MERRY TURNS 5!!!

We tried to stop it. We did everything we could. But on September 13th Merry turned 5. It was a fun day. While I was taking the kids to drop them off all across Edmond, Merry said, "WOW Dad! I cannot believe it! I have never been 5 before." That made me laugh.

After I got off of work we let Merry decide where she wanted to have dinner. I just knew we would end up at McDonald's. To my surprise Merry chose Ci Ci's Pizza. Merry said it best when she said her birthday was "lots of good fun."

On the following Saturday we had her birthday party here at the house. She surprised us again by choosing a "Flowers and Butterflies" party instead of the "Princess" party which is still the rage with the 4-6 year old group she hangs out with. She wore her butterfly shirt that "Tookie" (my mom) sent her. Her usual crew minus one were here. Needless to say it was a loud group.

It just amazes me that it has been 5 years since she was born. Because of the time that I was fortunate to have by being at home with her from 4 months old, the fact that she turned 5 really floored me. I have watched her progress from a baby to a toddler to a little girl and now she acts like she is a teenager. I watch her play with her friends or with her siblings and I cannot believe that someday my little girl will grow up and actually want to leave my house. Many people I know who have recently had their kids move to college have told me that I should enjoy every moment because before you know it they will be gone. As all three of my crew get older I remind myself everyday that someday they will be gone...

GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL

After fighting with Raiden's asthma for almost his entire life, we finally have a doctor that has Raiden's breathing under control. Because of this we decided to have Raiden try soccer...finally.

Raiden seems a bit lost sometimes while he is on the field. He tends to be really good at spectating. The team is co-ed and it is interesting watching Raiden interact with girls. He is having fun and that's the main reason I wanted him to play. He plays forward and defense. He enjoys defense because he likes stopping the other team from scoring. He is good at forward because he is one of the fastest kids on the team but he does not kick the ball hard enough to get past the goalie.

So far his team is 0-1-1. His coaches are originally from Scotland and the coach's dad played for the Scottish national team back in the day. The good thing is that the coaches emphasize playing to have fun and not about winning. The soccer league that plays behind our house is filled with "soccer dads" who act like "hockey dads". We decided against joining that league.

We have 2 games this Saturday one at 9am and the other at 11am. Should be a good time.

Pics to come...