Aidan's Thoughts on Soccer

After a much anticipated winter season at the local YMCA, Aidan is taking the outside season by storm. I was lucky enough to have been given a pretty solid group of soccer players since the beginning of the season. This group includes a few six-year-olds, two five-year-olds and two four-year-olds. Below is small interview with Aidan after his game this afternoon. I was playing with a new tool that will record right from my iPhone to the web. Take a look how easy it was to put this all together. And if you ever get a chance to watch him play, you will be amazed just like I am week in and out.

Little One Update

I want to apologize for not posting lately but for some reason I have been busy with family, school and anything else that comes our way.

Anyway, this post has some one great update on the little one's adventure to become a "big girl." Christy and I decided to talk potty training while we were both off of work two weeks ago with the 40+ inches of snow falling. Christy brought up the idea to try it since we were both home. We were both very surprised that she caught on very quickly at the concept. Two weeks later and we are doing great, staying dry for the most part with an an occasional accident here and there. Diapers are still worn at night but we are so proud of her and she looks adorable in her underwear.

The picture here is of the little one pretending to read my students favorite series, The 39 Clues. I have caught a love for this series because it has made my students start to read them as well. The creator, Mr. Rick Riordan is also the creator of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I am sure the two kids will read them one day and enjoy them as much as my current group of students is doing. Until next time have a great day/night/evening.

I Can't Find My Underwear

The Big Guy often looks for assistance when finishing up in the bathroom. Tonight was a different story when he opened the door and declared, "I can't find my underwear so I am not wearing any." This was being said as he pulled down his paint to show us that he indeed was not wearing any underwear. Mom went and retrived his new favorite pair of briefs because they are much like what Daddy wears, boxer briefs. This is a picture of him showing off his muscles (check out the 6-Pack) in his briefs.
On a different note, we started to learn that reading to him every night since he was born is starting to have an impact. Snowed in with just over two-feet of snow in our area, we discovered beginning sight word books that most Kindergarten and 1st graders read during the first months of school. He blew us away as he was able to read the twelve books that are very repetitive with many basic sight words. It brought me back to my days as a learning support teacher, painfully listening to these types of stories day in and day out. Until another time, have a great night and we can't wait for the second storm that is to come tomorrow night.

Kids Stay Warm During Winter Soccer

I actually stole that title for our local newspaper. The Big Guy had his first real game yesterday at the local YMCA. He had the time of his life playing against the Black Ninjas. Not only did he enjoy himself, he made the most of it by scoring three goals. He was so excited after scoring the first one that he wanted to score more. Our team seemed to be a bit stronger then the other team with size being a big difference. But the Big Guy was the runt of both teams as he seems to be one of the smaller ones if not the smallest. Overall, everyone that was involved had a great time watching, playing on cheering on someone they love. Here is a link to our local paper that showcases the entire program, but more importantly, the little ones. Local Paper

Future Gymnast?

Yesterday our local YMCA was holding an open house for preschool students to come see what the program was all about. So we decided to take the Rotten Egg to test the waters instead of wasting the 50 some dollars to register her for an entire session of classes. The balance beam, front rolls, bouncing atmosphere and hula hoop activities were some of the activities planned for the huge group of people that took advantage of this event. After the fun and games were complete, the children were given all kinds of awards for their efforts. Attached is the Egg and her medal that she earned for attending. Of course, this brought about some jealousy from the Big Guy because he didn't get a medal of his own. Little does he know that a trophy might be in his future after completing the soccer program.

Down and Out

Monday afternoon I received a call on my cell phone from my other half. She never calls me unless something is wrong and this was the case. The Big Guy woke up not feeling too well and didn't eat his favorite breakfast which is usually a sign that something is wrong. Around 12:30 we had to pick him up from school because he had a 102.2 fever. My other half took the rest of the afternoon off to try to take care him.

The following day (Tuesday) I stayed home with the Big Guy and took the Little One to the sitter. He seemed to be doing better, but the rule states they must be home for at least 24 hours. By last night he was getting back to his normal running around self. We both thought he would be able to go back to school on Wednesday. WRONG! He was up almost every hour last night and woke up not looking so good.

I took the time to stay home again and get him to the doctor. Getting in very quickly to the doctor, a few deep breaths to listen with the stethoscope and a chest x-ray later, he is on antibiotics for what they are calling a small case of pneumonia. Hopefully he will get back to normal by the weekend for his second soccer clinic and some High School Basketball games. I will be sure to keep everyone posted as Mom will be taking off tomorrow to be with him here at home! Until tomorrow.

Let the Games Begin

First, I want to apologize for not posting anything last week. I have no real excuse for not getting anything up about our family.

My wife and I were speaking at dinner tonight about what lies ahead for us with sports and the Big Guy. We have already started with indoor soccer at the local YMCA. Two weeks after this season finishes, he will start outdoor soccer. And then recently, I saw an ad in the paper for the local Little League having a T-Ball division for four year-olds. This may be his best sport (baseball) thanks to my wife's side of the family. I am going to go to registration this coming weekend to find out more details about the program and make a decision. My heart has him playing both soccer and baseball since this is what yours truly did for most of his young life. Only time will tell what road(s) he will take, but no matter, we will stick with him. This picture is from this past weekend's soccer clinic.

