First Soccer Game of Spring

It didn't exactly feel like spring out on the soccer field yesterday afternoon at 3:15pm for Sofia's first game of the season. It's still pretty chilly and was a bit windy, but the sun came out just as the game started which really helped. Before the game Sofia was still in her favorite pjs playing with her sister after having a make-up piano lesson and eating ham and cheese sandwiches and apples. We arrived at the field and the girls got warmed up with Coach Jeff and Coach Kevin as the parents socialized. It's great to see all the parents again and we look forward to a fun soccer season. Nearly all the girls returned this year except for Paige, Ella V., and Olivia. Paige had a conflict with soccer, Ella V. and her family are moving and Olivia is now playing select soccer. One of Sofia's classmates, Claire, joined our team and I know her Mom from school functions as well as the Colleyville Garden Club. They will be a great fit. It will be interesting to see what kind of season the girls have without Olivia, who routinely scored the majority of the team's goals. Olivia is not only a very good soccer player but also has a Mom who is very fun and sweet but turns into a crazed soccer mom when Olivia is playing, so the dynamic will change in several different ways. One aspect of having a strong player like Olivia on a team is that the other girls tend to not play as hard since they know Olivia will take the ball and score for them. So, I'm thinking it may be better to have a team without Olivia knowing that Olivia is now on a team that is full of strong players.

The girls played against the Shooting Stars, which includes one of Sofia's friends, Frankie, who recently left their elementary school to go to the Aspire Academy (for gifted kids). The girls were excited to see each other and connected a few times on the field to talk. The game went really well and Aria, Emily and Abby handled the ball mostly but all the girls did a great job and played hard. At one point after halftime, Sofia became the goalie. One thing we love about Coaches Kevin and Jeff is that they believe that each girl should play every position so they are comfortable with the entire game of soccer and shouldn't be pigeonholed into one position all season because they ultimately won't learn what they need to know about the game. That said, I always have a special fear when Sofia puts the orange jersey on and is goalie. Although she's becoming more aggressive, she hasn't been very comfortable stopping the ball with her hands and is a little less sure than she needs to be at times. Before halftime was over, Coach Jeff gave her some advice which must have really worked because Sofia was awesome as the goalie!! One of the players on the Shooting Stars is also named Sofia and is clearly their star player. She took at least four shots on goal while Sofia was goalie and our girl stopped every single shot!!!! She stopped two by grabbing them with her hands and two more by kicking the ball out of the way! It was amazing! She did such a great job and after the game she said she loved playing goalie!

Sofia played both offense and defense in the game and had a few good kicks, especially in her role as defender. The Pink Pirates ended up winning 4-2 and it was a good, fun first game. Throughout the game, Olivia was off with her buddy, Katie who is Abby's older sister. Olivia adores Katie and Katie is just awesome with Olivia. After both teams gave each other high fives, we pulled the girls together for their "official" team photo. Once again, I'm the "team photographer" which I really love to do, although I think I'm a bit rusty. Following the photo, Chloe's mom, Julie passed out cupcakes since it was Chloe's birthday! Of course, both girls gobbled them up (Olivia after dropping her entire first one on the field and having another one). I'd made snicker doodles that afternoon and Sofia ran to the car to share with everyone. It was a really fun first game and we look forward to more fun soccer!

The game begins

Sofia throwing the ball in from the corner

A quick break

Sofia with one of her defensive kicks!

Our soccer player

Getting some goalie advice from Coach Jeff

Our goalie is ready!

One of her awesome stops!

Sofia

After yet another stop!

And another!! Go Sofia!

After the end of the game! Good job, Pink Pirates!

Team photo

Cupcakes!! Happy Birthday, Chloe!

Yum!

Focused on that cupcake!

Sofia's Hoe Down!

Last night Sofia and the entire 2nd grade held their Square Dance Hoe Down at school! The kids have been practicing twice a week for awhile and Sofia has been sure to wear an extra "twirly skirt" on those days so she can "honor her partner" when they practice. As usual, it was difficult to coax Sofia to get up and get ready for school, but when I mentioned that it was Thursday and her Hoe Down was that night, she literally shot out of bed! She and her Papa had picked out a cute pink tutu skirt and pink and light blue plaid collared shirt the night before in anticipation, but I convinced her to wear something else for school so she wouldn't get it dirty or spill on her cute outfit. It was a hard sell, but she decided to wear another skirt and top (because they would be practicing instead of doing PE).

We ate dinner early and headed to school so we could get good seats since the Hoe Down took place in the gym and seats were around the perimeter. We actually got there just after Sofia's friend Shivani and her family, so they chose a square in the corner and we sat right next to them so we could get good pictures and videos. Apparently each kiddo could decide which "square" they danced in and then waited for a boy to show up to be their partner. Over the weeks of practice, I always asked who Sofia's partner was and she always told me she danced with someone different each time. As the gym started to fill up, Jack ended up sitting next to Sofia. Jack and Sofia were in Kindergarden together and he's a sweet kid and approximately a full foot shorter than Sofia too! Sofia's friends Shivani and Emma were also in the square with their partners and before long, the dance started.

