OSU Gymnastics Meet

Gabrielle, Meleesa, Amber and I made our way to Corvallis to watch an OSU gymnastics meet this weekend.  OSU is currently 7th in the national rankings, so they are obviously a very good team.  They had a great meet, making very few mistakes.  It was fun to be the gym environment again and to stay a little connected to the sport I enjoyed so much as a kid.  I always loved going to OSU gymnastics meets with my mom and sisters when I was younger and am so glad Gabrielle enjoys going with me now!

Flipping and twisting during a floor routine

 Gabrielle, Amber and Meleesa

Willem's Soccer Obsession

Willem loves playing soccer, especially goalie. We joke that it is Cade's fault that Willem loves playing goalie because Cade always said he wished he had a twin that was a goalie so he could take shots on him all day; apparently the next best thing was making his little brother a goalie! I have noticed over the past month that instead of playing with his farm toys all the time, Willem has switched to going outside (or inside) to play soccer as much as he can...mostly taking shots on the goals we have outside or playing goalie when Cade is out there taking shots.

Willem is at such a fun age with regard to playing soccer because he can never get enough and he gets so excited to play every game, even counting down the hours until he gets to play. He is different than Cade was at this age in that Will has always loved soccer best and doesn't seem to really care too much about any other sport....Will liked playing basketball (we had to convince him to play this past season) but isn't crazy about it and he likes playing football but, again, not like soccer. 

Willem talks pretty obsessively about what goalie gloves he wants next and his favorite international players. He will often say something like, "Petr Cech (Chelsea's goalie) is a Beast"! His favorite players are Cristiano Ronaldo and Casey Keller and his favorite team is Real Madrid. Willem tells me often how many days until the World Cup starts in June. Taking a line from his older brother, Willem tells me that he is NOT missing any World Cup games.

Willem just finished his 2nd indoor season of the winter and looks forward to starting spring soccer after spring break. He begged me to ask the club if he can play with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders this spring in their developmental league and he was so excited when they said he could. He loved playing U8 indoor with his team below! And we loved watching him run all over the field or yell instructions to his teammates from the goal!

Zane, Aidan, Carsten, Wyatt, Diego and Willem

Cade's State Basketball Tournament

After winning the title the last two years, Cade's team (Team Flight) walked away a little disappointed with their 4th place finish in the State AAU Basketball Championships (4th grade) in Cottage Grove this past weekend. His team just wasn't 'on' this weekend and it probably didn't help that two of the boys needed casts after the tourney (a hairline fracture in the hand for one boy and a bruised growth plate by the heel for the other). Plus we took Cade to Urgent Care on Sunday morning for an ear infection! 

That all being said, the other teams looked really good and I think a 2nd place finish is probably the best Flight could have pulled out had they played their best basketball this weekend. It'll be fun to go up against these teams again in future tournaments and it's been great seeing Flight's improvement over the winter. Team Flight will continue to play together through the spring.

Cade with the ball (#10)

Genevieve watching from atop the stands!

My Dad's Birthday & Amber's Visit

My dad turned 71 on Friday! He looks so great and is so healthy and active...I hope I have those genes! Amber, Tony & Jacoby came down for the weekend to help celebrate and we had a fun party on Friday at his house . It was another fun and busy weekend!

Opa with about half his grandkids!

Genevieve and Jacoby at Cade's basketball game

Amber captured Genevieve climbing in and out (see below) of her toy box!

And here's gorgeous Amber nearly 37 weeks pregnant!

Another Soccer Season Ends

Cade's OYSA U12 league (top U12 statewide league minus Portland teams) ended on Sunday with a game in Medford which decided the league champ. Unfortunately Cade's Boca Jr team lost but it was a great season. The Boca's were 11-2-1 which earned them second place (yes, we already watched Cade play eight outdoor games since early February; the other six games were played in the fall). Next up is the State Cup tournament throughout the month of April which will include the top 18 (or so) teams in the state for each age group. Here are some pictures from the season of Cade and some of his teammates.

Our Newest Artist!

 

Genevieve's latest favorite pastime is drawing (scribbling actually). It is very sweet to see! As you can see in the pictures below, she switches the pencil from her left to her right hand but we think she is favoring her right. (Some of the marks on the paper are from me but she did get a lot of scribbling on there herself as well!)

 

Elle's Basketball Season Ends

Gabrielle joined a new basketball team this winter and it has been great to see her enjoy the sport so much more and to see her improve so much. Most of the girls on her team have played together for several years and also play on her Athletica soccer team and most of them (including Gabrielle) have decided to continue playing basketball (along with soccer) for the spring season. Her team, comprised mostly of 4th graders, played in the 4th grade YMCA league and went undefeated. Gabrielle usually scored a basket, sometimes two, each game but where she shined was in her fantastic defense, steals and rebounds. Here she is in the last game taking (and making) a free throw. She didn't take many free throws during the season (maybe four total) and this is the first one she made in a game...

