Soccer

First of all, hello! It's been a while. I feel like I should introduce all of my posts by saying "This week on I & B +3." (Like John and Kate plus 8) Life is going so fast these days and it feels like the laundry is never done and there is always work to be done. Tonight I have a few free moments (well I'm taking a few free moments) to update so here we go....

For those of you who know our little girl Ellison, this post should come as no surprise at all. Tonight we had our first soccer practice. Ian and I have been so excited. I think Ian has been especially excited since he's really taken an interest in soccer over the past couple years. For about a month now, I've been on the lookout for some soccer cleats and we finally got some shin guards and soccer socks yesterday for the big introduction.

Let's start our story by saying that things were not well on the home front. Ellison had a complete meltdown 5 minutes before we were set to leave (I took away her blanky as punishment for the way she was treating Jude). On top of that, I had to put a "sportsy" outfit together for her which she did not approve of and that led to a further outburst of tears. I mean, I liked the blue on blue ensemble with the orange socks (her team color) but she obviously did not. Through her tears she told me that none of the other kids would be dressed like that. Oh really...and how old are you again??! At just the right time, Ian came home from work and brought some calm to the storm. We may not have made it to soccer had I been doing it alone.

We finally load everyone into the van and within 2 minutes our little soccer player is knocked out cold! Mind you the church where she is playing is only 7 minutes away with traffic. So we wake her up and she and Ian run onto the field. Thanks to the little meltdown, we were unable to leave home in time to be there early. Me and the boys arrive on the field to see Ian holding Ellison running from coach to coach looking for her team. He is finally able to find her team and they are already doing drills. NOT GOOD! She immediately clammed up and would not leave Ian's side. All of the kids practiced their dribbling and shooting ...but not our girl. She watched and observed. She sat very close to daddy the entire time. Nearly an hour passed without a bit of action out of Ellison. That is until the snacks were pulled out. This was the only time she actually sat near the team without Ian around.

I can see so much of me in that little girl. I am the same way. Although it's not approaching a soccer field in an outfit I don't like with kids I don't know and a coach who I'm not sure about, I have to feel a situation out before I'll dive in and try something. It's amazing what they pick up! I am so blessed to be complimented by my husband because he is nothing like that. He goes after life 100%. He really wanted her to be a part of organized sports to help her overcome some of her fears. I'm so thankful for his insight and love for his 2 hesitant girls.

Oh and BTW... I cannot conclude this post without a note about the Juder. He had to be pulled off of the field by yours truly, with Malik in the Baby Bjorn, multiple times. He even lined up with another team as there were practicing their drills. If I could have I would have gotten a picture. He was so ready to kick one into the net!

I hope you are all well. Thanks to those of you who keep up with our lives. The fun just keeps on coming. I hope to update tomorrow about our vacation.