Their Thing

Over the past few months I had been struggling with signing the boys up for baseball...or not. There is so much pressure that if they miss one year, they will be out for good because they will be so far behind. I have talked to Craig about my desire for our kids to have their "thing". That one thing that they are really good at and can take into adulthood with them. Something to fill out on a hobbies list. Something to be proud of. Something to engage themselves in. Tyler and Zachary both tried soccer and it became apparent that this was neither of their "things". We moved on to baseball and Tyler really liked it and Zachary liked it ok. In Tyler's second year he wasn't as enthusiastic. When asked if they wanted to play again this season, they both said "yes", but it was lacking the enthusiasm I was looking for. And for the money and time we would be investing in it...I wanted to see some enthusiasm!

Part of what makes baseball, or any sport for that matter, harder to get into is that we are not sports oriented parents. The only game you will ever find on in our home is the Super Bowl (which Craig looks forward to all year). I like going to a baseball game now and then. I especially like watching my kids play. But that isn't enough to keep the passion alive...especially when the kids are just "meh" over it too. So I struggled with finding their "thing" ....and being able to afford whatever that may be.

A few months ago Jacob took a little Karate class through the city. It was 4 weeks long and he enjoyed it. Craig took Karate for a bit when he was a child and has mentioned several times throughout our marriage that he would like to get back into it someday. I started thinking maybe we should sign the boys up for that. And it started more and more to sound like a better idea. The place Jacob went to is not the closest but they have been there for over 25 years. And the best part? The second child is half off...and the third and subsequent children are FREE! I decided to ask the boys what they would rather do. I asked them separately and they all VERY enthusiastically picked karate! Without hesitation. That sealed the deal for me.

We went to find out more details and ended signing them up. They started this week and as of now will be going every Tuesday and Thursday. Two classes in, and they can't wait to go back! Another neat factor is after Craig and I pay a fee for all of our gear, we could train for free as well. Because it is such a huge time commitment (they want adults to come 3 times a week!) and the hours are not good with small children, it might be awhile until we get to that point. But, at least the option is there for us. And it's so neat that it's something all 3 boys can do together since it seems that Jacob is always getting left out of what the older boys are doing. He has yet to play any sports being only 4, so he is going to get his shot at soccer come Fall.

And it looks like we may have found one of their "things" which makes me happy. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out!

Alexis at 17 Months!

Alexis Joy continues to be a busy little bee. She loves her family, toys and being social. This past month....

*She has said more words! She would go up to our Christmas tree, point to an ornament and say, "Pretty!" She says "Baby" all of the time now. To her dolls, pointing at pictures, to herself. She says "Bite!" over and over every time she wants to eat, sees us eating or when she wants her paci! She'll say, "Bye" or try and say, "Kiss". She's trying to mimic more words all of the time now.

*Can't believe it but she is still in size 3 diapers and weighs about 20, maybe 21 pounds. She's in size 4 shoes and mostly 6-12 month clothes.

*She has taken to playing in the toilet every chance she gets. We try and keep doors closed but she has unfortunately learned how to open them. We have the bar handles on all our door so its easy for her to reach up and hang on it to open. Not fun. Yesterday she was playing in the toilet so I took her upstairs to give her a bath and clean her up. Only to then have her poop in the bathtub. Ugh! The boys did not do this...of course it's my "dainty" little girl!

*She's still super attached to her blankie. She calls for it and it kind of sounds like "baby" but slightly different. We can always tell when she wants it.

*She likes to hit people in the head, preferably her brothers when they are sitting on the floor. Or next to her in the car (poor Jacob!). You can tell she likes to see what reaction she is going to get. She is such a sweetie that this is an odd part of her personality and we are trying to break her of it.

*She's really bent on going into Daddy's office. All of the time. During meetings too. Craig has been on Skype in a meeting when all of a sudden the person he's talking to exclaims, "Hey, there's a baby back there!" Every time I turn around she's back in his office...or the toilet...or the cabinets. It's an interesting stage to say the least!

*She does love to play! She got a ball pit this month and loves crawling in and sitting in the balls. She will throw a bunch out and then go and put them all back in. We have seen her "clean up" different things a few times now and it gives me hope that she will be nice and organized (one can hope!) Some other favorite toys are her piggy bank, talking "Potsy", babies her purses, the Tag pens and play kitchen toys.

*She's sat down a few times now to "watch" tv. It's not for very long (which is good...I know, I know, babies are not supposed to watch any t.v.....what are you going to do?) "Backyardigans" and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" interest her with their bright colors and fun music. Today she sat and watched "Care Bears" very intently. Until she noticed that I had taken her picture. Then she was up and about as usual!

*Still pulls out her hair bows, clips, pony holders etc. Sigh.

*As for her baby book...I did one spread Monday...yay! Would like to try and average one a day but know that most likely won't happen as I already missed yesterday! Maybe I can do two today...one can dream right?

Our baby turns one and a half next month...here's hoping more of her book gets done by then!