Soccer Season

It is soccer season at our house.  Currently all members of our family (except Rye) are playing on a team, not the same team, but four separate teams.  Life is very busy right now and meals are frequently eaten on the sidelines.

Noah's team

It takes a few minutes on the front porch every Saturday morning to get the shin guards, cleats and socks on the right kid on the right foot.  I think they make soccer socks extra hard to put on just to exasperate moms who are running late for a game.

 Rye is a huge soccer fan.

"Pass me the ball, I'm open."

 Ben has always been the goalie in our backyard games at home, but he has learned to play in the field very well this season.  He enjoys comparing his goals to his brother's goals on the way home.

Take a look at my little one year old

Rye celebrated the completion of his first year of life last week.

 He shoved the entire cupcake in his mouth and didn't remove his hands until there was nothing left.  It was a mini-cupcake, but still a very impressive show for a 1 year old.

 And because he is a third child, he got to have another cupcake as well.  He took his time with this one.  For those of you gasping at the thought of two cupcakes, I would like to point out that he still has traces of the green beans and strawberries in his bib from dinner.  I do feed him healthy food as well.  :)

 The big kids enjoyed watching their brother eat his first treat and helped finish off the rest of the cupcakes.

 Rye has found a special spot for himself.  He is the only one who can fit there.

 Unfortunately he has not figured out how to get down yet.  

He has taken a couple of tumbles, but persists in climbing up and hanging out..

The joy of a blankie fresh from the dryer.

the spring collection...

I have collected a few pictures (133) on my camera in the past 2 months and finally downloaded them today.  I couldn't come up with a common theme, so you will get them in chronological order.  Don't worry, it won't be all of them.

Noah's Birthday (a.k.a. - the demise of Spiderman)

 First went the legs, then the arms, then the head flew off (it is sitting on our mantel)

 Noah finally finished him off.

 ...and the mad scramble began.

 Noah seemed to like his presents.  What do you think?

Did I mention that this was Noah's first sleepover birthday party?  All of the above pictures happened before 11:00 am.  We also played kickball and soccer for a few hours in the yard.  I hope the neighbors didn't mind the 8:30 am kickball game.  I  kept them inside as long as I could.

A big mess...

 Rye starts eating table food.

Noah loses a tooth while wrestling with Micah.

 Parenting 101...

 The third child doesn't get watched as carefully as the first two.

Don't worry...its plastic.  :)

Ben's 5 Year Old Birthday Trip...

 You have to be 5 to chew gum at our house.  

Ben got to have some on the way to the Baltimore Aquarium.

 Waiting for the dolphin show to start.

 the dolphins and their trainers

 two dolphins dance alongside the trainer

 This is the beginning of a flip.  The show was amazing.

 Ben liked the sea horse.

 He laughed nervously whenever a fish was bigger than him.

 He enjoyed the rainforest exhibit.

 and the Australia exhibit

 especially the crocodile

 Afterward we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.  

Ben was rockin' it out.

 Did we get the lips right?

Noah and Rye stayed at Grandma's house for the day.  

They made Ben a birthday snickerdoodle.

Random selection of pictures...

 Rye is getting ready for his first bike ride.

 This guy LOVES spaghetti, but my camera does not.

 Celebrating his birthday with friends, Paul and Bennett.

 an early Easter snack/craft

 created by Solana, Anna and Ben

and my latest creation...

a dress made out of one of Drew's old dress shirts

Don't worry...I am sending it to my niece.  

I only had Ben try it on to get the size right. :)

Birthday Creations

I wanted to show off my creations for Noah's 7th birthday party.  They will soon be destroyed by some hungry boys.

Skateboard Birthday Cake

Spiderman Pinata

Rye

I wish I were a better photographer because Rye looked picture perfect.  I just couldn't quite get the right photo to capture the moment.  Here is the best I could do...