Soccer, Life

Intentionally forgetting how much Maya disliked (read: complained constantly about) soccer last year, Michael and I signed her up again this spring.  We switched leagues, and one of her long-time friends is on her team, and I think the combination of those two factors is making this season excellent.  She counts down the days until her next practice or game, she runs the whole time, she laughs, she kicks the coach (don't worry, they play a game called "kick the coach" :)), and she generally has a fantastic time. I credit my friend Beth, who recommended this particular team/coach, with Maya's sudden love of the game :)  Our poor, poor children are not getting any help from genetics when it comes to athletic ability, so having excellent, fun coaches is pretty crucial :)

Charlotte is just about done with her first year of preschool!  She has changed so much since she started at this school, and I am so thankful for her amazing teachers.  They work with her to bring her out of her shell, which, let me tell ya, is not an easy task!  A couple of weeks ago she actually spoke to a cashier at Target unprompted. That might not sound like a big deal, but it was huge for her.  My brave little girlie :D

Milo is still a pretty awesome little man.  He is entering full-on toddlerhood which has been entertaining 90% of the time.  That other 10% is when he is having a loud, flailing, screaming meltdown in public.  Still very slightly entertaining for us, not so much for the others around us.  I've gotten more than one "look" from an older lady who clearly does not remember the joy of raising a toddler boy (and I'm being completely serious here ~ he is a joy through and through :))

Just a few pictures tonight.  My computer is freezing up so editing is next to impossible :P

Milo is really into cleaning ~ vacuums, mops, brooms.  Apparently he even likes to clean outside.

We went on a picnic after ballet last week.  I promise they were excited!

My brave little man tackled the large twisty slide again and again and again.

The One Where I Refuse to Acknowledge that it Snowed Today

The title says it all :)

I still think it's spring and beautiful and sunny and warm.  We spent most of the week in short sleeves, though this weekend has proven that it was a good idea to keep out the coats and hats and snow boots just a wee bit longer :)  Maya was disappointed that we couldn't plant anything in our garden yet...soon, baby girl.  Soon.

Pictures.

Michael trimmed the bottom of 2 pine trees in our front yard, and the girls are so excited to have "tree houses" :)  They carried their picnic table from the back deck and put it under one of them so they could color outside.

Milo loves being part of the crowd now.

He will now smile on command if I ask to see his teeth :)

That's a black eye, not eye shadow.  Same eye as last time, poor thing.

Dirty Kids, Awesome Friends

Now that spring is officially here (yay!!!) we are ending the days tired out and dirty.  I had to clean out underneath the kiddos's fingernails yesterday :D  Right now we are extra busy as we finish out the school year and attempt to finish collecting everything we need to submit our dossier to our adoption agency (read more about our adoption at my other blog, HERE).

Last weekend the weather was awesome so we had an impromptu cookout with some of our very best friends.  Michael took the opportunity to demonstrate some neat science experiments (mentos + diet soda = giggles all around :)).  After the lesson we roasted some marshmallows and hung out.  I am so looking forward to many more nights like that this summer and for many summers to come.  We have been very blessed with a pretty amazing group of friends to share our life with.

Pictures.

Milo and Uncle Chris entering a coloring contest.

kiddos gathered around Michael, waiting for the magic to happen

As much as I *love* Milo's snowsuit, I am hoping we won't need it anymore this year!