The fresh face of 10!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! You have entered the age of double digits and it looks great on you!

For a girl who loves nothing more than to be playing outside she received the perfect gifts. A new bike, a pogo stick and a badminton racket of her very own. Along with a few other things and some good old cash from grandparents.
 
 
 
She enjoyed her day to the fullest, which she is so very good at.
Breakfast out at the Dutch Pannekoek House, then off to school. Skipping school on your birthday has never been an option but even if it was she would choose to go. She's too much of a social girl to miss hanging out with her friends. Popsicles were her treat of choice to share with her class so I brought those up 10 min. before the end of the day and she enjoyed handing them out to her classmates.
After school she spent some time running around outside with her friends enjoying some rare warm weather. Tacos were her dinner of choice and Daniela, Nana, and Opa joined us. After dinner we all walked the the playground for some badminton games and more playing with friends. Then back home for birthday cake.
 
As I tucked her in at bedtime I again realized how Reagan is such a blessing to our family and how thankful I am that she is ours. She enjoyed every aspect of the day and takes life exactly how it is handed to her, usually with a smile.
Reagan, you are truly a gem and we love you!

A new meaning

The words 'football season has started' used to mean simply one thing in our house. It meant I had now lost Tony every Sunday, every Monday night, and the occasional Saturday or Thursday to NFL football on TV.
This week it meant something entirely different. It meant driving to football practices 3 nights a week, a trip to the doctor and x-ray clinic for a possible torn tendon in a thumb, fitting mouthgaurds, signing concussion forms (?!!?) and washing really horribly smelly football gear.
Cooper and Hudson both started tackle football this week.
Hudson for the Abbotsford Falcons and Cooper for the Bateman Wolves, where he will be going to high school next year.
Fortunately, Cooper's 5-day-a-week practices happen right in our backyard at the high school field. No driving and most importantly, I can spy on him.
Which of course I did. I took all of these with my zoom lens, hiding in our backyard. Trying my best not to embarrass him.
He's #24.




After only 5 practices Cooper was more exhausted than I have ever seen him.
Hudson was tired too, but more bummed out about his injured thumb. Makes it pretty hard to catch a ball. Another doctor appt this week with another x-ray will hopefully tell us a little more.
And some photos of Hudson will show up here soon, I'm sure.

Alone play

I'm not sure what it is about the sound of a child playing alone, lost in their own imagination, that is so lovely to me. It has always been something that has brought me joy.
 I used to hear it a lot when Cooper was little. He was the best at playing alone, and still is actually. The other three have always so been used to others around that I think that is the way they like it best. Taggart actually has a really hard time being alone. He wants a friend to come over every day after school, and with all the neighborhood friends he usually gets his wish. As soon as one friend goes, he immediately searches out another one.
Last night at 5:00 his friends went home. I told him that he couldn't play with another friend because it was almost dinner time. I wouldn't even let him go see Nana, even after he asked me a dozen more times. He was mad.....really mad. He told me I 'never let him play with his friends!'  ??? I didn't respond but instead watched him stomp (he has the stomp down pat, he's practiced it a lot) off to his room where I dare say, he played alone.
This morning I woke up to a little voice making all kinds of play alone noises. You know the ones...bombs exploding, people running, airplanes flying. I found him in his room carrying on from yesterday. It didn't last long but is made me stop at his door and spy on him for a while. Best of all, I know now his is capable of alone play and I have a photo to prove it. I can use this when he wants the fourth friend of the day to come over.