Are you ready for some football?

Well, we aren't really sure if we're ready, but we're doing it!  Jackson wanted to play football last year, but with our hectic lives, we told him he could only play one sport at a time and he had to choose football or soccer. Since he already knew soccer and knew he was great at it, he decided to keep going. Four months after the sign up deadline, he asked to play football. Uh, no, sorry kiddo.  So, I promised him if he wanted to play the next year, he could.

Last March, when the paper came home, he begged me to fill it out right that second and send it in. Well, football is a little more expensive than soccer, so we had to wait a few days, but he was so happy when he knew I sent it. And, the day we tried on the jersey for the fitting? I've never seen him happier!

So, here we are.  I was a little nervous (ok, fine, a lot nervous.) at first. Jackson is 50 pounds on a good day. The weight limit for second grade is 95 pounds. So a kid literally twice his size can tackle him and I'm supposed to be ok with that? I spend years teaching him not to hit and push and fight and then tell him it's ok in football? I'm supposed to... yes, I am.

It's a lot of work on both ends - his and ours. There are two practices and at least one game every week. It has cost over $200 so far in gear and fees. (I know there are some that are far more, I'm not complaining.) It's hot as Hades in the beginning and cold as ice by the end of the season. But, the night before his first game, he said, "Mom, thank you so much for signing me up for football. I love it and I love you!" Worth it all.

So far, we are three games in and are still undefeated. Loveland was 27-7. Indian Hill was 20-0. Mason was 18-6. The Indian Hill and Mason games were played back to back, not even a 5 minute break in between in 95* blistering sun.


I can proudly say I'm a football mom, #72 is mine!

 Playing with his friend before practice started. (They wear helmets in the actual practice.)

We have a Second grader

Wow... I remember when I saw the two lines on the test telling me we were having a baby, now he's a second grader.  Second grade is a year of big adjustment and there is a lot of responsibility placed on the kids - it's less of Mom and Dad reminding them to do the homework and more of them remembering to do it on their own.

Again, we hit the jackpot with the teacher. Mrs. M... she is AMAZING! We had parent orientation the other night and heard the rules and regulations and she just talked about developing awesome little people - she is right in line with my mindset on education - that we are partners and it's not just her teaching him, it's everyone.

He has a new friend, a little boy that's on his football team. Oh, yeah, he's playing football now! Back to the story, though, more about football later. His new friend, A, is such a cutie. On the first day of school, the plan was to drop Jackson off and he goes in on his own (which, seriously, who thinks of this crap? In Kindergarten and First grade, they went to their classroom for the screening/assessment tests, so at least they had seen it before. In second and beyond, nope, nada.) They encourage parents not to come in, again, it's about building responsibility.

We pull up to go around the carpool lane, in line with all the other families and I look in my rear view mirror and just see a sad little guy, trying not to let me see his tears. I pulled into a parking space and asked what was wrong. He said, "Mom, I'm just nervous. I don't know where I'm going. I tried to be brave, but I can't." Ben and I told him to calm down, I would go with him.

While we waited outside the school, the little boy, A, recognized Jackson from football and Jackson made the first move. He said, "Hey, A." They started talking and A said he didn't know where he was going either, so Jackson invited him to walk in with us and the rest is history. They are inseparable. In second grade, the teacher allowed them to choose their desk neighbor and their own locker buddy. They chose each other.

We have noticed that Parker talks non-stop since Jackson is gone all day. We didn't really notice just how much they played together I guess. But, next Tuesday, Parker becomes a preschooler.

And for now, the pictures will have to be sideways. Blogger isn't reading them right and won't let me flip them. (In that top one, Parker chose that and told me he was allowed to wear that to school.)

Summer is Almost Over

In true D fashion, I have been slacking. Seriously though, did you expect anything less? I have been busy living life, enjoying every moment I have with these babies because time flies when you're having fun and in this family time is zooming past.

I was off most of the summer for maternity leave so I had tons of time to spend with the kids. But, I was on unpaid leave, so we had to get crafty. Lots of walks, trips to the park, picnics, the zoo, library, etc. It really was a great time and as summer draws to a close, I will remember it as one of the best of my life. Well, so far.

Here are some pictures from our summer...

Reds Game (This was 4 days before Laney was born. It was a kick off to summer thing thru the school, we had a ton of fun and will definitely do it again.)  

Darby, Dianna, and Parker

 BFFs love cotton candy

 Parker calls Aunt Dianna his Other Mommy

 Mama, Ben, and Parker

 Who loves ya, baby?!

 No clue why he's wearing pants on his head, but it's Parker so that's pretty typical

 At my old theatre for a free summer community thing for Brave - they had face painting, kids archery lessons, real archery lessons, horseback rides... it was awesome!

At the zoo with our family and Unc, Kyree, and Konlee

 This is my everything, right here.

 Brack, Kyree, and Konlee

 Silly boys

 My guys relaxing at Nana's

 Swimming!!

 Ice Cream Party and Sleepover with Darby