Unfortunately, they were short by a few kids so they had one pair of kids left over. After each dance, Coach Baze and Coach Trapegen moved the couple to replace a couple of dancers in our square. Sofia and Jack were the last to be replaced and when they were put back in, they were put into a square across the gym from where we sat. Although not really close to us, we could still see well and were able to get good pictures and videos. Meanwhile, Olivia laid on my lap and relaxed as she watched. She didn't get a nap earlier and could have fallen asleep during the show!

The kids danced to 7 or 8 square dance songs and did a great job! The dances were all different but some were close enough that I'm surprised how they kept them straight in their heads! The dances got progressively more complicated and all the kids did really well with them! After those dances were over, it was time for the grand finale where each square lined up in a straight line together and danced around in a circle all together. Coach Baze called out the dance steps and it went fast and faster! It was pretty crazy and all the kids did an amazing job! With that, the show was over and Mrs. Shimmick thanked the coaches for all their hard work and the kids for such a great job. We were asked to pick up our folding chair and return them to the chair racks out in the hallway. All the kids scattered and ran to their parents and we completely lost Sofia in the chaos. We took up and chairs and after a few minutes Sofia made her way to us. She ran over to her teacher Mrs. Livingston to give her a hug first! She completely adores her teacher, and frankly Mrs. Livingston adores Sofia.

We chatted a little with some of the parents on our way out to our car and headed home where we put two tired girls to bed!

Sofia with "her horse" ready to go to the Hoe Down!

Sweet girl!

Showing off her braids

In the school gym

With her buddy, Shivani

Sitting in her "square" ready to start

Sofia and her partner, Jack

The Hoe Down begins!

Sofia and Jack

Dosey Doe

Honor your partner!

Sofia's friends and classmates Kelley and Allen

Sofia' friend, Emma and her partner

Sofia and Jack

To the right

The group dances all together

Coming together....

....and apart

The next dance begins

Shivani and her partner

Sofia and Jack move to another square

The girls dance together

The whole group together

The final group dance

She LOVED it!

Forward and back!

Sofia with Coach Baze

With her favorite teacher, Mrs. Livingston

Goodbye, Training Wheels!!!!!

Yesterday we went to Meeting, had lunch at Uncle Julio's, stopped by the house to let Buddy out and change clothes (Olivia dumped an entire glass of water on her lap while sitting on my lap so we were both wet), and then headed to Casa Mañana to watch Charlotte's Web, which was really a lot of fun. Both girls loved it and it was a really fun performance.

After the play, we headed home where the girls spent the afternoon riding their bikes in the backyard by the pool. At one point, CK stopped Sofia and removed her training wheels, and she was NOT a fan! She got upset and said that I'd promised her that we wouldn't remove them until she was ready. I explained to her that we should remove them for the afternoon and see how it goes since she rode all the way to the grocery store and back on Saturday without relying on her training wheels at all. Although her training wheels are on the ground while she rides, she is completely balanced while she rides and really doesn't need them. Of course, she didn't love this idea at all. CK took her bike out front and told her that he would hold onto the back of her bike seat while she rode and would not let her fall. She finally agreed to get on her bike but was not happy about it. CK held onto the back of her seat while Olivia tried to help by pushing her back and giving her encouragement while they ran down the sidewalk. I decided to head to the grocery store for a few things and let CK deal with the biking efforts. Knowing she was tired, frustrated at her training wheels being removed, and probably hungry, I figured nothing would come of the attempt to get her to ride and that we'd have to try again then next day. Instead, after being at the grocery store for 45 minutes, CK sent me a video of Sofia riding around the cul-de-sac all by herself with a huge smile on her face! I couldn't believe it! When I made it home shortly after seeing the video, Sofia was riding around the cup-de-sac by our house and loving it. CK told me that she rode solo shortly after I left and that she only needed a little help getting up on her seat and started and also used the curb to stop herself which she'll need to work on. She said she's afraid of hills (going up as well as down) but we explained that she'll find out that they are really easy. She enjoyed riding her bike so much that she didn't even want to go inside as it became dark outside!!

That night, as I tucked her in she said she was falling asleep and her eyes snapped open because she realized that maybe she'd forget everything she learned that day about riding without training wheels. I told her about the saying "it's like riding a bike" and explained that now that she knows how to ride by herself she'll always remember it! She was still a little worried she'd forget how to ride her bike but went to sleep.

This morning, having today off for President's Day, she came down the stairs at 8am wearing her "biking clothes" and ready to ride! Of course, it's 33 degrees and windy out but she headed out front with her bike regardless. Of course she hadn't forgotten how to ride her bike and loved riding around the neighborhood. It was short lived because of the cold though. All day, she pestered me about riding our bikes to Starbucks and back. The weather never got above 36, so I told her that I'd be happy to ride with her one afternoon after school when the weather is better. Plus, I told her that day light savings is coming which means we'll be able to ride our bikes to school and back before long. She agreed to wait on our ride to Starbucks and instead rode around the neighborhood again that afternoon, but was cold after just a few minutes. She's so excited to know how to ride her bike without training wheels! It's so cute!

CK trying to convince Sofia to try a training wheel-free ride

Off they go and Sofia is NOT happy!

Heading down the sidewalk with Papa and Olivia helping

A very happy and proud Sofia after her successful ride!

On Monday afternoon with her "riding clothes" on and in 36 degree weather! She's dedicated!