Soccer

This is Jesse's first year playing soccer. He can hardly wait to get started (we still have a week and a half!). We went out to get some necessary soccer playing items yesterday: cleats and shin guards. Needless to say, the boy did not take them off until dinnertime. So cute!

Here's some pics of him practicing in the backyard:

Holding Back

We have been teaching Jesse how to play chess, thanks to a nifty version called No Stress Chess. He loves it and wants to play whenever he can. As I sit on the front porch here I am watching him try to teach the two boys from down the street how to play. It's cute. He doesn't get all of the rules yet but he sure thinks he does. I am trying really hard to hold back from jumping in and making sure they play "right". But, they are having fun and getting along and Jesse is being himself. I am realizing that I need to let go. Somehow I feel I will have to learn this lesson over and over again!

Case Closed

Waking up at 5:00am.
No nap.
Screaming bloody murder at bedtime.

Karis is now sleeping peacefully with her beloved Kiki.

Maternal instincts prevail.

Kiki Update

Sorry if you haven't read the original Kiki post yet but there is an update.

I was at Wegman's this morning in the check out line and was rummaging through a section of my back pack where I don't usually put things, what did I stumble upon? Kiki. I froze, Karis in the cart in front of me, making sure she didn't see it. Now what?

Do I continue to play along like we lost it to see if she is ready to part with it? I feel a little bad lying to her about it but this may be a good time to part ways with the smelly friend.

I put her down for her nap this afternoon without it to see how it would go. She cried at first but not too long and now she is just up there talking away in her crib...maybe she just won't ever go to sleep....I'm not sure I could handle that....

Anyway, here is a picture of Karis with her beloved Kiki. You can see the nasty dark spot where she likes to suck on it. Lovely.

Beloved Kiki

So, Karis has this blankie that she calls "Kiki". It would be a very endearing aspect of her early childhood except for the fact that she sucks on one corner (and only one corner) and it stinks (no matter how often I wash it) and it is really gross. But, she sleeps with Kiki and Kiki travels everywhere with us and is a lifesaver in the grocery store and the car. Matt has been itching to get rid of it, or at least start cutting off the yucky corner, forcing her to move to another. I have tried in vain to get her to switch between hers and new one just like it but she prefers the stinky edge to anything else. I have been hesitant to ween her from it b/c she is so attached, I feel badly about it. Also, on a selfish level, I just don't want to deal with the aftermath. I am waiting for the "right time", when she is old enough to not be traumatized. Matt thinks I am a wuss.
Well, the time may have come. I took Jesse to the dentist yesterday and I think that we may have left Kiki there. I realized this last night as I was putting Karis to bed and looking all over the house, yard and car for it. No Kiki. So, we tried putting her to bed without it and gave her the backup Kiki she never cared for. It worked. She cried a little bit but eventually fell asleep. Matt was rejoicing and I too was relieved. Until 5:00 this morning. I heard this pitiful cry from Karis' room, "I can't find Kiki!!" I went in and tried to explain that we lost Kiki, etc. She was not happy with that response, screaming ensued. Not wanting her to wake up Jesse, I brought her into our bed with us. Every few minutes she would whine, "I want Kiki."
Oh brother. So, now I am wondering if she will just get over this without waking up at 5:00 every morning. Should I stick it out for a few days and see if it passes or should I go back to the dentist office and pick up the Kiki? Any thoughts?

Dress-up

Karis was playing dress-up this morning, the first time she has tried on the flapper dress that she got for her birthday, although it's all about being a princess these days. She loved it...and bro-bro did too! She kept looking in the mirror and saying, "That is so cute! I the little princess." Jesse kept claiming that he was prince. Karis would correct him, "No, you the king, I the little princess."