I'm officially a soccer mom!

Noah's bumped forehead

Noah started soccer this fall- Wednesday was his first game. Seth had been practicing with him in the backyard, but we soon discovered that kicking a ball around with Daddy in the yard is much different that trying to kick a ball when there is a pack of very physical little 4 and 5 year old surrounding it. Poor Noah tried hard, but he was content to just follow behind all the little boys, knowing that he should be running with them, but not really seeming to understand that his goal was to actually kick the ball and take it away from the other team. He was usually a good 6 feet behind the mob, and was happy as a clam carrying on a conversation with his imaginary friend, Super Alicia, and stopping every once in a while to wave at us and give us a thumbs up. I thought it was hysterical to watch and that he was very sweet, but Seth just couldn't understand why he wasn't going after the ball like the other kids. At one point Seth mumbled under his breath "he's the biggest kid out there, why isn't he going after the ball?" Well, I could tell him why. One time Noah did get in the group and he accidentally butted heads with another kid and got a huge goose egg on his forehead. He cried and cried and had to go out of the game. I thought he was being a little dramatic until I saw the huge bump on his head- poor little guy! Another kid on the other team was very aggressive and pushed the kids around- no matter what team they were on. The coaches told him not to push, but not two seconds later Noah ran by him and as they were running the kid stuck his arm out and pushed Noah to the ground. The next time Noah came over to get a drink he was very upset saying "the coach told him not to push and he did it anyway. Doesn't he speak English??" When they were done playing, I asked Noah if he had fun and he emphatically said "Yeah!". Then he added "Well, I'm actually quite exhausted, but MOM! Every single child got their own SNACK!!!!" And that made it all worth it!