is, but Connor's hair just makes me laugh. He flips it this way and that way as if he is in a shampoo commercial. Even just thinking about it makes me giggle! Tonight at dinner we discovered that Connor and I are the only ones in our family who can make our hair fly side to side as we shake our head. Ahh, to see the envy in Travis and Daryle's eyes.... haha!!

Friday, January 14, 2011

In the beginning...

I was going through some older pictures and I found some shots of Travis' very first soccer team. They named themselves Blue Thunder. He was in the 4 year old group and it was Daryle's first time coaching. Don't they all look so cute?

These pictures were from his very first game. It was blazing hot outside being that it was early September here in Arizona. I know the temperature was well above 105 that day. Here was Travis, just wondering around wandering what he should do. It didn't help that he was boiling hot out there!
I can't tell you how many pictures I have of Travis just following his dad around like this. He just did not know what to do. Every game after this one he sat in my lap and cried. We had to literally push him onto the field. Other days I just let him sit on my lap. We seriously considered not EVER signing him up for soccer again. It was just too embarrassing to be the coach and have your kid cry on the sidelines (although he did great at practices! That's the only part that kept us encouraged.)
This is perhaps my most favorite shot of the day. You can see how hot it was. The look on his face just says it all!
Moral of the story: Don't give up. Back then I NEVER would have guessed that today Travis would not only LOVE soccer but that he would actually be pretty good at it too. Perseverance payed off for all of us!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Soccer Stud

Soccer season has started up again at our house. Although Travis is pretty athletic, I do think that soccer is one he excels at. This could be due to the fact that he has played since he was 4. I remember his first season well. There were 8 games total. He sat on my lap and cried through the first six games. Then he discovered playing goalie. Not long after that he found out he could run. He then realized that running leads to scoring. After game 6 his life was never the same again. My little soccer star was born. It has been so much fun watching him grow and change in this sport. I am sure he has a lot more growing to do still! As I was watching him yesterday a few things went through my mind. One was, boy is he ever confident out there. The way he stands. The way he runs. Everything. The second thought was, how did I miss this? Was it because the last two soccer seasons I missed so many games because 1. I had classes or 2. was it because last year I had to entertain Connor up on the playground for most of the time? I think it was a combination of the two. Whatever the case may be, my little boy is growing up. I don't know if I am ready for this! One thing I do know is that I really enjoy watching him play and I am so glad that Connor can sit in his little chair, eat some snacks, and cheer on his big brother. I am loving this next phase in our lives!


Like father, like son....
I can't leave little Connor out of the fun. This little cup of snacks kept him going for quite some time.
Grammy, would you like a teddy graham? I picked it up off the ground, I brushed off the grass...?
No? Well then how about this orange fruit snack? I don't think I licked this one...
Travis is good at scoring (in fact he scored the ONLY goal of the game in the last few seconds! No pics of that, I was chasing Connor. Thankfully we did see the goal. We watched...well yelled and cheered... as Travis scored and then ran around, threw up his hands in the air and proceded to run and jump right into Daryle's arms! It was quite the sight for sure!! He then got high fives from the whole team. What a way to end the first game!) However, he is also well seasoned at goalie. No fear.

I am sure it sounds like I am bragging. But that is what moms do, right? I think it's my job. Just wait until Connor starts playing. He is already asking me "Where is my team?" The sweetest part of the game was when Connor went over to Travis, bent down to him and said in his sweet little voice, "Good job Travis!" My heart melted. I think this brother thing is working out.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Happy New Year

Even though we had the last two weeks "off" from school, things have still seemed quite busy around here. After Christmas Uncle Billy and Patti drove out here from California. It seems that this is becoming a new tradition. The past two years they have stayed and celebrated New Year's Eve with us. We sure are lucky that they are entertained by sitting around the house with us eating, drinking, playing games, lighting fireworks and then heading to bed by 12:20 am! Actually, I think we all have had a wonderful time. However, before the big New Year's Eve pizza party we headed off to the Phoenix Children's Museum. If you have not been there, I HIGHLY recommend it! The boys had a fabulous time, we could have spent the whole day there. In fact, the next time we go I am going to pack lunches so we can eat and then resume playing before we have to leave. They started out in the Art room and were allowed to paint this castle. They had fun until...
...oops, sorry Travis. I guess that is what little brothers are for! Thank goodness it is washable.
Another popular area was the Pit Stop. I had to drag Connor out kicking and screaming. (Luckily for me that didn't last too long because right around the corner was the fort building room. Immediately he found a new room to love and cherish! He left that room kicking and screaming too. Do you see the pattern?) Back to the pit stop. Here is Travis with some cars to race on the race track.
Connor found an old motorcycle with an old fashioned gas pump. He takes his gas filling duties quite seriously. As he said, "I do gas like Mommy does!" I just hope he keeps that enthusiasm when I need him to fill up the car for me when he is 16 or so!
They loved each and every room. However, I must say that the highlight of the day was the grocery store. I think they were in here for over an hour. The place was packed that day and my two little guys were so patient with everybody. In fact, all of the kids in there were having so much fun there was no time to "misbehave" at all. Here is Travis stocking up the shelves. Doesn't he look like a professional??
Connor wore himself out pushing this little cart around. He would fill it up, take it to the check out counter, fill it back up, empty it at the recycling place and then resume shopping again. It didn't take him too long to figure out not to take your hands off of your cart or it will be snatched up quick!
Travis was absolutely dying to work at the checkout counter. He waited so patiently. FINALLY he got his chance and boy did he have a great time. It was so much fun just watching my boys and all of the other kids interact and have so much fun acting like grown ups.
Now, on to New Year's Eve. We had to let Travis take a "shot" of ... yes.... black cherry soda! He likes drinking from a shot glass on New Year's Eve.. silly kid!
Since Travis and Uncle Billy like to cook together we decided it would be fun to make pizza. This ended up being the main activity of the night. We got some delicious pizza dough from Trader Joe's, loaded up on toppings, and away we cooked. Here are the two chefs making pizza #1. (They (Uncle Billy) ended up making 4 total.)
Travis had the great idea to make the smiley face on the pizza with the pepperoni. We thought that was a super suggestion! Here it is before the oven....
... and here it is all cooked and ready to eat. Not one drop of this was left over! YUM!
Here is part of the crew getting ready to go outside and make some NOISE!
We did light off some fireworks, but there weren't really any good shots of that. A few of us banged some pots and pans together. We were quite the sight! Here are the kids with Uncle Billy and Patti the next morning. They had to head back home to California. We sure do enjoy their visits!

Now that our company is gone, the holidays are over, and the house is cleaned up we have time to play outdoors. Santa brought Travis a basketball hoop. (I won't even go into the details of putting that thing together last week. Why does Santa always leave us such big projects???) So, we have been spending a lot of time doing this...
Travis has also started back with soccer and has his first game on Saturday. The next two months we will be busy with soccer practice and games. It feels good to be getting back to normal after the holidays. So far 2011 is looking pretty good. No complaints from me!