Mother's Day Tea

We started celebrating Mother's Day early this year with a Mother's Day tea hosted by Alex's Knollwood Preschool class. The kids made aprons and cards, sang to the moms and grandmoms, and served us tea and goodies. The kids each wrote the following "book"

Things I Know About My Mom

By: Alex W.

How old is your Mom? 27

What is your Mom's favorite color? pink

What is your Mom's favorite food? green beans

What is your Mom's favorite thing to do? play on the computer

What does your Mom do when you are not at school? she goes to work

What do you love best about your Mom? she is a good cook

Why did God make Moms? because He is good

Well I know God is good too because He gave me two wonderful children to be their mommy and I LOVE it!

Alex's First Game

Alex's soccer career is underway. After getting rained out in week 1, the season finally started yesterday with an 8-1 victory for Alex's team, the Spikes (choosing the name proved to be the most difficult, and least impressive, aspect of day 1). After some introductions, words of encouragement from Coach Eric, light stretching, and a little practice, it was on to the three-on-three game action. [side note: 3-on-3 is a much better way to handle 5-year old soccer than the way they did it 30 years ago where 20 kids ran around in a cluster with no chance of actually displaying any soccer skill]. Within 30 seconds of the kickoff Alex had his first goal as he deftly dribbled past the other team and planted the ball in the net. A minute or so later, he had goal number 2, at which point he got subbed out so some other kids would have a chance. The Spikes built a 7-1 lead heading into the final minute, when the play of the game happened. See the video below for an incredible defensive play followed by a length of the field sprint towards the goal that culminated in a hat trick for Alex in his very first game.



Alex already knew a few kids at the soccer field, including one on his team who's one of our new neighbors, so we're expecting this soccer thing to be a lot of fun this season. The real test will be to see if Alex can still have fun when his team loses - something he has struggled mightily with so far in his young life (I think he gets that quality from his Uncle Dan - or maybe his Dad).

Booby Who?

Hannah has a new friend named Booby. Yes, you read correctly the name is Booby. About two weeks ago Hannah just started talking to someone only she can see. According to Hannah, Booby is apparently her sister but she is a boy. Booby likes to play outside (that's why Hannah keeps opening and closing the doors all the time), drive the car, and have tea parties. I keep thinking Booby will go away as magically as she/he appeared but no luck so far. Since it looks like Booby is here to stay, I'm trying to take advantage of the situation. I've been telling Hannah that Booby can use the potty and hopefully Hannah will follow Booby's lead.

Special Visitor

We had a special guest visiting us last week - Uncle Dan. It was fun spending some time with Uncle Dan. We jammed in lots of fun in Dan's short visit. He was able to attend Alex's party, played dominos with Alex, read to Hannah, and visited Granny Fisher with us. For some reason Hannah kept calling Dan "Mr. Jeff" but right about the time he left she finally figured out that "Mr. Jeff" is really Uncle Dan. Hannah and Alex have asked me several times "Where's Uncle Dan". Hopefully we'll be able to see Uncle Dan and the rest of the Walls' later on this year. Until then we'll just keep up with the Skype.

Alex is Five

We celebrated Alex's 5th Birthday last weekend and Alex had a blast. We debated about having the party at Chuck E Cheese, the bowling alley, House of Bounce and finally decided on our house. We were going to rent a moonbounce but realized that we could spend just a bit more and actually buy one - so now we have a moonbounce. Alex really wanted a "bull dog" themed party but I couldn't find all the party accessories with bull dogs on them so we simply had a dog party. We had about 15 kids, some siblings and some parents. Alex even had a special guest at his party - Uncle Dan! Fun was had by all - the kids played pin the tail on the dog, find the dog bone, hot dog, and swatted at a bone shaped pinata but they all loved the moonbounce the best. I have to say that the party was a huge success.

Big Girl Bed

Hannah has made the transition to a big girl bed a few weeks ago. We said goodbye to the crib and hello to the daybed. Hannah made the transition very easily. She hasn't fallen out or even wandered out of her room after the "last good-night". I packed up all the baby bedding, curtains, etc. and replaced it with pink ballerinas and butterflies - Hannah insists on pink. I can't believe how quickly Hannah has grown out of the baby stage. Hopefully we'll be waving goodbye to the diapers soon, too.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!! We hope everyone gets lots of hugs and kisses today.

Twenty Nine

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th birthday. Alright, I'm really 37 but who's counting - I (sort of) feel like I'm 29. As my birthday was quickly approaching, I started to have the sewing/crafting itch. I had this itch almost 15 years ago when Jeff bought me a sewing machine. I could probably count on my fingers how many times I've actually used it - I've made some curtains and hemed a few skirts and pants. Anyway, I've decided that as a Mom I should be doing crafty projects for myself and my children. My mom was always sewing and had several projects going on while I was at home (and she still does). She planted the creative seed in my head so many years ago and now it's starting to sprout again. So, I began celebrating my birthday by spending a couple of hours at the fabric store with Hannah, where I purchased material to make a flower cozy for Hannah, chocolate lollipops for Valentines Day, and bouncy balls for Alex. I remember making the chocolates with my mom and grandma many years ago and loved it so I thought I'd give it a try again. Hannah and Alex can't wait for the finished product. As I dropped Alex off at school, he told me he wanted a "boy" project hence the bouncy balls. We'll see how all of these turn out. Whatever happens, I'm excited to get started. Here's the flower cozy from JoAnn Ideas online:

After the fabric store, the kids and I went to the "play" McDonalds. After our fill of Happy Meals and playing, we came home for quiet time (my favorite part of the day). To top off the fun, Jeff brought home a yummy dinner from Carrabba's and a delicious triple chocolate mousse cake from Wegmans. I opened gifts with help from an additional four hands. And can believe it ... I got a pink pony Webkins!! I had a fantastic 37th Birthday. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings.

GMU Basketball

The Walls family can never pass up a GMU basketball game. Basketball season is in full swing and we go to the Mason games as often as possible. For the most part, it really is family oriented and the kids love watching Gunston (the fuzzy green mascot), eating popcorn and getting the opportunity to shoot free throws after the game; I love getting out of the house; and Jeff loves to watch the game. Spongebob was at the last game and the next home game (I believe) is Homecoming which means pre-game stuff and fireworks. The Mason games truly are one of our family passions and pleasures. Go Mason !!

Already February?

I can't believe it's been two months since my last blog post. Nothing new to report other than time is flying by - but that's nothing new. Today I had to register Hannah for preschool for next year. I can't believe that both kids will be in school this Fall. Alex is already talking about kindergarten, the school bus, and SACC (child care at the elementary school not at a daycare). And Hannah thinks that she should be at Knollwood (preschool) NOW. At least we still have a few more months to jam in "little kid" activities. Hannah and I are going to see Mr. Skip tomorrow morning and all of us are going to the family pool at the gym this afternoon. I'm trying to do lots of "little kid" stuff with them now because they'll be off to college before too long. Although, I am looking forward to bigger kid stuff... I can't wait to say goodbye to Hannah's diapers and cheering for Alex at his soccer games this Spring. "Goodbye Diapers!" and "Way to Go, Alex!" -- just getting some practice in.