Giant Smiles, Sandy Toes, and Ch-ch-chilly Water

This picture of Kate and her friend Lucie cracks me up.  Kate, always ready with a smile, and Lucie in full swan character.  I'm glad Kate has ballet.  She spends so much time at soccer practices and games, watching from the sidelines.  I love that I get to watch her during the week, too.  She dances and skips around the house constantly, showing off her moves.

Owen's tentative grins have erupted into giant smiles.  As long as he has food in his belly, he will oblige.  He also seems remarkably strong.  He loves to pull his head up off of any flat surface.

Kate has a new doll.  Actually, this accessory really does come from her new doll.  She found an Ariel doll at Ross a while back and was dying to earn it.  We told her if she could sleep through the night (or at least stay in her room), she could earn stickers and eventually earn the doll.  Our gal who has been getting up every single night since Owen was born is now sleeping perfectly.  Ariel did the trick!

The wind and temperatures have fluctuated wildly.  The other day, a weatherman said to hold down small animals and children.  On cold days I keep Owen held and covered, and entertain Kate and a few of the other kids playing soccer on the sidelines during Zachary's practices and scrimmages.  He played his buddy Jojo again in a scrimmage, but this time scored on his goalie bestie.  I love watching his effort.  He is still learning positions and to trust his teammates, but he has more hustle than any kid on the field.

My sister Natalie sent us this onesie.  I think it brings out the orange on top of his head.  Owen definitely has a red tint, but only time will tell if he goes blond or goes Brady.

We love going to the beach in the late afternoon.  I don't have to stress about the sun with Owen, and the kids have the beaches to themselves.

This was Owen's first exposure to sand and water.  I poked his toes in both, and he curled them up in response.

A quick series of Owen shots on a Sunday night:

I love the alternating focus on Daddy and then Owen for these.

I mentioned Acai bowls in my last post and we've made them at home a bunch since then.

Soccer practice: trapped in the car during a downpour for 3 hours.  Had we known soccer would go the full time, we would have driven back and forth, but it's a 20-30 minute drive one way depending on traffic.

Spring break means excursions to the beach in the daytime, too.  We have new kids in our neighborhood and met up with them several times.  Staying in the shade is tricky especially with the wind, but we are figuring it out.  Zachary got a new skim board and has played with it for hours.  Kate is getting more courageous with the water, even on bigger days.

The kids love to watch episodes of "Creative Galaxy" and recreate the crafts they see.

Brady took off last Friday so we could go to the north shore during Zachary's break.  Saturdays get pretty eaten up lately with soccer and errands and we wanted a full family day at the beach.  It was so cold!  

The kids us shocked us with their willingness to play in the freezing cold water, and we were not surprised at all when they came out with blue lips and desperate eyes.  ("Towel?" whimper, whimper.)

Kate rode waves on the boogie board and Zachary surfed (and boogie boarded and skim boarded).

St. Patty's Day sugar cookies taste better in Hanalei.

Owen has been a generous sleeper at night, but his daytime sleep is sporadic at best.  Sometimes he falls asleep just after eating in the morning and I keep him snuggled up on the bed.

Zachary scored his first goal of the season this past Saturday.  He had quite a few attempts, and needed the confidence to just punch it in.  He's been riding high since that moment.  Brady and I are, too.

Today, Kate turned 5.  I will of course post all about Kate and her birthday, but it's surreal to step back and look at a post like this that has the feel of a regular day and realize this is exactly what I want in my life right now.  I love the soccer practices, the reading and piano practice, and even cleaning the bathroom.  I'm irritable if I can't get my workout in until late at night or if I don't get sleep, but these things are happening less frequently so I'm seeing more rainbows on rainy days.