Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came to our house last night and left just what you'd expect. It was an egg-cellent day! Egg hunt, Easter baskets, church, another egg hunt, home, another egg hunt, breakfast, naps for everyone, play, dinner, another egg hunt, rock painting, egg dying, movie, bed - PHEW!!

Play Ball

My company had a corporate, family night out for the opening day of the Richmond Squirrels Season 5. Marnier and Ava had a girls night in while John, Wyatt and I went to the game. The weather was perfect and we were all happy to go. Wyatt hasn't ever been to an event that large - I think the crowd really got him excited. We did all the major stuff - cotton candy, gift shop, cheered, fried food, walked around the stadium, and made it all the way to the fireworks at the end! He was great, I was so proud of him!

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I recently got the idea that Wyatt was old enough to start playing soccer. I mean, it's in his blood, right?! Our neighbor clued me in on a good starter program in RIC called SCOR. 

Week 1: Off we went for the 9:30 Lil' Kickers class. I signed Wyatt up for the Hoppers (3 & 4 Years). Granma, Ava, Wyatt and I arrived and Wyatt was SUPER excited to kick a ball around. As the session began he was into it. All the kids sat in a circle around the coaches. The Coach rolled the ball to Wyatt and asked "What is your name and favorite movie?" Wyatt stood and in a proud, loud voice answered "WYATT RUSSELL MARSHALL and I like TRAINS!" I thought to myself, well - okay - at least he is enthusiastic. It lasted for about 5 minutes. Then I spent the next 40 minutes chasing him around the facility, begging him to rejoin his class and getting absolutely no where. The only ones running around more than us were Granma and Ava. FINALLY Wyatt clued into an activity the Cottontails (2.5-3.5 Years) class was doing. He really played well with them and had a great time the last 10 minutes. It was just enough to make me think the experience wasn't totally lost. 
 -- Left feeling exhausted, flustered and hopeful. --

Week 2: After reassessing the situation I decided to put Wyatt in the Cottontails class that includes parent participation and begins at 8:30. Even though he is a full head taller than the other kids in his class, its right for his age. The class size was much smaller and this time John joined us. Wyatt did 10x better than the week before! He was happy to have his Daddy playing along with him and besides taking 10+ trips to the water cooler, he did pretty good. I chased Ava this time. In the last 10 minutes she got interested in the Bunnies (18 – 24 Months) old class. The coach was blowing bubbles and Ava was hooked. After practice we took the kids to River City Diner for breakfast and for a walk around the Main Street Train Station. 
-- Decent day, feeling like this may work. --

Week 3: This is where I really must have lost my mind! I enrolled Ava for the Bunnies and Wyatt for Cottontails. Now all four of us had something to do. John and I bounced back and forth with the kids. I have now realized Ava just loves bubbles. As soon as they were put away she could have cared less about the class and I spent the rest of our hour there chasing her from one end of the facility to the other. As for Wyatt, he has made the big jump in to underpants and insisted that he had to go to the potty twice during a one hour class (cloud have something to do with the lil man's obsession with the water cooler). 
-- Frustration rising! -- 

Week 4: Reassessed again. Ava is NOT ready for a structured class even if it is with other little ones her age. So we sat her class out. Wyatt is still on Cottontails. When we got there he acted happy to begin with.  Then SCOR combined the Cottontails and Hoppers because of a coach shortage - that's where it all fell apart. Wyatt went from a class of 3 to a class of 15. He just couldn't have been any less interested if he tried! Yes - my kid was the one laying down in the middle of the field while all the other kids ran around playing. I hated that I felt the glares of other parents wondering when I would step in. I tried so hard not to force him to play, but it was HARD… This is suppose to be fun right? I finally gave him two choices - 1) Play with the other kids on the field and have fun. 2) Sit on the bleachers and watch. In 5 minutes of my ultimatium we left. Wyatt cried all the way to the car. But I'd had it!
-- DAMN! I want to shake him! --

Week 5: THANK YOU GOD, we went out of town and didn't have the choice to go.

Week 6: THANK YOU JESUS! Closed for Easter!

Week 7: To go or not to go? That is the question.

Wyatt's First Story

Wyatt said to me "Mommy, sit down and if you are really quite I will tell you a story."

Once upon a time there was a dinosaur that lived in California.
He was very strong and had a long neck.
One day he reached down and ate an elephant.
The end!

Well that was creative…