The Season Finale

The end of Anderson's first soccer/teeball/swim season has arrived. The last few months have been so PERFECT, in an almost shocking way, that I decided I need to reflect on what happened to our family because I have a feeling that this has been the first of many, many sport seasons to come. 

First, LOTS of practice. All of the time. I truly am impressed with his ability and desire to stay so incredibly focused on anything and everything sports related. The same kid who can't sit still for 10 minutes WANTS to dribble the basketball/play soccer/hockey/baseball/swim for hours on end. Truly, sports have become his toys. 

Does this count as practice? I think so. 

In addition to practice, he loves to watch all things sports. This is a perk since I had to cover many a Powell baseball game. Every night he will choose whatever sporting event Brandon is watching over normal 4 year old choices like cartoons. Thank goodness he is watching with Brandon because the boy has a lot of questions about the rules/scores/teams/basically all things that I don't know. 

Second, always, sitting right there trying to join in was this Mr. 

*Well, in this pic he is having a milk box thing, but he is normally trying to join in the games. 

I feel that his childhood is even more epic  because as the  2nd born, he got to attend so many activities and be loved on by many grandparents. I used to feel a bit sorry for him that he was always forced to attend so many things, but I must have been crazy because what kid* doesn't like activities and going places?

*None of my kids. It is genetic.

So beyond grateful for Anderson's cheering section! Especially when they helped entertain Max...

Tess even came to cheer him on!!

*Stay tuned for more pics of Tess in the fall because she made UT cheerleading!!! SO proud of her!

Third, watching Brandon help coach soccer & teeball might be my absolute favorite thing ever. Watching Brandon interact with Anderson speaks to patience, knowledge* and just downright adorableness. I mean, it will make my heart happy every time.

*Knowledge-how does Brandon know SO many random things about so many sports? I mean, it is crazy. Is it just genetic? Just a guy thing? I hear, "You have to dribble with your left hand, too" and " It doesn't matter how hard you swing, if your elbow isn't up." and I am just grateful that teaching our kids about sports is not left in my hands. And, I love that Brandon is so supportive by being positive, but also encouraging with teaching him about skills and the rules. I just love it.

Fourth, it turns out that Anderson's combination of physical energy, intensity, borderline aggressiveness, fearlessness & competitiveness*  make him  a pretty good athlete. He thrived on beating the runner to the base, trying to get the ball & scored quite a few goals in his soccer games.

*These same traits also translate into NEVER sleeping, stubbornness & a constant need to be on the go, preferably attacking something, so it's not entirely a win-win.

He was able to swim the entire length of the pool BY HIMSELF without any support, so he got a green necklace, which means he can go anywhere in the pool by himself. His swim teacher told us, "His endurance is incredible; he is like a 4 year old olympian."*

I am still not just trusting him in the pool as he needs a lot of practice, but I feel pretty good that he at least is on the right path. 

*Again, apparently 4 year old olympians never need sleep, so this is not something I am entirely proud of all of the time. 

And, finally, I LOVE the idea of team sports. Look at how cute these kiddos are!! I played team sports through high school & I definitely learned sportsmanship, teamwork, dedication, resilience and had a lot of fun, so I want the same for my boys.

 We are so happy that  the first sport team we were on was with Jack!

Anderson & his friend Asher from his school at their Soccer swimming party.

I wish there was a way that I could have truly captured the emotion in the moment when he received his first trophy. So beyond proud.

The soccer team!

And, finally, because I was too cheap to order any of the actual professional pics, I made him pose on the field so we can have official memories. 

Looking forward to many more games!

Max: 1 year

 This Mr. turned 1 last week & Max celebrated with the grandparents by losing his pants.

Chubster acquired his first black eye earlier in the week. No worries because it does not require a patch!

 One day we will take an actual picture together.

 Trying to get a pic of one of the cute onesies from GG. Also, notice the sword fighting between Noni & Anderson in the background...

 Love this shot of these 3!

 The family, just posing in the doorway.

 How come the grandparent shots turned out so good!

Perhaps the absolute greatest blessing of my life is that all 4 of these people live so close to us.

 Massively unimpressed. Almost annoyed actually.

 Anderson opened all the gifts while Max took advantage of the empty chair.

I will never tire of the fact that he is still in a crib.

The 1 year stats! Definitely chubbier than Anderson was at 1. 

Some pics of Anderson

I love this kid.

My mom sent me this the other day. It really made me sad at his pitiful childhood. And, what is that giant mud hole? 

Pics Uncle Zack took at Easter. 

So, I have this friend named Clare. I also call her "My Hero" because she totally picked Anderson up from his school one day that I had to work late & took him home to her house with HER OWN 2 CHILDREN. She also fed him. And, entertained him. And, he loved it. And, I love her. 

And, that Goose face. I also love that Goose face. 

Speaking of, Clare planned an epic party for Jack at an awesome park and I somehow ended up with this one high quality pic. Anderson had so much fun and on the way there told me, "Jack & I are going to be best friends even when we are old." SO grateful to have these besties in our lives. 

One day this will cause great laughs. That day is not here yet. 

If he wants to dress himself, I let him. 

On the days he goes to school & takes a nap it is rough times trying to get him to go to sleep. We make him go to bed by 9, but (SINCE WE DON'T PATCH AS MUCH ANYMORE) we let him look at books or whatever until he falls asleep. I walked up to see this the other night & it just melted my heart. 