 

Here's her team enjoying Dairy Queen after their last game (missing Aliyah, Lindsay and coach Tod), notice Genevieve on the right smiling for the camera as well :)...

 

Chairs, Computers, Cows and Cries

Lately Genevieve has been loving sitting on chairs and couches, looking so proud and content when someone puts her up on them. 

 

  

Genevieve has also been wanting to play with the computer keyboard and mouse; we haven't let her much but she did manage to get on the kids' computer today. She really looks like she knows what she's doing here, I guess she's seen us all at work on the computer many times!

  

 

And Nev loves seeing the cows. It has been dry and warm enough for several days so we were able to take a walk around the dairy today and Genevieve loved getting close to the cows! 

 

 

Lastly, Nev has been having more and more tantrums lately...it has begun! I didn't get a picture this time but boy did she have a couple good frustrated cries today :)

I also had to get one shot of Willem with his now THREE missing front teeth...

Our Nine Year Old!

Gabrielle turned NINE on February 20th. And, as I try to do near all our kids' birthdays, here's some info on our birthday girl...

Best friends: her cousins Meleesa and Athena, her best school buddy Jorja, her soccer friends (Jordan W, Jaida, Ashley, Isabella, Kyndsi, and more) and her other school friends (Sara, Emma and Christina)

Favorite pastimes: Soccer, soccer and more soccer (though she much prefers games over practices); watching The Disney Channel; play dates with Jorja, Athena and Meleesa, basketball (which she likes but doesn't love like soccer); playing with nail polish, jewelry, cell phones, etc; Just Dance on the Wii; playing with her little sister; drawing in her journal (she's been drawing dress designs lately); shopping; watching gymnastics.

School stuff: Gabrielle is a great reader though it is not her favorite pastime; math also comes easily to her; she is an all-around good student and school comes easy to her but she definitely prefers the weekends :); she reminds me of myself with regard to school. Elle says she wants to be a professional soccer player, physical therapist or accountant when she grows up.

Gabrielle is very aware and responsible. She is very caring and loving toward her siblings (most of the time :) as well as her friends and us (mom and dad). We are so lucky to get a kiss, hug goodnight and an 'I Love You' from her every night without us asking. She is very patient and gentle with Genevieve.

People will often comment that she looks and acts a lot older than she is; with coaches, teachers and other parents, she is always very good and polite.

Gabrielle has matured a lot in controlling her frustration though it sometimes still comes up (in the form of a slammed door, stomp up the stairs or a loud 'UGH')! Elle does a lot of things well but when she cannot do something easily or the first time she will often get frustrated and say she cannot do it....but, usually after she gets over her frustration and tries again, she manages to figure it out.

Height: 4 ft. 9.5 inches
Weight: about 97 lbs

We Love Our Sweet Ellie-Belly So Very Much!!

Gabrielle's Family Birthday Party

Friday evening we celebrated Gabrielle's birthday with our families. It was relaxing and fun. The kids mostly played some Wii and watched TV while the adults chatted the evening away.  Uncle Marcus, Chad and Cade did get in a good game of 'HORSE' with the little nerf basketball and hoop; Cade tells me he won but I should verify that with Chad and Marcus :) We all enjoyed yummy cake, ice cream, pizza and lots of other treats....

 

The Birthday Girl!

  

 Chad and me with our nine year old Gabrielle!

 

Elle and Opa

Cousins! Meleesa, Gabrielle and Athena

 

EJ, Chad and Grandpa

Mariah, Opa and Searra

Kathleen and my Dad

Asleep in the Highchair!

Genevieve fell asleep in her highchair for the first time today. She had just come in from a little walk on the dairy with Uncle David and I wanted to give her some lunch before her nap but she just couldn't stay awake! Luckily I was able to clean her up and put her in her crib for a nice long nap!

Harlem Globetrotters!

On Friday evening we watched the Harlem Globetrotters at Mac Court. Chad and I were joined by our four kids, Grandma Bev, Jorja and cousins Meleesa, Athena and Pascal. The kids had such a blast and we had fun too, though the best part was watching our kids' reactions (mostly lots of belly laughs) to it all. Willem and Meleesa laughed the most and the loudest but all the kids thought it was the funniest thing ever! We even stayed 30 minutes after the game so the kids could get autographs. A huge thank you to my sis in-law Mary's friend, Megan, who got us our ten tickets!!! 

 

 Willem having a blast!

  

Willem with Cade and Pascal in the background

  

Autographs (yes they got their shoes signed)!