Trick or Treat, Halloween is right around the corner!!!

Well, Zoe’s soccer season is now over.  She had a really nice coach who really made every effort to include Zoe and make her feel a part of the team. In this league, at this age they do not record winners or losers or keep count of the score.  However, I think most of the parents did. The goal was to teach the very basics of soccer and to have fun.  Zoe had a great time playing soccer, not sure she understood exactly what was happening but she sure had fun running with the pack and if the ball came near to kick it. Which she tried to do while trying to maintain her balance which was difficult at times.  Needless to say, there were a few times when she missed the ball and found herself laying on her back thinking…”what just happened?” She always had a smile on her face and constantly looked back at her mom and dad to make sure we were watching. So, her first season of soccer is over and she has her first trophy which she could hardly wait to show Nathaniel.

Zoe continues to go to gymnastics and really enjoys going.  She has a Halloween Spooktacular this week which should be a lot of fun for her. It is clear Zoe’s dexterity is a little behind but she is eager to learn and every time I look around she is waiting for us before she attempts her next back bend. Which she can hold for about 10 seconds.  This is a huge feat when looking back to when she first started. So Zoe is having a great time.

I have begun to notice how rapidly she is picking up words now. She is now stringing a number of small sentences together and some of her favorite sayings now are “Oh man!, What’s you doing?, You are so funny!, Is that for me? What did you say? Where’s mommy? “She has others but those came to mind almost immediately.

Halloween should be quite interesting, as Zoe gets scared when we go to the Halloween section and see’s the scary costumes.  She will almost immediately cry if she sees something scary. Zoe seemed to want to get a princess costume for Halloween. In the last moment she changed her mind and she is now going as a bumble bee. I have enclosed a few pictures of her in her Halloween costume. Sonja is traveling so I will take her around to get some treats.  Should be a lot of fun.

Nathaniel’s mid-terms are over and football has come to an end.  We went to parent teachers conferences the other day and we received every good comments on Nathaniel from all his teachers. He made the Dean’s list and his parents are very proud of his efforts. We were so used to middle school when you had a designated time to meet with the teachers; I guess high school is different.  It was somewhat a free for all and you had to stand in lines for all the teachers you wanted to visit with.  I think it took me a little over two hours to meet with all his teachers. It was crazy! Now that football is over, wrestling season begins.  Nathaniel is now going to wrestling practice on Sundays and Thursdays at the high school.  So, as soon as we finish one sport the next sport starts up almost immediately.  Hopefully he will make the team, we should know in a couple of weeks.

So, at the moment all is well…thanks for checking in! Oh…have a Happy Halloween!!!

Zoe just loves this costume!

Zoe is ready now she has her trick or treat bucket!

Zoe is holding her first soccer trophy.  I have a feeling she will be holding a few more before she is done

Zoe's trophy...woo hoo!

Isn't this just a darling picture of her!!!!

I am sorry, no she is not for sale...

Zoe got the opportunity to participate in her first garage sale experience. She helped her mother select, price and display items and talk to both recreational and hard core garage sale customers. My gosh, you get to meet all kinds. We had a pair of older ladies who wanted to look at your things the night before as they were not going to make it the day of the sale as well as one guy who arrived about an hour before the first day of the sale. Unfortunately, we did not give either one an early preview. The sale went well and we sold a number of items which was the goal. You just do not realize how much stuff you have until you have a garage sale. I was amazed by some of the items that people bought!  Right after the close of the sale I made a number of trips to the Goodwill donating a number of items that did not sell.

Some good news on the government paperwork front. We received Zoe's Social Security number and card. I must say I was pleasantly surprised how easy that was to get completed. I may have waited in line at the Social Security office for 10 minutes to apply for her card. they were both automated and efficient.  We received her card within a week of the application. Wow, that was fast.

Zoe had her third soccer game which they won 6-0.  She actually scored a goal with the help of her teammate who kicked the ball a couple of feet in front of the goal and let her kick  the ball into the net.  She was so excited. In gymnastics she is practicing her back bends, somersaults and some dexterity skills. She gets tested this week for a potential ribbon if she can display all the skills they have been learning in her gymnastics classes. She seems to like gymnastics as she practices her back bends at home.  The funniest part is when she is done she looks at Sonja and I and says "now you do it!" We just look at her and laugh.

I had some real gee whiz moments this past week. When Zoe was at Soccer I had forgot the wet wipes. At half time she sneezed and I had nothing to wipe her noes and face, as it was a mess. So, what do you do, I used my hand and then used the grass to clean my hand. Not the most efficient approach but sometimes you have to improvise. I also went in for a haircut last week and at the end the stylist asked if I wanted my eyebrows trimmed. Hmm..I have never been asked that before...may have bruised my ego a bit.

Nathaniel is also having a good end of summer beginning of fall.  Football and band is keeping him really busy. He is really becoming acclimated to the new school and has made a number of friends.  My gosh, his friends on facebook has doubled in less than 2 months. I actually borrowed the picture below from one of his facebook friends from school. They went to their first spook house over the weekend. Nathaniel said it was fun...but not really scary and a few bad actors.  But they still had fun.

Nathaniel and friends at one of the spook houses

So all is well...