More soccer--Game 2

Nico's second soccer game was this past Saturday.  He was in the first group of kiddos to play out on the field, which may have helped Nico in the game overall.  He did pout just a little at the beginning of the game when he fell while trying to get the ball; however, Mommy had to use some tough love and make him go straight back out there since he was not hurt. Once Nico got the hint that he was not able to come get Mommy-love whe he was supposed to being out on the field, Nico seemed to step up a little and was able to focus on the game a little more.

 

Nico also had his first chance at playing goalie in the game which was pretty cool for him. He seemed excited when the coach picked him for the position.  He blocked a few balls from coming in and then of course at one point helped the other team kick the ball in!  He was itching to kick a goa and just did not care who it was forl!  Nico said he had a great time and I am very proud of him! We will see what happens in the game this week!

 

8 Months Old

Natalee is 8 months old today!  Each month on the 23rd, I have really focused on Natalee's monthly milestones, but today was crazy and chaotic and I didn't really have a moment to celebrate Natalee's age.  We have so much happening right now in the adventures of Nico and Natalee to include Daddy coming and going in and out of town for work, and some other major changes that we are not ready to publicize or blog about yet.  However, at the end of the day, after Natalee had her bath, I quickly dressed her in one of her precious smocked dresses and snapped a few pictures.

Here is what has been happening with our Baby Nat-Nat:

Night time sleeping: Since being dx with reflux and getting with right rx to help her, the coughing Natalee had been suffering with for months finally let up, allowing her to begin sleeping better through the night. Natalee was so used to waking up every 3-4 hours coughing and feeding her was one of the only ways to calm her down from a fit, so it has only been in the last month in which Natalee has begun sleeping longer periods of time.  Her pink bunny lovie and of course pacis help her self soothe if she wakes up during the night. Natalee goes to bed around 7:15 every night, and will let me know when it is that time.

Nap time sleeping: Natalee typically takes two naps a day.  She wakes up around 7:30 or 8:00 am and after breakfast and playtime, she is ready for a nap at 10:30 am.  Usually Natalee will sleep for about two hours during this morning nap. Then at around 3:30 or 4:00 pm, Natalee is ready for her second nap of the day, this one, however, is a bit shorter, lasting usually only hour long. 

Eating:  Before getting the reflux under control,  Natalee had a difficult time eating her baby food. She seemed to enjoy the taste of the food, but after only a few bites she would refuse anymore. Now, this little girl eats quite bit during all three of her meals before blowing and spitting at me (to indicate she is all done).  We are working on "more" and "all done" sign during meal times.

Play time: Natalee loves her purple nubby sensory ball. She shrieks and hits at it until the ball has rolled out of reach.  She also still enjoy her Jumperoo during down time. The xylophone and the play cell phone are a couple of other favorites. 

Overall, Natalee is a super happy and joyful baby girl.  She loves clapping now, is trying to imitate me on signing for "more," no doubt knows her name, and trying hard to move herself around.  I have seen Natalee scoot herself backward, but there have been times when I set her down and minutes later when I look in on her, she is three feet over to the side and facing a different direction!  It is just a matter of time until this little wiggle worm is crawling around getting into trouble!

 

Big Splasher

Recently, I have been allowing Natalee to sit on her bottom in the bath tub instead of laying in the bath sling. She has really been enjoying her bath time even more since I have been doing this with her. When getting a scrub down, Natalee will splash, splash, and splash some more! She doesn't hesitate to shriek right along with the splashing to let me know how much fun she is having.

My Little Shrieker

Natalee has become quite vocal over the last couple of months.  Not only does she love to babble, but now she likes to shriek!  She shrieks in the car, when in her high chair, when playing on the floor, when trying to "talk" to Nico and in just about any and every situation. I am surrounded by happy baby shrieking frequently.  I think she is going to be a chatter box once meaningful language begins to happen!  Boy, I am in trouble!

Time to drag out the walker!

The other it dawned on Daddy that we had not tried putting Natalee in the car walker yet!  So out of the office closet it came and in Natalee went!  She thought this new piece of equipment was pretty cool and she did her best to move around.  Like Nico, she moved her feet to go from side to side and even backwards, but I am sure with a little practice she will be practically running up and down the hall, going "beep beep."

 

Happy little girl being mobile!

 

One tooth, two teeth...

Every baby is definitely different when it comes to various milestone.  While Nico began cutting teeth at 5 months, Natalee began at 7 months. She got her first tooth about 3 weeks ago and her second tooth shortly followed. 

Here is Natalee when her first tooth came in. 

Here is the second tooth slowly creeping in.

 

With teeth coming in, I decided to try a little table food consisting of bits of bread, scrambled egg, and tiny pieces of banana.  Once Natalee realized this food were not Puffs, she looked at me like I was crazy! She did try each piece of food and it turns out she enjoyed eating the bread the most for the moment.

