Soccer star in the making

Tonight was Charlie's 7th soccer "class". There are no teams, there is no score, just a few very patient coaches trying to herd a group of pre-schoolers (read: cats) into playing games that involve following instructions, knowing colours, and cooperating with one another - if it sounds nearly impossible, it's because it is.

But in the last seven classes we have seen our little guy grow into a bit of a ham that has a wee bit of soccer skill. He is now (mostly) remembering to listen to all the instructions before running to start the game. He hasn't lost interest and ran toward the playground in the last 4ish classes, and he loves the name game at the beginning when the coaches ask if anyone remembers their names. Charlie often repeats the names of his soccer coaches to us on non-soccer days; they are not burned into his memory.

He is learning to "squash the ball" - stop the ball. As well as learning how to "walk his turtle" -dribble. And his favourite is to shoot and score. The best is the celebration kiss and hug he wants from us after he has scored. Below is Charlie's demo video, he is the one in the blue bucket hat. Tonight he guided the last knight through the forest to the castle. For those of you who don't have kids, if this seems a bit slow, it is, but 12 years from now when I can't capture him on video because he is moving down the soccer field at lightening speed, I look forward to looking back at this moment.

And here is our future soccer star. He gets to play in only 15 short months! Until then, we chill out on a blanket under the big shady tree and watch his brother play.

If anyone in the Toronto or Hamilton area is looking for a fantastic program for their kids, a would highly recommend Little Kickers. The coaches that lead this kids deserve a medal for the patience, enthusiasm, creativity, and stamina.

PS. For anyone that says Charlie and Ben don't look alike, please compare the pic above to Charlie's 4 month picture in my first post... yes Ben has more cheek, but I can definitely see the resemblance!

Tuesday in the 'hood

Summer is too short, and kids grow too fast. For these very reasons, I thought I would put more effort into blogging some of our summer activities. I forgot to take pictures today, but will definitely make more of an effort to photo-document our adventures to make sharing that much more exciting.

Today, we were out the door by 9am ( Charlie had been up for 3 hours and was getting a bit stir-crazy). We headed over to the farmers market they have every Tuesday. We got some new potatoes, strawberries, cherries, and zucchini.

Our plan was to then head over to the library, but unfortunately the children's section of the library is in the basement and after last night's record setting rain fall, the basement was flooded. We hope the books are ok! 

We then walked another 5 minutes down the road and found a splash pad. One of about 10 splash pads and wading pools that is within a 10 minute walk from our house, I have learned never to leave the house without a bathing suit in tow or else we are bound to come home with a wet Charlie. Charlie ran and played, Ben and I hung out under a tree to avoid the sprinkly rain that was coming down.

We walked back to the farmers market and had back bacon on a bun for lunch, can't really beat that! I love this city. I love our neighbourhood that feels like a small town, but has the kind of amenities that allow for every day to be a new adventure. I am now doing research on the super cool splash pads in the city and plan to fill our upcoming summer mornings with some great water play followed by picnic snacks in the park. Stay tuned.