Soccer Medal & Buddies

I'm about five blog posts behind from the month of October, and today is already November! What a full, fun, busy month we've had. So, without further adieu, here's some updates. That's my little soccer player, Josiah, sitting with his friends.
He marched right up to receive his medal at the end of the season.

He's so proud of his medal! He vividly remembers Mackenzie receiving her trophy at the end of her one-and-only soccer season. He was so happy to get something special like that, too!

My proud little man. He had so much fun playing soccer, that he's already signed up for the spring season, too. I'm thankful for the opportunities the kids have to try new things, learn, and grow.

Here's an up close pic of the front of the medal.

Here's the back of the medal.

This picture is random, but I had to include it somewhere. The kids and I went to a pumpkin patch with Josiah's best friend, Kameron. Those boys had so much fun together. Last year, they were in school together. This year, they are not, but they still enjoy time together.

Josiah is now 43 inches tall and 40 1/2 lbs. Mackenzie is 46.5 inches tall and 45 1/2 lbs. I am shocked at how much they have grown over the past 5 or 6 months.

On the school front, Mackenzie is reading in the green group, at the top of her class. I am amazed at the huge words she is able to read. Josiah is now learning the blend ladders. He knows all the vowels and the sounds that they make. He is able to read any 3 letter word that follows the rules, such as cat, sit, run, cut, etc. You can asked him to spell any 3 letter word that follows the rules, and he can do it! Amazing. He hears the phonics and sounds it out and spells it accurately. I love to see him learning to read. He is proud, too, as he wanted to be able to read just like his sister. :)

Josiah

My Little Soccer Player
My little man loves to play soccer. I could not figure out which of the above two pics I liked the best (same pic but different effects), so I am posting them both! :)

Josiah, standing at attention and listening to the coaches' directions.

Josiah (in the black on the left) kicking the ball toward his goal.

He scored!!! He's directly behind the kids in yellow on the left. If you look closely, you'll see Josiah's brown hair and profile sticking out in front of the kid in yellow's head! The ball that is in the goal is in the one he had just kicked! Way to go, Josiah!

Here's another great big kick!

This came home from school today. Josiah knows all the vowels as well as their short and long vowel sounds. I am so proud of how much he is learning! That said, this particular paper just cracks me up. I love his teacher's sense of humor, too. :)

I zoomed in on the paper so you can see it better. Notice the "e" is perfectly upside down?! What a hoot. He is a very good writer and is doing a fantastic job of learning how to write all the letters in the alphabet. I was afraid if I did not take a picture of this one, I won't have too many other opportunities. He sits with me and practices his letters even on days when he's not in school. He does this by choice, mind you. He asks me to help him learn how to write. Tonight, after school, he sat down with a paper and a marker and asked how to spell "Bolt." Then, he came back and wanted to know how to spell "is my name." He did a great job of writing all those words. He hung his sign, that he made all by himself, on the laundry basket. It is his cage! He is Bolt, the dog from the movie we rented recently. I love seeing my kids learning to read and write.

Well, that's all my updates for now. Have a lovely day.

It's Josiah's Turn Now!

The day has finally arrived when Josiah got to play soccer! He has longed for this day ever since Mackenzie gave soccer a try about a year ago. He was so excited that he got himself dressed and ready. That's impressive. I can count on one hand the total number of times the child has ever dressed himself. He really has no such desires typically, but this day was different. It was special. It was his turn! Sitting on the stairs attempting to get the soccer socks on! He did a great job of getting dressed.
...and the socks got on, too....with a little help from Daddy! :)

My little soccer player! What a cutie. :)

All decked out in his soccer attire, ready to play!

He's number 9. That's random.

He intends to be #1. He, he. He has been telling us all about how we're going to be so excited because he's going to kick the ball into the goal. Well, whether he scores or not, I'm a proud Momma! :)

The above picture is of the whole team. Josiah is on the far left. The main coach is in the bright orange shirt in the middle.

Zoomed in on Josiah and some teammates. Josiah was listening intently to the directions the coach was giving him. He did a great job of playing by the rules! Most of the kids really struggled to keep their hands off the ball. Josiah never once touched it with his hands at an inappropriate time. He really listened and followed the rules quite well!

My little man.

Sister on the side lines. After the practice and game were finished tonight, as the team ran through the tunnel made by the hands and arms of the parents, Josiah stopped when he got to Mackenzie (she was part of the tunnel), gave her a hug, and continued onward through the tunnel of arms. The other parents oohed and aahed. I loved it! It was sweet.

Smiling for the camera while taking a water break!

Nice kick, Josiah! :) He's a fast little guy. He did a good job keeping up with the ball and whomever else was chasing it, too.

I love the profiles of both my boys. ;) It was fun watching David out there with Josiah's team. I am proud of how well Josiah did, and I am glad that he is finally getting his turn, too.

Our Little Soccer Girl!

Mackenzie has asked to play soccer for quite some time now. Funny part is that I really don't think she knew anything at all about soccer! That said, David happily signed her up as she is now old enough for local leagues. The two of them picked out soccer gear (in pink!) for her. She was sooo excited! She talked about her first practice for 3 whole days before it actually occurred. These pictures were taken the first day of practice.
My soccer cutie all decked out!

She was so excited that she wanted to wear her uniform to practice the first day, so she did!

Even her shoes have pink on them! (And, of course, we had to pick #24 for her jersey!) ;)

Here she is at the first practice with her teammates. She had just kicked the ball and still has her foot in the air.

She is just about to kick the ball in this picture.

I took these pictures today, two practices later, at the first game. I thought the pic of the pregame huddle was cute! You can see Mackenzie's profile on the far right, as Coach Chris talks to the team.

Here she is after the game, totally worn out and hot.

When I asked her, today, if soccer is all she had hoped it would be, she shook her head no. When I asked her what about it surprised her, she said, "Well, you just run after the ball. All you do is run. I'm worn out!" That cracked me up. We decided we'd finish out this season (only 2 months total) and then let her decide whether or not she wants to play in the future. Just from watching her on the field, I'm guessing this is our first and last soccer season for Mackenzie! He, he. I do think she makes a cute soccer player, even if the sport's not for her. :) I'm proud of her for trying something new. (Speaking of which, she's also taking violin lessons at school!)