Sleeping in a New Place

This past weekend we made a trip to my mom's house. This always seems to be a great time for the kids because they love sleeping in new places. Or should I say they don't sleep in new places. It all started last summer when we made the trip to the beach and by mid-week the Little One was sleeping with the Big Guy in the same bed. This happened again this weekend at my mom's house after just an hour of trying to get them to fall asleep.
I happened to look in the room this morning and saw that someone's butt became the pillow. One of those pictures that could eventually be used against one of the kids sometime down the road. Until tomorrow, have a great day!

Puzzle Kids

The Big Guy has always enjoyed putting puzzles together even when he was young. This love for puzzles has taught the Little One to start having fun with puzzles. This video should blow anyone away that watches it considering that he just turned four in December and can put all 50 pieces together on the map. The thing you can't see on the video is that the map doesn't have the name of the state but instead it has the capital of each state. Thanks to my wife (mommy), the Big Guy has gained this knowledge that most elementary students don't take out of elementary school (said but a true fact).

As he was putting this together, the little one was putting together a twenty-four piece Elmo puzzle. She will sit there until she finishes the puzzle she is working on. Not bad for a two-year old! Enjoy the video and have a safe weekend!

Untitled from Erik Wittmer on Vimeo.

Soccer Career Begins

There is no picture today because I was told this morning that I was a coach at the local YMCA and had a meeting tonight at 7:00. The Big Guy will start the first of what could be a long career in soccer if he has my mom's side (the love of soccer). Only time will tell but one thing is for sure, he will have fun because his daddy is going to be right there with him as the coach. I am sure some of upcoming posts on here will have pictures of us in action. That is all for today and lets hope we have school on time tomorrow!

Big Helper

The most recent snow was a great one for making snowmen or having a snowball fight. The kids learned a valuable lesson in that we needed to get our work done before we could play. Here he a picture of the big guy shoveling the driveway the best he can. They both actually did a great job because they wanted to create their first snowman of the year.
Once the driveway was complete, we started to roll the base of the snowman. This didn't last long. Before long, we had snowballs flying in every direction. Hiding on the front porch (The Big Guy) while the little one and I took the side yard as our base was the plan of defense for both teams. Overall, this was so much fun but would have been even more fun if mom wouldn't have had to go to work.

The Cousin Parade

The cousins love to get together at nights when their moms are working late and the dads bring them together for some cousin fun and games. The video is what us dads see in all different formats and themes. This happened to be the best one in my mind because it was for the beloved Philadelphia Phillies. I say this because my son is quickly becoming a Baltimore O's fan because those are the only games we could watch in the summer and fall and some help from his uncle and Pap. Thankfully, I made a change in the tvcompany and now will be able to watch all of the Phillies games and make The Big Guy realize what real baseball is all about. Enjoy the parade and feel free to leave a comment. Until tomorrow have a great night!

Back To School

After ten days home with Daddy, the kids had a great time waking up this morning. The Big Guy admitted that he was tired and didn't want to go to school. He would have rather gone to Daddy's school or Mommy's work then go to this school. What got him moving was the fact that he was having his favorite lunch today and he would miss it if he didn't go to school. The other motivator was the simple fact that Daddy wouldn't stick around to get him dressed.
Once he was up and moving like a turtle, it was time to move across the hall. I being honest when I say this but I thought this would be the harder of two to get moving. I was wrong in that she jumped right up and wanted out of her bed. The hard part came when she didn't want to get dressed because she wanted to stay in her Pjs (like we had been doing the past two weeks). All in all it they moved like it was old hat once we got downstairs, finished breakfast and got into the car.

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

The saying goes something like this, "Like Mother, Like Daughter." Not really but for this picture it fits. My wife enjoys teaching the kids new and exciting tricks each day. This little trick my daughter picked up somewhere and it wasn't from her mother or father. Who knows where a two-year-old could learn such a funny face? All-in-all, my wife does an amazing job of playing, teaching, and spending time with the children. Watching them both grow each day can be contributed to the lessons she teaches them day in and day out. But then again, there are many more people in our child's lives that also make them who they are. If you are reading this blog, you know who you are I don't think we say Thank You enough for all you do for the "Rotten Egg" and "Little Guy."

Blind Melon

My daughter is a hoot when it comes to being a 2 year-old Mommy! During this past Christmas most of her gifts consisted of baby dolls that she loved the moment she unwrapped them. Then came the gifts from my own sister who can be creative a bit more then a simple doll. As you can see, diaper and all, the dress-up is a huge hit with the little one. So much that my wonderful wife is comparing this outfit (minus the diaper) to the cover of Blind Melon's No Rain CD. Thank you little sister!
After attending NECC this past summer, I was inspired to start a family blog thanks to a session that Wes Fryer put on about the importance of a family blog. Thanks to my PLN and Twitter, I was informed of the Project 365. The thought came to me that I could mash the two together, a family blog and the Picture Challenge to motive me to get things up an running. My goal is to get my family involved, which includes my wife, son and daughter to contribute once I have all the bugs out. Happy 2010 and let the fun begin.