A link to the news segment that featured his school!

Fergus is 32

Y'all. 

This guy is 1, but I disagree. I think he is at least 32. 

I am not going to say, "I can't believe he is 1;time passed so quickly." Instead, I am going to say, "I can't believe he is 1, how is he not 32?" Because how, on earth, has he not been around my entire life??I cannot remember (and don't really want to) the person I was before this Mr. was in my life.

Also, how have I never mentioned Max's nickname? Anderson named him Fergus when he first born & seriously calls him that. We have many variations-Ferg, Fergalicious, Fergman. 

All of his names are perfect, as I also like to sing a little ditty called, "What does the Max say?" when he is crying. It annoys everyone, but it humors me. 

Max at 1: 

Blond, crazy hair. Lots of it. All over the place.  And, beautiful, Glover boy, blue eyes.

He has zero interest in any kind of toys that are for his age range. He just wants everything of Anderson's. He loves ALL sports related objects, swords, balls etc.

He is adorable. I mean, multiple times daily I think/say outloud, "You are seriously cute."

He looks nothing like me. I mean, nothing. 

Round II for us has been A TROPICAL VACATION compared to that first little guy we were given to raise. In a conversation with someone a few weeks ago, I mentioned how the second kid is a game changer. She commented back referencing how much harder 2 kids is & I was thinking, "Two is a million times EASIER than one."

Hear me out, an entire extra person to raise is exhausting, expensive and requires twice the planning, but I am MUCH happier with 2. Despite the fact that Max had so many ear infections that he had tubes at 7 months, he was hit or miss with that whole sleeping thing, he sometimes skips naps, he started walking at barely 11 months and is now sprinting, he is very active....he is WAY easier than Anderson was at this point.

Perspective: Anderson by 13 months had stopped napping, could almost climb out of the crib, had every random baby sickness including STAPH infection, was so active that he literally crawled before he sat up on his own, was basically crazy. Oh, and we had to keep an eyepatch on him all of his waking hours. Right.

When your first kid is Anderson, every subsequent* kid seems like a vacation. I truly think the ease of #2  speaks to how easy/hard your first kid was/was not.

*There will no more subsequent kids.


For example, Max fell asleep in his stroller at Dollywood. This has never happened in the 4 years of Anderson's life. Max is a pretty good sleeper overall and goes to bed about 7:30 and sleeps until right6 5:45 or so. Sometimes after 6!  Again, that seems like so much sleep....amazing.

More about his guy- he is pretty good about trying new things. And, also about throwing those new things all over the floor. He will eat literally anything that anyone else is eating & will generally pant & run to get to you for a bite when he spots you. But, if you put it on his tray, it is going to the dogs. He still eats baby food, but likes all pasta (Bop's spaghetti!), some fruits (oranges, pears, peaches) , cheese, cheerios and yogurt.

We have already started sneaking milk in a bit because formula is expensive! He is starting to cut out a few bottles on his own & I have my fingers crossed that getting rid of them goes well.

He loves WATER in every setting he can find. The boy will FREAK out for a bath. 

The kid is active. He is seriously sprinting most of the time. 

A little video: Max on the slide

This last year with Mr.Max has been perfect, wonderful, exhausting and entertaining. Overall, I feel like our lives just make sense with these 2 boys. I always, always knew I was supposed to have 2 boys & I literally feel like I am in an incredibly exclusive club as the mom of boys. 

Just like the other 2 blue eyed males in my life, this 1 year old boy makes my life have meaning & purpose & happiness. 

"Festival kind of people"

True story: Anderson said to me the other day, "We are just festival kind of people." 

I have no idea where he heard this, but I love it. 

Library book festival with face painting, crafts, FREE FOOD, $1 used books (he picked out books on Uranus & Jupiter....I really tried to sway him toward Saturn instead of Uranus because I cannot handle it, but he was firm about his choice. This might mean that I need to grow up and quit laughing at the planet name.)

Rossini festival with friends! Love these 2!

 These besties.

Sippy cup switch. 

We also hit up an Easter Egg Dive at the YMCA that was super fun because both boys were able to play/swim.

It was very well organized, which always makes me happy. Anderson's age group had eggs with little stones in them and he was pumped to hoard them.

 Max's age group sort of floated around & ate the eggs.

 Also, a trip to Dollywood was on our calendars! We met our girls and had so much fun! I was chauffeured around by Lily on the car ride. Doesn't Reese look like a little doll sitting there?

 Bobble Cole had too much fun on the duck ride!

 These two. ( And, those 2 behind them...)

 He LOVES all things related to water & we LOVE that he only patches 2 hours a day now! No worries about water activities!

 Noni* paid for them to "mine" gems & arrow heads. He took it very seriously and we still have our Arrow Head collection in our kitchen at home.

*Noni was, of course, there and a rockstar, as always. But, she is somehow in zero pics. Probably because she was juggling the babies all day long.

Biology is all lies. Zero similarities between these two.

**Side note: Max was asleep in his stroller, so I stayed off the train with him. Reese saw me & kept calling for "Mama/SSSS." It was hilarious. So, I went & snatched her from Nicole & stole some hang out time with her & Max, who promptly woke up as soon as the train left. People kept asking if they were twins. Um, no.

But, seriously, this girl is so cute that I almost bought her an overpriced baby doll in the gift shop just because watching her say, "Baby" is the cutest thing ever.