Little Dribblers Football Club

Jason was thrilled to find an indoor soccer team at his work.  The team plays in a league at lunchtime on Wednesdays in a gym right next to the Queens Wharf Heliport on the Wellington Harbour about 1/2 mile from our home.  He is LOVING it!  I want to be a supportive "soccer wife" but honestly I haven't really gotten into spectating the sport.  That being said, Jessica and I went to a game this week with our kids to cheer on our husbands.  Although they lost (insisting it was the worst game they've ever played) they both scored a goal - it was actually a lot of fun to watch. 
Here is a video that gives you a feel for the game (unfortunately I didn't catch a goal):

Here we are cheering on daddy/husband:

This leads me to the question du jour.  Do we sign up Charlie for the 3&Under Little Dribblers Football Club in Wellington???  If you can believe it there is actually an Under 2 team.  I think that would be hilariously painful to watch....  :)   When I was pregnant with Charlie, we decided that we wanted to expose him to soccer (Jason's influence) and swimming (my influence) as a young kid. Is 3 years old too young for a soccer team?  Would it be good for his social and gross motor skills or will we go crazy watching him pick grass and "make salads" with the dandelions (most recent passion)?  It is only 10 Saturdays, and although we will miss a few weekends, we are largely home....  Thoughts?   




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It won't be long...

Little Liam is getting more comfortable on his feet and I know it won't be long before he is walking without the help. As much as I want Liam to be my "baby" forever - I am looking forward to the end of the crawling phase where EVERYTHING goes into the little guys' mouth. He finds every little speck on our floor and it immediately goes into his mouth. Charlie was nearly 15 months when he started walking, so my "aching arms" we're also thankful when he had improved mobility on his own. Still I can't believe my baby boy is almost 1!

I love how Charlie is in the background saying: "I can do it, watch me," after he saw all of the attention Liam was getting with his skills. Overall Charlie is a champ with the whole transition to big brotherhood. That being said, we can see his occasional struggle to share the limelight with his little brother. Emily, I have a feeling I was a lot like Charlie - sorry! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Jason's 'stache

I got this shot right before the beard came off... HOTTIE!

10 Jars of Peanut Butter

On the eve of our pack out from Virginia to NZ, I did my last Trader Joes stop. In a panic I threw twelve jars of Trader Joes peanut butter into my shopping cart. Although I am thankful for the peanut butter (NZ pb is just not the same) I failed to consider that all of the peanut butter would expire at the same time (Jan/Feb 2012). So here we are with 10 jars of peanut butter that need to be consumed in the near future. Liam has started eating it with almost every meal (peanut butter, avocado, spinach oatmeal was his tasty treat tonight). Charlie and I also made Joanne 's famous peanut butter balls tonight. Im looking for more yummy recipes! I'm especially interested in how to integrate peanut butter into a main course. Here we are making our peanut butter balls:




So excited to dig in!

Weekly Bath

Overall I'm pretty bad about frequently bathing the boys. I do think Americans have a tendency to take too many showers/baths but I may go to the other extreme. When Liam was a baby he would get these strange skin infirmities. I couldn't figure out what was going on for a few days and then I would decide to bathe him and his skin would immediate clear up. Oops! Jason does most of the heavy lifting with bathing Charlie, but I enjoyed giving both the boys their baths recently. I think we have many fun brother baths in our future! (I wish I had the cute/awkward bath pic of me and my three sisters all together in the tub - I think I was 12 yrs old). Here is Liam learning to splash.

And here is a fun Christmas throw back with Charlie. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Iron Lady

Just came back from the movie Iron Lady about Margaret Thatcher. The movie was excellent and it was also fun to go out with girlfriends without the kiddos. That being said, it was stirring to see elder Thatcher reflect on her life, family, and career... I find myself reflecting on my relationship with my children and husband, my decaying body, and what kind of impact am I having during this relatively short life on planet earth? I guess it can be somewhat unsettling... In this uneasiness I am thankful to cling to the hope of eternity with Christ with a new body and a renewed mind - that this life isn't the end of the story... Anyway - pretty pensive post-film - thank you Meryl Streep for a great depiction of MT.



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Body Pump at Home

Charlie is really into the body pump videos at home. This horse was his barbell and the cans of tomato paste were his free weights.

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