Practice makes perfect.

Katie and baby Cash were headed to the mall today and stopped by our house for a visit before hand.  I talked to Hardin all morning about how to behave around the baby, and up until the last 20 minutes or so he did great.  He couldn't wait to hold him, and was genuinely enamored with him all around.  This is the first time he's really been old enough himself to show any interest in a young baby, and it warmed my heart.  We still have a way to go in helping him realize his own physical strength, but I have a feeling he's going to take his role as big brother very serious and ace it from the start.    

He also makes an excellent model to test lighting before getting the baby ready to take pictures, sweet boy.  

The Fair (and the not fair)

We had a grand plan Sunday to take Hardin to the Gwinnett County Fair.  I texted Cat early that morning to see if she wanted to bring the kids to meet us and they agreed.  Perfect, right?  WRONG.  I forgot to check what time the fair opened so when we arrived at 10:45 to the sign that said "Gates Open at 1pm," we had three very disappointed little kids.

We made a quick change to CatchAir and fortunately the kids had a great time.  Between playing with his cousins and Zaxbys, I'm sure Hardin had a perfect day. 

But mama wasn't going to give up.  Our week was completely full except tonight so the boys met me at my office this afternoon and we headed to the fair, again. 

I had shown Hardin a handful of pictures people posted over the weekend so he knew what to expect, and I think that helped a lot with calming any fears.  He was wide open and ready to go!  We started slow with the motorcycles, boats, etc.  Then walked around to look at the petting zoo and big kid rides.  After snacks, we told Hardin to pick a few more rides.  First he rode the alligators floating in water, then he got off and pointed right at the rollercoaster and said "THAT one."  We watched it a few times to test the waters but his determination did not waiver.  He was sure he wanted to ride it.  Jason joined him and said he was grinning ear to ear the entire time.  I was one proud mama bear, and thought it was a pretty big deal for a two year old.

First fair ride ever!

 

First coaster!

Proud boys.

A Week of First

This week Hardin went back to school.  Last year he was in a Mother's Morning Out class and this year he started real preschool.  I was nervous about the carpool line because we walked him in last year, but he did great.  It helped to see a lot of his buddies get out before him, and we are very happy
that 5 of the 10 kids in his class last year are in his new class as well.  We've had no tears and a tuckered out little guy both days so far, total success.  I'm also excited because he starts Chapel this year.  I can't imagine anything sweeter than a sanctuary full of preschoolers learning together.  Gives me chills. 

We also had Hardin's first soccer practice and scrimmage today.  He's been talking about it and practicing ever since we signed him up.  Jason is one of his two coaches, and they've been attempting the drills Jason learned at coaches training.  We left the house this morning with one VERY pumped up little player. 

He did great for pictures (they do it the first day) and practice, but by time the scrimmage rolled around he was done, along with 1/2 the team.  All he wanted to do was play with my video camera and beg for one of the team snacks we brought.  We didn't push much at all though, it was overwhelming for us so I can only imagine how it was for a tiny little fella.  There were kids and parents running around everywhere, and no one knew what they were doing except the few boys who were old enough to play last year.

That said, he's been talking about how awesome it was all day.  I'm sure in a few weeks we'll have a team full of kids ready to participate.  For the record, Jason loved coaching.  When we were leaving he looked at me and said "that was awesome."  I had no idea if he was joking or not... but luckily he was 100% serious.

After soccer we rushed to get Jason to his tennis match, his men's league started today as well.  I've only seen Jason play mixed leagues until today, so that was pretty cool.  It's a whole new world of fast paced competitiveness and it was fun to see him in his element.

It looks like the majority of my Saturdays this fall will be spent watching my boys play ball, and I can't imagine anything I'd rather do more. 


This picture sums up Hardin during the scrimmage, right by daddy's side if he wasn't in my lap.

This picture sums up Jason.  Trying to stay out of the way while giving some sort of direction. 

Hardin also moved into his big boy room this week.  He loves it and I'll take pictures when I finish up a few things.  The first night he got up a few times and told me he was just a little bit scared. But when I asked if he wanted to go back to his old room he said no way.  It's been smooth sailing ever since.