Soccer Mom

Well it's official....I'm a Soccer Mom now! Harrison had his first ever soccer practice last night, for his Under 5 Community Soccer League! It was kind of a bittersweet moment as a mom. On one hand I felt so proud to watch him participate in his first team sport event, while at the same time I felt sad as he walked onto the field and I had to relinquish him and some of my power over to his coach, knowing that a part of my job as a mom will be now filled by someone other than me.

When they are babies, you spend all of your precious time cuddling them, feeding them, meeting their every need, making sure they are safe and that they feel secure and won't have any seperation issues as they reach toddlerhood. Then in what seems like only a breath away, they are preschoolers starting activities on their own, and you want to sit on the sidelines and cry for your baby back! I carefully and strategically prepared him for all of these moments, ensuring that he wouldn't feel abandoned by me, when the time came for him to set out and begin the long journey of slowly spreading his wings, which will eventually lead to his independance. But I forgot to prepare my own heart for the trauma of letting go. He was ready....it was me and my heart that couldn't take the agony of being seperated and handing the responsability of teaching him something as important as being a team player over to a complete stranger! Who did this guy think he was?! He's a man for crying out loud...not even a mom! What did he know about my precious preschooler?!

As it turns out....a lot more than I gave him credit for! Harrison loved his first practice, loves his team and adores his coach and hung on every word he said! Not only did Coach Carson teach them how to kick the ball, he taught them how to play Freeze Tag, enticed them into a game of Catch The Coach (Harrison was the only one able to do it!), he helped them name their team (they are now known as the Briar Hill Dinosaurs) and he handed out yellow team t-shirts (Harrison calls his a jersey!). He did all of this while showing a genuine interest in every kid on the team, despite the fact that 2 of his own daughters play on the team, and he encouraged and cheered them on with great enthusiasm...the way a good coach should! I can do all of that, however, providing him his own team to learn and grow from is one thing I can't do. And now that I've seen how much fun he had, I would not want it any other way!

And so I have decided that as a mom, there are certain things only I can give my child, but that does not mean that I am to be his exclusive life's coach. There are many people who will help Harrison on his way, and we will all work as a team to get him to the finish line. Sometimes I will be his coach, sometimes I will be a player, but I will always....ALWAYS, be his greatest fan, cheering him on the loudest from whatever position I happen to play that day. And I will always have a smile to show, tears in my eyes and pride in my heart, for he truely is the brightest star in my sky! (or field!)

Harrison's Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER!!! Here is Harrison enjoying a very happy Easter, full of presents and chocolate! In fact more chocolate than any one kid should ever be allowed in one month, let alone in one day! In other words...the Bunny found us and was more than good to us!

We had a busy weekend full of family and friends we hadn't seen in ages. Good Friday morning, my highschool friend Kim, her hubby Jason and Kim's parents joined my family for brunch, along with some very special guests....our dear friend Angela's younger sister Jennifer and her hubby John were in town from Saskatoon, and had spent the night at Kim's the night before, so they came too. Jenn and I figured out that it's been 10 long years since we last saw eachother...far too long! So we all had a wonderful visit and got caught up, and she got to meet Harrison for the first time...something her sister Angela will be jealous about no doubt!

Harrison enjoyed several Easter egg hunts....and I do mean several! We started with 15 eggs, and after they were all accounted for, we were suddenly down to 14 for the next hunt, then 13....well you get the picture! The egg hunts kept getting shorter and shorter and he kept getting more and more chocolate on his face...no mystery there! There are a couple of my favorite pics of him finding eggs and putting them in the basket to be eaten later!

He also got a pair of Spiderman rain boots and a Spiderman umbrella from my aunt Dianne, uncle Norman (mom's brother) and their 2 boys, Evan and Byron. He loved them! He put the boots on immediately, ran outside with the umbrella and said, "I pretending it's raining!" And that kept him busy until dinner....running up and down the balcony in the pretend rain!!!

We hope you enjoyed your Easter as much as Harrison did, and that the Bunny was good to you too!!!

Dr. Doolittle!

What 3 yr old boy doesn't love playing in the mud, getting a lot of dirt on his jeans and a little manure on his cowboy boots?! Afterall, what are cowboy boots without a little authentic manure on them? Harrison has no trouble with any of the above...in fact he loves it all! So last weekend, we took him out to a child friendly farm in the city called Butterfield Acres, where you get up close and personal with all the farm animals you can imagine. And what better time to be on a farm than springtime, with all the baby animals?!

Harrison got down and dirty, and right into the farm experience....granted he does have a little practice in that department! (after living on a farm for over a year!) And didn't he look the part with his genuine Wrangler jeans, a big Wrangler belt buckle, his John Deere hoodie, his lace up Boulet boots and a ball cap from a family friend's cattle ranch. (with a logo of a bull on the front and their ranch name and brand across the top!)

As you can see from the pics here, he is a real Dr. Doolittle! He loves animals as much as they love him. He is not afraid of any of them, and approaches them slowly, extending his hand out to them, allowing them time to get his scent before he makes any physical contact. I have taught him to be kind and respectful of animals. Due to his caring nature and relaxed and confident approach, animals take to him readily and with ease. In no time, he was in the pens and had the animals at his heels! I am so proud of him for that wonderful gift. I believe one of the greatest gifts we can be given is that of a keen animal sense. Animals instinctively know who to trust, and they have amazing intuition and are excellent judges of character. And so it makes me proud when I see all the animals trusting him and eating out of his hand, for I know he has a good heart and a pure spirit.

He had a fabulous time feeding the horses, petting the pigs, cuddling the bunnies and rounding up all the lambs and having them follow him everywhere! Despite the fact that it was cloudy and then began to rain, soaking us and leaving us frozen down deep to the bone....it didn't dampen his spirits and he continued his work "whispering" to the animals! What a beautiful day afterall!