game 5

Beckham missed his soccer game last Saturday, because we were out of town. Needless to say, he was excited about his game this past Saturday. We got there early, so Beckham had some time to watch the game ahead of his.
The wind, once again, was blowing with great speed; but it didn't seem to bother Beckham. He was intrigued by the other players. (Maybe watching for some new techniques?)
It was finally time for the game to begin. The players were lined up and ready to meet their competition!Beckham is really enjoying soccer, and he is learning a lot along the way too. He has learned to dribble the ball quite well, and can even quickly get it turned around in the direction he needs to go.And he has definitely learned to take it down the field towards the goal! (In fact, this game was the first time he showed disappointment when his ball didn't make it in the goal! Could he be a little competitive like his daddy? Possibly!)Celebrating a goal with his daddy! The look on his face is priceless!Halftime is always fun for the kids. They love getting water from the water jug... very refreshing!These guys lined up after half, ready to secure a victory!Matt has done such a great job coaching, and the kids all love him! He has taught them quite a bit too. I love this picture of the players lined up, Beckham even standing on guard, awaiting the other team to throw in the ball. (It truly is impressive that these 3-year-olds can focus on something this long!)

This time after the game, there were more than just handshakes and high fives shared with the other players. The opponents' fans made a tunnel for their team to go through, and our team helped themselves through as well!

Beckham's cheering squad was small for this game. Just mommy, Berkley, Brenner and of course the coach. That didn't stop him from finding someone to celebrate with after the game! I guess this might be their victory swing!
We're once again looking forward to the game next week. Gotta love those Wildcats!

berkley the babysitter

Berkley seems to be growing up before my eyes. She has always loved to be a little "mommy" to her younger brothers, but she seems to gain more and more "mothering" instincts as she gets bigger.

Last week I had to run a quick errand. Marmie came over to stay with the kids so that my "quick" errand could be just that... "quick!" We were getting ready to leave town, and I was trying to have everything ready to go for our estimated time of departure. Brenner was getting really tired and a little fussy, but I was holding him off from a nap so that he would sleep in the car. When I left Marmie and the kids, Brenner was crying. Evidently, he was sad for a while, so Marmie rocked him for a little while until he calmed down. He later decided to get up and play for a while. After a little while, he decided he was too tired to play. He began to get upset again. Berkley suggested to Marmie that she could take a "turn" rocking Brenner. My mom said Brenner seemed to understand what Berkley had offered, and he stretched his arms up to Berkley. Very satisfied, Berkley picked up Brenner and got situated.

I returned home to find this...
My mom told me that within just a few minutes of Berkley rocking her baby brother, he crashed. So sweet!Berkley was one proud big sister... with much reason to be!
This weekend we spent a night at the lake. Marmie and JT were there too, along with Aunt Amy and baby Dane. Uncle Chris is out of town for work, so Amy & Dane have decided to hang out at the lake for a few days. Chris usually gives Dane a bottle each night around dinner. Since he was gone, Amy was looking for someone to help out with that feeding. My little "mommy" stepped right up to the challenge. She was very focused in the beginning, keeping her eye on Dane and watching him very carefully.

Dane didn't seem to mind that Berkley had "stepped in" for his daddy.
Soon Berkley was feeling pretty confident of her bottle-feeding skills.Towards the end I think she considered herself a pro. I'm pretty sure I have a babysitter in training!

parading preschoolers

Berkley was in a parade at her school today. She was so excited about it, because it was familiar to her this year. Last year, in her 3-year-old class, she got to participate in the same parade. This year was different, however. Last year Berkley rode in a wagon during the parade. This year, however, the preK class got to choose to ride bikes, scooters, or tricycles in the parade. Needless to say, Berkley thought she was pretty big. Each student got to decorate their "wheels" for the parade. (With the help of a 5th grade student!) Berkley proudly showed off her bike.

She and her friends waited anxiously for the parade to begin. It is pretty hard to look stylish in a helmet, but these girls seem to pull it off. They are too cute!

It was finally time to head to the track for the parade. Berkley was so excited to get started, and she had perfected her wave!

Let the parade begin! There were lots of excited kids ready to race the track, and Berkley was one of them!

All of the kids had the option of riding the track once, twice or three times. You better believe Berkley chose to make all three rounds!

Beckham enjoyed the parade too. He had a lot of fun searching for Berkley on the track and checking out all of the "wheels" that passed by. The Spiderman bikes were his favorites!

JT & Marmie were able to come to the parade too. Berkley enjoyed having a fan club to cheer her on.

