One of Those Days

We had a pretty fantastic Saturday this past weekend. We started the morning with Nathan's first soccer game! He was so excited. He calls his games soccer meetings and talks about water breaks and warming up and his team cheer. And he has asked since the day we talked with him about playing soccer who will come to watch his games and asks us to yell, "Go Nathan Go!" while he is playing.

It was adorable watching the three and four year olds play. Nathan is figuring out the game but really doesn't understand much of what is going on. He runs in the general direction of the ball, but always looks over at the sidelines and waves as he is running by. And we had to stop mid game for a potty break too :).

Even though he isn't the most talented kid on the team, I'm really proud of his cheerful attitude, his obedience to his coach, and the fun he has on the field. I'm excited to see how much he improves as the season plays out.

I was thinking all week how Saturday would be a dream come true and I would be a Soccer Mom! I've always looked forward to raising a family and  to the future when sports and other activities were apart of our lives. Sometimes I can't believe we're already in that season of life.  I'll always be Nathan's biggest fan, no matter what he decides to pursue. I just love that kid!

Samuel and Elisabeth were great spectators too.

Samuel always follows everything Nathan does and wants to do whatever he is doing. (I've been talking to Nathan about what a big influence he has on his little brother), so he had a hard time watching on the sidelines instead of getting in on the action. We had to run after him a couple times when he darted to the middle of the field. But food is a good distraction for him.

Nathan's team is the Blue Monsters, and he loves the fun team cheer they do at the beginning and end of the game.

After the soccer game, we loaded up and headed to the zoo for the afternoon. I packed a lunch for everyone and we spent a couple of hours walking around, seeing a few animals, riding the train, and playing on the playground.

The animals were more active than we're used to seeing. I don't know if it's because we went later in the day or if the weather was just better, but we saw penguins swimming, a chimp feeding her baby, and elephants with their trunks wrapped around each other. It was a fun afternoon.

We even managed to keep the boys awake on the drive home. We came home and rested for a couple of hours. No one ended up napping though (except Elisabeth). Nathan asked if we could go to Chick Fil A for supper, and we thought it was a great idea. A new Chick Fil A recently opened closer to where we live, so it was fun to check it out. Samuel was so over tired, he couldn't sit still to eat, but other than that it was a fun time. After we ate, we all spent some time in the play area. The boys played, Elisabeth scooted around on the floor, and Matt and I laughed at our sweet boys.

Samuel really had no idea how to play without Nathan. While Nathan was finishing eating, we let Samuel in the play area and after going down the slide once, he sort of just hung out by the door wandering around. Once Nathan was with him though, he had a blast. He followed him around doing everything Nathan did. A few times he came down the slide and couldn't immediately see Nathan. He would yell, "Where's Nathan?" I just love that they are such good friends and love each other so much. It will be interesting to see how Elisabeth fits in to that dynamic as she gets older.

We came home, had baths, watched part of a movie, and had our bedtime routine. Sweet Elisabeth was worn out from her busy day, and fell asleep so easily taking her bedtime bottle. I just rocked her, stared at her, and cuddled her for way longer than I usually do. I know how quickly her baby stage will be gone, and I wanted to capture it and bottle it up. I ran my fingers through her fine baby hair, rubbed her chubby fingers, and kissed her rosy (from a little too much sun) cheeks before I put her in her crib.

Our over tired Samuel had a rough time going to sleep, so I snatched him out of his crib a little later and rocked him. I don't think I've rocked him since Elisabeth has been born. But he was so tired, he gave in and relaxed in my arms. I sang to him and watched his heavy eyelids fight to stay open before he gave in to sleep. I smelled his freshly bathed baby-shampooed hair, stared at his perfect, peaceful face, and choked up as I felt the weight of him in my arms, overwhelmed with gratitude that he belongs to me, and at the same time my heart breaking for how quickly he is growing up. It was a really perfect way to end the day.

When we were driving home from the zoo, I commented to Matt that back before we had kids (probably even before we were married), whenever I thought about the future and having children, a day like Saturday was one of those days I was imagining and looking forward to. It was just a really fun day with our three awesome kids, spent as a family. I also commented that I didn't think about all the diaper changes (some in the back of the van), or the grouchy tired child, who refused to eat his dinner, or the pure exhaustion after getting all three successfully asleep. But while I didn't think about those aspects back when I looked forward to the future, I also know that I won't remember those parts twenty years from now when I reminisce about the times when our children were small.

Instead, I'll remember chatting happily with Nathan at the zoo and the way he grabbed my hand, smiled up at me, and said, "I love you, Mommy." I'll remember Samuel yelling at the tigers to "Wake Up" and Elisabeth completely conked out sitting up in her stroller as we wandered around the zoo. I'll think about the way she fit perfectly nestled in my arms as we rocked and listened to lullabies. I'll laugh at the image of Nathan running down the soccer field not paying attention to the ball, but instead smiling and waving at his fans on the sidelines and think of the Samuel's sweet baby voice singing "Hallelujah, Praise Ye the Lord" on the drive home from the zoo.

These days with Little Ones are hard, but they are good.