Soccer Saturday!!

Annslee played soccer last fall and really liked it but didn't get into it until the end of the season. She mainly played on the sideline and sometimes didn't want to go in. When it came time to sign up for Spring Soccer we decided she would have to ask first as we didn't want to play if she wasn't going to give it her all. Well, she asked to play so we decided to do Up+ward this time and we are so glad we did!

Her first game was yesterday and she was sooooooo into it!!

Coby was occupied very briefly with food and Anna Marie : )

I LOVE this one!! Look at my little soccer star : )

This is after scoring her first goal EVER!!! High five for daddy who is the asst coach so he was on the field (and notice her feet are literally off the ground )

I am loving watching her not be at all afraid to jump in there and "scrap" with everyone LOL

This cracked me up when I looked at the pics..I will title this one "heading to the goal" Check out her opponents' faces

YEAH....scored!!! Now check out their faces and my girl as she turns mid air to celebrate her second goal!!

Scooter spent his time hanging out, running, and grabbing onto me as I tried mostly in vain to capture shots of Annslee LOL



She got a green star for knowing her Bible verse and a gray star for best offense. They don't keep score in Up*ward but hey, we all do so we won 5-2 and Annslee scored 2 goals. We are so proud of her for the goals and playing so hard but mainly for memorizing her verse. As a parent with a child with huge expressive language delays this is so huge!

Go Outside

Annslee and I were enjoying the afternoon in the 70s yesterday when we heard Coby waking from his nap. We went in to get him (she didn't bother taking off her helmet)Both kids love being outside and Coby will go to the door all the time saying "go outside" no matter what the weather : )

Bunny ears are always a hit

Annslee asked "who wants to go outside??" and he promptly raised his hand shouting "ME!!"

He then ran to me to let me know he was ready! I had on my 55-200 lens and barely snapped this before he tackled me. I was thrilled it wasn't blurry like I thought it would be. Wouldn't want to miss capturing that beautiful smile.

I hope you are all enjoying the beginning of Spring!

Spring!!

Two days of Sunny and Seventy in a row make for one happy Mama!! Annslee has started soccer practice and I couldn't resist grabbing this shirt at consig*nment last night as there are only two girls on her team.

I think she liked the shirt too



Here she is modeling the back : )



Before practice we played outside. You can't see the shovel but he would dig up dirt (notice it on his face) and try to carry it to the other side of the yard without spilling it : )

Annslee showing off her giraffe outfit

Yesterday they spent a great deal of time on their hands and knees looking for lep*rachauns. Annslee said she saw a few but may have accidentally squished those sneaky things. They did leave coins under her pillow and she was thrilled!!

It OWNS him : )

Physical comedy that is~ if someone trips, bonks their head, etc.... Coby has the best laugh and when he finds something particularly funny he literally belly laughs so hard he gets tears in his eyes. It is wonderful to watch and listen to : ) Right now Chugg*ington and Back*yardigans seem to be the shows that make him laugh the most. Last night he was watching an episode and I decided to grab the camera (just wish the pictures had sound~ no worries, I got some video too)

For those of you who are wondering he is watching the "Race Around the World" episode of the Back*yardigans and it is the ending where they can't break the tape at the finish line that owns him. He would watch then say "do it again!!" over and over. I don't know how many times we watched it. Funny, this was Annslee's favorite episode too when she was little and this part had to be watched again and again with her too : )

We took a book break

Then it was back to the laughs!

A few times he spotted the camera and would stop watching to look at me and say "Cheeeeese" LOL

*just a disclaimer~ yes, I know he looks a mess~ this was after waking at 6:30 pm from a 4.5 hr nap and eating spaghetti*

Artist in Residence : )

Our current exhibition in the main gallery (aka the kitchen) showcases her love for giraffes, the beach and Ari*el and anything involving markers and paper. I love her current work and am looking forward to seeing what else she has coming our way. I am no art critic but I think this beautiful five year old is quite talented : )

Here she is bringing me a new one to hang.

I am thinking this one may need to be framed!

These are some she did at school during "free" time. The top one is of Ari*el, Sebastian & Flounder at the beach (love the colorful clouds) and the bottom one is of her and two friends from school on the beach.

Here she is on the beach with GiGi ~ notice Ari*el is in the water trying to "come play with them" LOL

Turkey hand made at Thanksgiving

She does a pottery class once a month and she loves it. They start with a lump of clay, pound it out and then create the project of the month. The teacher allows parents to stay if they want but there is strict instruction that they are not to help. The kids do it on their own~ they do a family class twice a year though and she loved having Daddy there : )

This nativity scene was actually done in the family class~ meaning Daddy was able to stay and help. The inspiration for the colors is all her own : )

The dragon (named Loverly) and pumpkin were done last fall with no help but the turkey was in the family class with Daddy. The feathers are all four of our hand prints : )

This is the snowman bowl she made last month. She was particularly proud of how the carrot nose turned out. When I picked her up after class the teacher let me know she did this project 100% without any help ~she is the youngest one in the class so I think she was just letting me know : )

She is constantly doing arts and crafts and I can't save everything but I do take pictures of things I am not keeping so I can remember them : )

*sorry, should have made it clear that I will NOT be tossing this stuff *

They love their loveys : )

The other night my two cuties were snuggled up in the chair under their lovey blankets. Coby has his dragonfly one from Heidi who is in China right now meeting sweet Sophie~ her son is from the same orphanage as Coby) and Annslee has her white blanket she has slept under since she came home from China. It was Daddy's baby blanket and Gigi gave it to her. It is really worn, the trim has ripped off and it no longer covers her entirely but she LOVES it : )





Notice Coby's fingers in his mouth and Annslee taking them out which was cracking him up. We don't let Coby have his lovey to walk around with like we let Annslee and that has definitely helped with the frequency of the fingers being in his mouth. He only does it when he sleeps and I am so happy. Annslee did it all the time and it was so gross as she touched everything then in they went!

Year of the Tiger!

Our first Lunar New Year party was with our local FCC group and they looked so cute in their silks before we left : )

Daddy stood behind me to make them laugh

Our family photo tells it all...Annslee is such a party girl and poor Coby our little introvert takes a while to warm to the crowd

Daddy found that the Chinese drum brought smiles finally!

I remember when she was terrified during the Lion Dance but not anymore. She readily fed it her red envelope.

I did catch a glimpse of Coby during the Lion dance ~ check out that face LOL

Our neighbor Wendi was there...what a cutie!

After dinner using your chopsticks for drumsticks is such fun!

My beautiful Hubei girl with the drum~ I get this one every year ( I need to do a then/now post)

Our second party was our FCA (Families with Children from Asia)party and it was such fun. It was so great seeing children from all over Asia (and as a bonus several boys!!)

Coby and Charlie loved driving around

The bikes were a hit~ they looked like rickshaws : )

These two Vietnamese cuties were not into the photo op

What a great group of kids! There were a few who didn't want in the pic : )

Coby really enjoyed this little ride on

He did NOT enjoy having to share it! Seriously that boy can really put on a sad face can't he!

Annslee and Jia are from the same SWI ~ a tiny little town in Hubei~ amazing that we live in the same city

We are so blessed to have so many friends to celebrate the Year of the Tiger!!