 



 

My Little Soccer Player!

Nico had his first soccer game yesterday! Considering it was the first game and he had had no practice. Last week was the first practice, but we were notified of the first practice after we had already made plans to go see Gigi for the weekend. Then this past Friday their practice was rained out. Luckily, Nico had at least been to his cousin Mason's soccer practice a few weeks back, so he had been introduced to the game a little bit.

I know that I am a bit biased since Nico is my son, but Ed and I both agree that he does have a natural sport-playing ability. He certainly did not get it from me! Nico wasn't too sure what to expect when we got to the field so he was not his typical outgoing self, but he warmed up a little after the game started. Nico was not in the first group of kids to play in the game, and since that was not expected, it put Nico off a bit. However, once it was his turn to play on the field, he blew everyone away, including us, by jumping right in the front, taking the ball down the field and scoring the first goal of the game! Woo Hoo, Go Nico!!!!

Team prayer time before the game starts.

 

 Here is the sequence of pictures from Nico making the first goal!

Nico is the one who made the shot to score the goal.  You just can't see him in this picture...he is behind his teammate.

 

And....Nico doing his victory dance!

 

While Nico's first few minutes of playing on the field were exciting, the rest of the game definently had its ups and downs. Nico has some lessons to learn during this soccer season, including not getting mad or sad when another child from the other team takes the ball away.  There were some instances in which Nico got his feelings hurt because he did not have the ball, and instead of getting back in there and going after the ball....he stopped running, put his head down and began pouting.  At one point he even sat down on the ground and started crying because a girl took his ball away!  I see some serious pep talks int he future. Overall, the game was cute and fun to watch. I think Nico and his teammates will get the gist of the game more after a few weeks of playing. 

Coach Andrew teaching Nico how to throw the ball back into the field.

 

Staying with the ball...Go Nico Go!

 

 Big Sis and Jeremy came down for Nico's first game, so he had his own cheering squad!  Big Sis even made her shirt to say "Nico's Biggest Fan!" 

 

 My little soccer player!

 



A little practice with Daddy after the game.

 



This video is really cute of Nico staying in the game, trying hard and having fun while he was out there!


This video captures Nico getting upset when he has the ball taken away which in turned caused sulking, pouting and crying on the field!  Hopefully with week, Nico will have a better understanding of the game itself.

Another Trip to Gigi's

Last weekend we ventured down to visit Gigi again!  Usually the drive is long and filled with crying, complaining and a few stops, but this time, we made all the way to Sugar Land without any of those!  It is quite a feat and I think should be recorded in my Mommy records! 

 

We had a fun time while we were there just like we always do.  Gigi took us to a Skeeters baseball game.  The Skeeters are the brand new minor league baseball team and they have a pretty amazing stadium for the minor league. There was a picnic area and a lawn area to sit and watch the games, a very well equipped playground with some inventive play areas, a splash pad, a carousel, and even a wading pool!  It was the most kid and family friendly sports arena I have ever seen.  Needless to say, we did not see much of the game since there was so much playing to do.

 

In addition, to the baseball game we went to Sky Zone, which was a trampoline park.  Nico had a blast here, and he just jumped and jumped and jumped.  Adults and kids can participate, but thankfully they do separate them so no one gets hurt.  I wouldn't mind trying this out one day as well!

 

Gigi, Pettie (my old friend) and Natalee right after we arrived.

Naked baby!!!!!  What's cuter than a baby's bottom?!

 

Here are some pictures from Sky Zone

I love that I was able to capture these pictures with Nico mid-air!



 

Here are some pictures from Constellation Field, the Skeeters' stadium.

Eating our dinner in the lawn area.

 

My handsome boy!

 



I love these pretty girls!

 

Here is what the view was from the lawn area.

 

From the lawn area, you can see the carousel and the playground is directly next to it on the right.

 

The game....that we did not get to watch.

 

Having fun in the water!

 

I couldn't get a picture of the entire playground, as it is too long, but it is pretty fun for the kiddos.

 

Natalee going down a slide for the first time! Whee!

First water, now sand....I think someone would like to be at the beach again.

 



Pictures of my cuties

Have I mentioned that I have some cuites???!!!  Here are some pictures of my littles from the last month that I have yet to share.

Natalee and Nico were wrestling!  She has him pinned!

 

Look at my big boy climbing the rock wall by himself!

Such a sweet and beautiful face on this little man of mine.

 

 

Happy girl swinging.  She was just giggling and laughing.

 

 

Nico was having so much fun going high on the swings!  Love this smile!!!

 

Just another day.

On our way out the door to work and school one  morning.  Since they sort of matched, I decided to snap a picture.