Slumber Parties, Swimming, Soccer, Stalling & Stuttering

Last weekend Charlie had his first overnight without us.  Jack and Charlie stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Clayton while we went to the Blues playoff game.  Charlie did great, and Jack did really well too, aside from not going to sleep until 10:15ish.  If that's the only issue, I'd say the overnight was a success!  AND Mommy and Daddy slept until 8:00!  Wow!

We saw a great game and the highlight was Chris Carpenter (Cardinals pitcher) sitting directly in front of us sporting the new World Series ring he received earlier that morning on one hand and the one from a few years ago on the other hand.  Talk about bling!  He's the bald head to my left being harassed by a fan (poor guy didn't get left alone the whole night).  At least our stalking was nonchalant and behind his back (literally!!).

Our niece Mia turned six on Monday, so we celebrated last Sunday with a big birthday swim party.  She invited her whole class at school (she's in Kindergarten) as well as some friends from dance, so there were LOTS of kids!  Jack had a blast swimming with his daddy and Charlie loved his first time splashing in the pool!





Watching Daddy come down the big water slide with Grandma

Swimming wore Charlie out

Birthday girl and her mommy

Lily and Ale (neighbor/might as well be a cousin/Jack's first crush)

Um, yikes!

Cousins: Jack and Lily

Jack started soccer last month.  We're doing a Parent & Me Kickaroos class at Vetta Sports and he loves it!  He's improving very quickly already: the first week he bent down and directed the ball with his hands any time it went astray and already the very next week he was patiently using his feet instead.  Quick learner!  He  tends to only kick with his left foot, so that's one thing we'll work on, but he's doing great.  He's mostly a good listener while we are there, which makes Mommy very happy.  Then there are days like yesterday where he basically does the exact opposite of everything the coach says.  That makes for a looooong 45 minutes.

You'll notice in these videos that both the hula hoop and the bouncy ball that Jack uses are blue.  He is obsessed.  EVERYthing has to be blue!  He has a panic attack if the coach gives him a yellow ring instead and has to urgently trade for blue.  Not sure what brought this on, but we pick our battles, so blue it is.

I have mentioned in the past that Jack is a master staller.  This week he has been kindly demonstrating the extent of his stalling abilities to his thrilled parents.  Almost every morning this week started with frustration as he refused to insert task here (i.e. get dressed, brush teeth, get in car....the list goes on and on).  If we wanted him to do something, he fought us.  Not a great way to start our mornings.  The worst is when he refuses to get into the car.  I eventually lose patience and put him in the car myself, which leads to a meltdown because he wanted to do it himself.  Then even if I let him back out to get back in on his own, we repeat the same process for getting into his car seat.  If I try to force him into his car seat, it literally takes every ounce of strength that I have to wrestle him in there.  He is one strong preschooler!!  So, we are really working on rewarding him when he is a good listener and constantly repeating the mantra 'this too shall pass.'   Just hoping it's sooner rather than later!

And for my last topic of the day: stuttering.  In the last month or so, Jack has developed a stutter.  It's generally when he starts a sentence with 'I', and it comes out "I-I-I-I-I-I want to play baseball," but happens with other words as well.  I haven't done a lot of research yet, but several people have told me it's nothing to be concerned about.  We're supposed to ignore it and not even tell him he's doing it and it likely will fix itself.  In the meantime it's a little frustrating - I just want to help him speak more clearly!