Ezra's First Soccer Game

11 Days Young

I think if Solomon had words, he would be saying, "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout Willis?"

Feet

One might wonder why my floors often have smudges of dirt, footprints, etc. I don't really wonder why...

Super Heroes

Ezra and Asher think they love super-heroes. Their friend Henry loves super-heroes, so they think they love them too. However, Ezra and Asher have never seen a super-hero movie... they're the kids who think Chicken Little is scary, parts of Cars is scary, and find great cause for concern when watching Bugs Bunny lest one of the animals is really hurt. BUT, they insist they love super-heroes.

Grandma came for a visit and brought the boys super-hero shirts. Asher "loves" Batman and Ezra "loves" Spiderman. Obed's super-hero is actually Curious George... but he doesn't know, he's just happy to have his very own "Bee-Bee Dorge." I'm happy that they're happy.

Soccer

Ezra started soccer last night. The city has a league and we decided to sign Ezra up... which he was very excited about! The team will have two practices, and then after that, they have one game a week for about 6 weeks to play "amoeba ball" (you know, when all the kids chase after the ball like a giant, meandering amoeba?).

The whole family went for the first practice. Vince and Ezra were listening to the coach explain a few things and Obed was in on the mix, listening intently, "baseball" in hand (all balls these days are baseballs to Obed).
Asher was so very patient. He wants to play soccer so badly, but he is too young... so this season, he'll have to sit and watch.

A few action shots of Ezra playing soccer.

Ezra listened well to the coach... even when she asked him to wear a red dress... I mean jersey.

Life

Life marches on in the Black house. In spite of the chaos and craziness of things right now, we are trying to maintain life as normal. It helps that I went into preterm labor after I had packed only 10 boxes... that means our house is not boxed up... in spite of the fact that we move in 7 weeks. One of these days I'll start packing again... but for now, I'll just pretend like I am packing.

Solomon is doing well. He seems to excel in being cute, which is a tough, but very important job. He also seems to excel in pooping and eating, which are good things at this stage.
The boys love to hold Solomon, although they ask a lot why he sleeps so much. They don't understand why he would want to sleep when there are so many fun things to do, like playing crash and race and fireman.

Ezra says at least once a day, "I love the new baby. I'm so happy he's here." To which I respond, "I love the new baby too and it's a good thing because there's no way we're sending him back to from where he came." Ezra doesn't get my joke... but that's a good thing.

Obed has seemed to be relatively unaffected by Solomon's arrival, for which I am very thankful! Some friends dropped of some homemade ice-cream the other night. With every bite, Obed exclaimed, "I wike dis! I wike dis!"

One of the many "fun" activities Solomon has missed out on (thus, making the boys question why he sleeps so much) was phonebook tossing. The other night, we got the "worthless" phonebook delivered (the phonebook that we never use since we get multiple copies of different phonebooks). Vince decided that the fun, family activity for the night would be to see how far each of the big boys could throw the phonebook (what's not to love about this game???).

Obed couldn't quite hold the phonebook and throw it - that takes a lot of coordination. Throwing the plastic bag in which the phonebook arrived, however, that was great fun indeed!

And the great thing about "fun" games like phonebook tossing is that it is a game we can play for the rest of the summer... even after I pack more than 10 boxes and the toys and games are packed away.

Solomon Hosea Black

Solomon Hosea Black was born at 4:39 AM on Saturday morning. Mom and baby are doing well and the three big brothers are excited to have the baby home...unless he cries a lot.

More later.

A Word of Caution

As a general rule of thumb, when you're running full speed down the hallway and making a 90 degree turn into a bedroom, make sure ahead of time that you take note of where the doorjamb is. If you don't, you may run head first into the doorjamb, which can be quite painful... just ask Obed.

Minot Ink

As is becoming tradition, when my due date sneaks closer and closer, the boys ink my belly... with washable marker. Vince always wants to try to sneak in a Sharpie so that my belly is permanently inked, even for the doctor's amusement (although I'm not certain my new doctor would find it all that amusing). This morning was the big inking morning.
Ezra drew a picture of the new baby. I really hope he doesn't come out square... I think a square baby would hurt more than the average excruciating pain of delivery.

Obed laughed a lot and kept lifting his own shirt, wanting to color on his own "bee-bee."

The finished product.