Owen and soccer...

Owen has been playing soccer for a while, but never quite the way you might picture when you hear the words "playing soccer."

He started at 18 months in a kids' class called Soccer Tots, where they teach kids the basics of soccer skills in a gym/drills style that is more about playing and having fun than anything else.

Last fall he started his first real soccer league, called Small Fry soccer with the local YMCA. Shea was the coach, and Owen had a little friend in the class who had been in Soccer Tots with him, so he had a great time.

It wasn't exactly Owen's finest hour; he tended to stand still or spend time talking to his friend rather than actually trying to kick the ball, but at least he was out there...

So this spring is Owen's 2nd season of Small Fry, and his best soccer friend had to move away over the winter, so he is kind of alone out there. As the relatives who have come to see him could attest, most weeks Owen is NOT the greatest soccer player...

...it isn't a skill problem; it is a not playing problem. ;-P He is actually pretty good at kicking the ball, but he just won't go out there and play.

He does the practice, then refuses to play the game most weeks.

As luck would have it, the week that I finally brought the digital camera with me, Owen actually decided he wanted to play! So, here are the pictures and a video of how great Owen CAN be at soccer, when he wants to. ;-P

Easter House

Owen LOVED decorating a gingerbread house for Christmas, even though he made me do most of the actual decorating...so, I saw an Easter bunny house decorating kit in the store the week before Easter and bought it, with plans to decorate it with Owen some time that week during Eric's nap. :)

We just got around to it today. . . better late than never!

Owen is a stickler for following directions, so the "path" and "flowers" were very important to him because they were in the picture on the box. I was a little worried when he kept talking about them that he would be upset that we didn't have fake grass to put down around them (the professionals on the box cover did, of course!), but he took it pretty well.

Except for candy placement, these are the only parts he was actively involved in! In the picture below he is "walking the path." He wanted to make sure that I included that picture in the blog so everyone could see it. ;-P

funny clothes

Back when Owen was born, Shea made a lot of jokes about the plain white Gerber onesies being "wife-beaters." His explanation of this term was that in movies, men who beat their wives often did it while wearing only their white undershirt, which was usually the sleeveless kind to show off their arm muscles. He says this is a common term, although I had never heard it before Shea...

Apparently neither had one of our friends, who thought it was hilarious! So funny, in fact, that she gave us a sleeveless version of the Gerber onesie (she could only find it in blue) at my baby shower for Eric.

When Eric was a little baby, it was really just cute on him, no hint of the "wife-beater" style, but now that he is a little bigger and I paired it with regular pajama pants last night because of the between weather. . . well, you can see the movie image a little, right???

:)

Easter - part 2

We took a weekend trip to visit Owen and Eric's cousins Bryce and Mia for the Easter holiday. Their cousin Tabitha was able to make the trip, too, so we got all of the cousins on that side together for the holiday! :) Owen and Eric had a great time visiting, playing, and finding eggs filled with candy, of course!

Easter - part 1

We did a small Easter Egg hunt today with Paddy and Parker at our house. Eric was napping for the actual hunt, but we did get him to pose for a picture with everyone after the hunt.

Eric's first haircut

Eric's hair is a little different than Owen's hair. . .

. . . at not quite 14 months, it is already a bit stringy, and has been growing into quite a mullet over the last several months, whereas Owen's hair at 18 months was still pretty manageable and pretty even all around.

We tried to wait until Eric was 18 months old so he could do his first haircut at the same age his brother did, but Eric kept smushing food into his hair, making the stringiness and mullet look more noticeable instead of less. ;-P

So, here are the pictures of his first haircut, done today by a professional to make sure that I didn't accidentally overcut, especially since his hair is pretty fine as well. :)

Post haircut:

I am also posting the pictures of Owen's first haircut at the bottom of this posting so you can compare. I didn't really think Owen and Eric looked that much alike when Eric was first born, but they do seem to be growing closer in looks as Eric ages!

Owen's pre-haircut images (18 months old):

Owen's post-haircut images: