Breathe In... Breathe Out.... Repeat.

The last month has been a complete whirlwind. I can't remember ever being so busy. Ever. I mentioned joining the PTO board in a previous post. I won't bore you with the details but it looks like the really, really time consuming part is over with already and I can breathe again. And pay more attention to what Elliott is doing. That boy will empty out his dresser and bookcase faster than you can say boo!


Soccer

Soccer is going well. Actually, not just well. It's going GREAT! When the Os played two years ago we had to bribe them to play. They pretty much hated it. This time around they are a couple of wild men out there. Their competitive spirits are shining through, much to the chagrin of opposing players. Their division plays 3-on-3 with no goalie. It's supposed to be just good ol' fun with no competition involved. That means nobody keeps score -- except of course for Owen. And once Oliver realized Owen was keeping score, he had to join in to make sure Owen was counting correctly.

Oliver is a ball hog so we have to remind him to pass to his teammates. Oliver has also (sadly) inherited my loud, obnoxious behavior. While I'm a bit embarrassed about it, Brian thinks it's great because Oliver uses it to his advantage to intimidate the opponents. For example, during kickoff last Saturday, Oliver runs at the ball full steam ahead, arms are up in a 'V' with index fingers pointing up and half-yells-half-growls the whole way. I think a couple of the kids actually took a step backward. Who knew my half-pint could be so fearsome?

Owen is a sorry winner. When he or one of his teammates scores a goal, he pumps his fist in the air for about a minute solid. But my favorite sorry winner move he does is when he plays air guitar and mimics guitar sound with his mouth to the "CHARGE!" tune that they always play at baseball games. That one rules. And he made it up himself which makes even more hilarious.

The stupid league didn't order enough small shirts. So my little guys had to wear MEDIUM shirts! Grrr.

You can see Oliver saying, "Pass it to me, Owen!"

Go Watkins boys!

SCORE!!!

Cub Scouts

Tonight is Oliver's first cub scout den meeting. Brian is den leader along with another dad. It's proving to be quite a bit of work but I know it will be worth it. They're going to have a great time. Brian was in Scouts for many years and loved it. Oliver and Owen peruse the Tiger Cub handbook and ooh and ahh over all the fun things there are to do. The rocket ship derby and cake auction are coming up soon and those sound great.

For the craft at tonight's den meeting, Brian will have the boys make a banner for the den. It took about 6 hours of prep work from me (not including the time it took to go and get the materials) and will probably only take the boys 20 minutes to complete at the meeting. I told Brian he better enter those boys in every parade this town has so they can carry MY banner! I know Brian appreciates it though so that makes me feel good about the time spent. I'll post a picture of it when it's completed.

I must say I was quite surprised that Oliver didn't mind the whole popcorn selling thing. (Scouts sell popcorn for their primary fundraiser the way Girl Scout sell cookies.) I gave him a clipboard, his selling sheet and a pen and off he ran to the houses around us. I think he hit about eight houses and sold to three. One told him to come back the next day. Not too bad! I had him give me his sales pitch before going out. He was so dang cute! He's so serious.

Hi, my name is Oliver. I live over there. I'm selling popcorn to support my cub scout den at McKenny Elementary. What would you like?

I almost fell over. That kid has too much confidence. I couldn't and wouldn't sell things when I was a kid. Come to think of it, I still don't think I can. Too much fear of rejection.


Oliver's 1st Mariner's Game

Here are some photos from the Mariner's game Brian took Oliver to for the special father-and-son birthday thing. They had really good seats and I believe someone hit a homerun that night. Oliver was totally wowed.

Intense, isn't he?

They went with a couple of Brian's friends. The woman had this little cake made as a surprise. Oliver was obviously thrilled.

Awww.

Elliott at 13.5 Months

Elliott is walking briskly. It won't be long before he starts trying to run. He loves to be chased. He knows a few signs: more, all done, eat, milk, up, diaper change, book, light and moon. He says mama, dada, cracker, ok, uh-oh, night-night, and something resembling Oliver and Owen (Awah and Oweh). He pants for animals. He used to mimic my growl when he dropped his cup from the highchair. This has been replaced by the "uh-oh." He also has the iron grip of death as you can see in the photo below.


Elliott finally started giving hugs back... sort of. He still doesn't use his arms but at least he snuggles his head onto our shoulders.

Couldn't you just eat him up?