Our Little Soccer Star!!

To "kick off" the summer Roy and I signed Gabbi up for soccer at Des Moines Park & Recreation.  For the last week she was a "Mini Kicker" and I am so proud of her.

This was her first real sport activity.  Sure we have been involved in Little Gym for over a year, but this is a S-P-O-R-T!  She was super excited the first day.  She was dressed for practice before I left for work on Monday morning and we weren't suppose to be on the field until 5:30pm.  She did great.  She played the games and fell in love with her red, white, and blue soccer ball.  She was a champ at running around the field (even before practice was underway).  All week, every time she did a running drill she would put her hand on her chest and yell, "MOM, MY HEART IS BEATING!!"  She even would run up to me and/or Roy and have us feel it.  She would sometimes tell us that it was pumping her blood to her body.  Such a smarty pants.

Day 2 and Day 3 were a bit more difficult.  On Day 2 she really wasn't into it and we ended up leaving early.  As parents you want so much for your daughter to do well and be a good participant.  I had to change my paradigm pretty quickly and just understand that she is a toddler and this is more about having fun then being the perfect mini kicker.  I felt that the coaches were still getting the hang of working with kiddos, most were just 3 years old like Gabbi.  On Day 3, we opted to just let Gabbi watch and play when she wanted.  It is good idea in theory, but it was still rough.  She loved being outside but really had little interest in participating in the group.  It offered some good photo ops, but little soccer.  She was very entertaining, too.  Gabbi says some the cutest things, that you just don't expect.  She amazes me every day.


Day 4 was so much better and today was just amazing!!  She did so well.  Each day she tried everything.  She was stretching, running, dribbling, kicking some goals and played a great game of red light/green light!  Gabbi really got into it today.  She was excited to go, excited to see her new friend Sophia (she missed her on Day 4, "Where's my friend Phia?"), and excited to play the games.

At the end of today, the coaches handed out certificates.  They called out each name and I was poised with the camera ready.  Next thing I know they call out "Cori Hammock."  Umm...? Wait...what?  That's right, they made me a certificate and not Gabbi.  Well, I enjoyed the awkward moment and just told them to give it to Gabbi.  She was thrilled to show it off.  We will keep it forever either way!  Way to go guy on the phone who took the info over the phone when we registered.

I am very excited to continue to have Gabbi explore different activities these coming years.  I hope she develops a passion for a number of things that she can be proud of.  Roy and I both agree that we do not want to over program her and give her time to be a kid.  This is one of the reasons I liked this camp.  It was only a week long and was a great way to get started.  It was a great way to introduce her to sports and even more kids.  Next endeavor is Little Gym with no parents in the classroom, just her, the other kids, and the teacher.  We'll see how that goes.

Peace.

 

"To Infinity and Beyond!" -Buzz Lightyear

Toy Story 3 came out today!  Gabbi and I were at the first morning showing.  Of course, I had bought the tickets a week ago and we had to see it in 3D.  Gabbi has been to a few movies now, but this was a big one...not just for her, but for me too.  I recall seeing Toy Story in the theater way back when and I was forever hooked.  I have a pretty good size Toy Story collection that I now share with Gabbi so I was very excited to see this installment on the big screen.

Gabbi was adorable and enjoyed her pop corn.  They don't make 3D glasses for kids, which they really should, so most of the movie was spent helping her with them, reminding her to keep them on so her eyes don't hurt, and cleaning them.  She especially loved the first half because she could yell out the names of the characters as they appeared, "It's Woody!!!!" She did this for everyone she new, so you could imagine this went on for awhile.

Gabbi is a lot like me in many ways, but especially when watching movies.  She knows that it is a movie and is not real but she gets very concerned about the characters when they are in trouble.  I love this empathetic quality of hers.  She did great and made it through the whole film.  She did get upset towards the end and now it is all that she can talk about.  Either way it was a fantastic experience.

G is for Gabbi

Gabbi has been very busy, as per usual.  Every day with Gabbi is a chance for a new adventure.  We love to explore our neighborhood and the surrounding areas in and around Seattle.  It is amazing what you can do around here that doesn't cost a dime or is nearly free.

Here are a few examples of our early summer/late spring adventures...

Salt Water Park @ Des Moines

 

Gabbi loves the beach and you really can't stop her at all when she is there.  She is an excellent explorer and will look under every rock for critters and crabbies.  She didn't mind the wind at all.  She took me on quite the tour of the beach and playground.  It was a ton of fun and I am sure we will be visiting this spot a lot this summer!  

Family Day @ South Center

I am always on the look for some free adventures and there are hundreds of tools online.  One of my favorite sites is www.seattleschild.com.  On this site, they offer a calendar of everything!  I have found so many things that are not listed in the paper or well advertised.  One of these adventures was the Family Day at the South Center Mall.  They had games, balloons, coupons, etc.  All summer the mall is hosting family days, special discounts for members (it's free to sign up), movie specials, and more.  On this day they were actually handing out free ride passes for the kids at the carnival in the parking lot.  Gabbi was all over it.  She had to see all the rides before she decided on one.  I thought she would go for the airplanes, but she was all about the motorcycles. The carnival wasn't in the best condition, but it suited her just fine and since we weren't riding anything too wild I was okay with it.  As soon as she got off she wanted more.  Too bad they only gave us one pass.  But we had a great early afternoon out.  Picnic, playing at the mall, carnival ride, and lots of sun shine.   

Claire's Party @ Marysville

We are blessed with a great group of friends.  And a few weekends back we had an opportunity to celebrate with some as they celebrated their daughter's 1st birthday party.  Stephan and I have been friends since high school and it is crazy that we are now grown ups with kids.  His wife, Sarah is great and they have the cutest kids.  Claire was the cutest little girl and loved her little princess cake.  Unfortunately, the party had to be relocated because it was a rainy spring day and the park would have been pretty soggy.  But the party and the fun still went on perfectly.  Gabbi was very excited to get dressed up, eat pizza, and of course eat cake.  She had fun playing with the little kids but was very jealous of the older kids and their video game playing.  

We had bundles of fun and she loved her Word World coloring book that she got for home.  Thanks Kimbrough's for a great day!

Well, that is the update for now.  More to come soon.  

Gabbi is growing so fast and I am trying to take as many pictures as I possibly can to share with our friends and family.  We would love others to join us on our adventures, hint - hint!