After watching Berkley ride the track, Marmie, JT and I decided she was about to need a bigger bike! As adorable as her retro mini-cruiser is, I think it is time for her to advance to some bigger wheels. Her legs are too long and her training wheels won't be able to handle much more I don't think. They are permanently inverted. Matt seems to think we need to just ditch the training wheels next anyway. It looks like we might be doing it sooner than later now! (It is a good thing Berkley looks so cute in her helmet, because we might be putting it to some good use.)

easter '09

Easter Sunday was an eventful one for our family. Mimi and Papa had been in town for the weekend and were able to go to church with us that morning. After church, we all headed to Red Robin for a yummy lunch. (The kids LOVE going there, because they each get a balloon. Brenner is somewhat obsessed with balloons right now, too. He calls them balls or "bah" which is his only word. So, when he can ask for something with his one and only word, we usually try to get it for him since he has "used his words!")

Once we were home, Mimi and Papa had to head back home and the kids all took a nap. They needed to rest up for some egg hunting that afternoon. When all of the kids were up, we headed over to Marmie and JT's house for an egg hunting adventure. (The kids had been waiting ALL day for this, and needless to say, they were really excited!)

The hunt began as soon as we got there, because the kids couldn't wait any longer. Berkley was off in no time, searching for eggs to fill her basket. Beckham was right behind her searching for his treasures.Brenner ran out after them, excited to be on his first official egg hunt.Berkley and Beckham needed little assistance this year. They had no problems finding their eggs on their own.Once Daddy showed Brenner where to put his eggs, he began to understand the game.He searched hard for some eggs of his own.He didn't want to miss a spot. He was taking this hunting very seriously. (Not surprising coming from Brenner!)In no time Berkley had filled up her basket.Beckham's basket was pretty full too as he surveyed the yard one last time for any eggs that might have been overlooked.Brenner inspected his basketful too.He was ready to get into those eggs! (But of course, mommy had to have some pictures first! What?!)On the way over to our "photo shoot" Beckham had a slight injury.Brenner got up to check out his brother's boo-boo. Something was going to have to be done to cheer up Beckham before we tried to take any pictures. Daddy stepped in and got him smiling again!

Of course, it didn't last long. And Brenner was pretty upset that no one was letting him check out his basketful of goodies. Berkley was tempted to look in her eggs too.

Once we got Berkley's attention, she tried to help out a little with Brenner. But, of course, Beckham still hadn't recovered from his injury.
Slowly we began to at least get everyone's attention and even a smile from Berkley! Things were looking up. Of course, once we got Beckham back to his silly little self, Brenner had already decided his "photo shoot" was over.

Even though Brenner had split, I still felt the need to try for more pictures. Beckham seemed to be thinking, "You've got to be kidding me! You're still snapping away?"

And sweet Berkley was trying her best to flash her big smile and add a little pose of her own. Maybe when all of the kids are a little older I'll be able to get some good pictures!

I have come to find that it is almost impossible right now to get a good photo of ALL three children at the same time, and if it does happen it is usually by mistake! But still I press on and push through a "photo shoot" any chance I can... basically torturing my little b's.

Despite the torturous "photo shoot" our Easter was wonderful. Mostly it was so wonderful, because of the amazing and unbelievable event that we were celebrating. That our God loves us so much that He sent His one and only son to die for us, to rid us of our ugly sin, so that we may have eternal life. Of course, the story doesn't stop there! Death had no hold on Him. He is risen and sits at the right hand of our God, the Father; waiting for those who believe in Him and have accepted Him, to join Him one day at His throne. Now that is something to celebrate!!!

cascarone competition

Last year my family had a little "cascarone (confetti egg) competition" to wrap up our Easter celebration with each other. The kids had SO much fun, we decided it needed to be a tradition. This year we were all ready for some serious cascarone cracking! Berkley gave us all precise instruction before the competition began.
Beckham took his stance, ready for the games to get started!Berkley stood on the other side, awaiting an attack from her brother."On your mark, get set, GO!" Berkley and Beckham began our competition.Matt & Chris quickly decided to recruit some help before they went up against each other. Beckham and Matt got their game faces on. They were ready for battle!Chris and Berkley seemed to chuckle at their opponent's faces. They were ready to have some fun!And the cascarones cracked one by one.Beckham enjoyed his vantage point from up high...But he didn't stay safe for long!
Brenner was even able to get in on the fun. It didn't take him long to figure out how to crack those eggs.

When all of the cascarones were gone, the clean-up crew stepped in to get rid of the mess.There was a lot of work to be done!
I think it is official that our "cascarone competition" will continue to be a tradition for quite a while. It is so wonderful to spend time with family, enjoying each other's company and simply soaking up all of the blessings that the Lord pours upon us all so generously.
May you all experience the joy of God's blessings today... confetti and all!