Emma Ann

Introducing....Emma Ann Nelson!

Emma arrived into the world on Tuesday, September 22 at 8:40 p.m. weighing in at 9 pounds, 3 ounces and measuring 22 inches.  She was introduced to many visitors that night, and we had the privilege of meeting her tonight!  She is the most beautiful little girl already so loved by her family.  Emma is a very content little baby.  Eli seemed quite excited to meet his newest cousin. 

  

 

Sommerlot Wedding Part 2

I just wanted to share some of my favorites captured from Jamie and Matt's wedding.  These were taken by the photographer, Ruben Rodriguez (Rodriguez Photography). 

 

Soccer

Eli has wrapped up his first (and maybe only) soccer season.  Before starting, I don't think he really had much background knowledge about the sport or exposure to it, but I wanted to sign him up to give him the opportunity to try it out and even more so for some social interaction with other kids.  Prior to the first practice, I really did not know what to expect from this experience of preschool soccer. 

When I turned in our registration form, we also picked up a jersey, which Eli seemed very excited about.  Yet, another milestone for him, getting old enough to be involved in more activities. 

Upon arrival at the first soccer practice, the first thing on the agenda was taking individual pictures and then a team picture.  I was quite surprised he willingly and even naturally posed for his picture with a soccer ball in hand.  They used smaller, kid-sized balls and nets. 

There were about 14 preschoolers in total between the 2 teams and only 1 coach since no other parents volunteered.  There was quite a variety of ability and interest levels in this group of preschoolers.   

I was very impressed with the coach's ability to instruct such young kids on the fundamentals of the game all the while keeping an encouraging attitude with an unlimited amount of patience.  He began by going over the basic rules:  No using hands along with kicking using the inside of the foot rather than the toes.  The first practice consisted of various skills and drills, while the other 5 sessions were broken into 2 parts:  The first 30 minutes involved practice and working on more skills and dribbling the ball with their feet and then the second half involved an actual game. 

Eli really seemed to enjoy the first half of each session.  He readily joined in with kicking the ball around, practicing kicking it into the goal and back and forth to a teammate.  It was also good exercise with the nonstop movement.  

 

While watching the coach give instructions before they started their first game, so many of them appeared to be more interested in what was going on everywhere else around the field rather than his direction.  I thought to myself there is no way they are going to know what to do when they start playing.  Somehow, they all knew what to do and which direction their team was supposed to go to try to make a goal, although Eli had no interest in participating.  I don't think the idea of kids running together all in a huddle chasing after the ball really appealed to him.  He stood with his feet planted firmly in the middle of the field.  After all, it was my idea to sign him up; he didn't really know what he was getting into and even with some encouragement, he still had no desire to play the game and ended up as a spectator during each game after that, but we still took him and he still participated in the practice before each game.  

 While the other kids enjoyed the action of the game, Eli was content in his seemingly favorite position:  The sidelines.

Overall, I think it was still a good experience for Eli to attempt something new.  I don't think we will be signing him up for soccer again unless he changes his mind about wanting to participate in the game.  Maybe we will try T-ball in the spring.

First Day - Preschool

A couple weeks ago, we attended Eli's preschool open house.  It was a great opportunity for him to see his classroom and meet his teacher, Miss Virginia and her helper, Ms. Kathy again.  Prior to the open house, the preschool teacher along with her aide scheduled home visits to each house of the incoming preschoolers this year - 29 total between her 2 classes!  At the home visit, she had a few questions for me while her helper worked on an "All About Me" page with Eli that was later displayed in their classroom.

At the open house, his teacher had created a scavenger hunt for us to find various things around the classroom, like his cubby where he will hang his backpack, his mailbox, and other fun things to help him get acquainted with the new territory.  

Preschool was scheduled to start last Wednesday, but due to the heat, it was cancelled all 3 days last week.  Eli finally attended his first day of preschool today.  He is in the afternoon session at Sacred Heart.  I had signed him up for the morning session as my first preference and had turned in the paperwork right away, but he still ended up in the afternoon session.  It still works out since he doesn't take afternoon naps anymore anyway.  Plus, it is a nice break right after lunch that allows me to finish up my work for the day before he comes back home.  

I had fully intended for him to ride the bus to and from preschool since it was offered as an option, but once I realized he would have an hour-long ride on the bus both to and from school each way because of where we live, I quickly decided against it since I did not want him on the bus for that long each day.  Yet, another change in plans.  Spontaneity is definitely not my forte; I like it best when things go according to plan with no bumps in the road along the way.  Right now, it still works okay for me to fit it into my schedule to drop him off and pick him up.  It might be more of a challenge this fall with the arrival of the new baby and adapting to her schedule, too.  If the bus ride was not as long as an hour each way, we would be taking full advantage of this service.

As for the first day of preschool, Eli was very eager and ready to go.  He even willingly posed for his first annual back-to-school picture before we left, along with another picture in front of the sign at his preschool, which is actually in the same building as his daycare this summer.  I think switching him to the daycare at Sacred Heart really helped him in the transition to starting preschool.  

On our way home, his answers to my questions were quite vague, but he seemed to overall enjoy the day.  He even said he wanted to stay there and sounded a bit disappointed when it was time for him to be picked up.  He was really excited to show me the papers in his folder.  His teacher also uses a notebook as a communication tool with messages written back and forth between her and the parents.  Miss Virginia is a great match for Eli's personality.  She is a young, friendly, genuinely kind, and mild mannered teacher with clear expectations.  We are looking forward to a great year!