Heatwave 18, Villains 12 Yaaay!

It was our first victory of the season against the mighty villains! It was a tuff game and it required some luck to win it. One of their kid's flag fell off as he had broken free 5 yards from their end zone. We had pretty good defense though.. as yours truly was coaching the D. We even held them after they had a 1st and goal on our 7 yard line! We made some great stops and had some lucky breaks. Isaiah did fine, we didnt try as many passes this time. Only two and Isaiah threw them very softly and they only got half way to the reciever, I'm not sure what that was about. I was yelling all over the place and contesting calls and everything.. Joanna had to calm me down! Isaiah ran the ball alot but couldn't break free. Our little RB broke two 60 yard TD's and the other RB broke one also. We couldn't score on any of our passes though. It was an exciting game.

Gabriel not crying anymore at preschool

He didn't cry all the way there and after I dropped him off he waved bye-bye and "voila" no tears. He actually appears to be enjoying himself and he even talks to the teacher and does his homework. After his two hours at preschool it was school picture day and he didn't like that. He started yelling "I don't wanna take a picture!" But the photographer was really good and the picture came out well. so I'll send some out cuz I don't know how to post pics on this blog.

"King Mathias" Lego Knights' Kingdom Figures now on sale at TOYRUS!

Pretty Cool. I bet there aren't too many toys named Mathias (and this guys a King with a sword and shield and everything...)

Gabriel only cried for 5 minutes today at preschool

Right after I left him.

Out of a two-hour stay at preschool. I peeked in on him and he wasn't crying when I came to pick him up and he was actually talking to the teacher and looking interested in what he was doing.

He also colored a picture of adam and eve and animals. I'm real proud and happy with his progress and he hasn't had a single potty accident after the first pee-pee incident so that's good.

He still cries when I take him though...

Isaiah's Heat Wave Team Loses 7-0

It was a tough loss to take. We had a TD punt return called back because a block in the back. Our coach was completely lost out there. Its like he all of a sudden didnt even know football. We're lucky we only lost by that much. Isaiah saved a touchdown as the game ran out, running down the RB from the far side of the field. He was the furthest guy from the play and he ran the dude down and pulled his flag at the 3 yard line. The kid had ran for 40 yrds. Our coach kept on trying long passes. Isaiah can get it there but the kids cant really catch them. I dont know what he was thinking. I dont think we even got a first down. The coach coudnt even get them to line up right. It was bad. Isaiah is pretty good though, I'm sure we'll get better but the coach was terrible. He must be nervous or something.

"Maya & Miguel" Toys Now Available

At Toys R' Us. Who knew our kids would be famous so soon? It's mostly Maya stuff though including (no kidding) her "Siesta Time Playset," cuz we all know how much Mexicans like to siesta.

Gabriel's 1st fight at school

I forgot to tell you guys about this, but when I was getting Gabriel acclimated to preschool, some nice friendly little kid named Timmy comes up into Gabriel's personal space and starts saying "I'm bigger than you" and measuring himself by waving his hand up near Gabriel's head.

Gabriel hates people crowding him and as soon as Timmy's hand touches his head he lets loose with a straight stiff jab that catches the friendly little guy right in the gut. Timmy's eyes get real big. The air in Timmy's little belly whooshes out with a surprised "ooooooohhhh!!" and he staggers back three or four feet and falls over.

As immediately begin to admonish Gabriel, the kid gets back up gets real close again and asks, "Hey, why did you do that for!!?" in a hurt tone. Gabriel promptly smacks him with the identical punch which delivers identical results.

I have to say objectively that Gabriel packs a pretty mean whallop and doesn't pull his punches. His jab is reminiscent of Larry Holmes' in his prime. After he knocks you down he yells "Knock out!!" and throws his hands in the air. Then he jumps up and down with his hands raised in victory while making that "Ding, ding, ding!" bell sound, just like that green boxer guy from the "Punchout!!" Video game.

But Gabriel will usually warn you before engaging in fisticuffs. he puts up his dukes in a classic fighting stance and calls out in Spanish "En guardia! Pelea!" (En guard, Fight!) before throwing any punches. But as little Timmy can attest, if he whacks you right out of the blue, you've had it, because he aims right for the belly he has really quick hands and he shows no mercy.

My mother-in-law was appalled by this custom which she discovered after Gabriel caught her with a one-two punch in her living room. She blames me of course, but I have no idea where he learned this and I don't know where that punching bag in the living room or the tiny pair of boxing gloves come from either.

Miguel

Miguel is a happy little tyke, who loves wrestling with Gabriel, jumping on the rebounder, sticking things in his mouth, biting people and generally causing havok.

He turned one on August 2nd and seems to be progressing physically faster than Gabriel (walking, running, earlier, etc.) He seems a lot more relaxed and laid back as well as more trusting and social. he's a handful, but he is easier to take care of in just about every way. (Less crying, less pooping, less general fussiness)

Maybe he's more laid back because we're more relaxed or something.

The joke about the second kid is true. The first kid drops the pacifier and you sterilize it before giving it back to him. The second drops it and you wash it off and pop it in his mouth, the third you just blow on it and pop it right back in. The fourth you glance at disapprovingly and tell him to pick up the pacifier. The fifth one you just whack on the back of the head and say "Pick that up! Don't drop your pacifier in that dog poop "Sonso," I paid good money for it at the Salvation Army!"

Miguel is also tougher because he has to put up with Gabriel torturing him all the time. Gabriel bumps and pushes him all the time and he likes grabbing things out of Miguel's hands and leaving Miguel in a dark room and slamming the door shut on him. All sorts of mean things.

Miguel fights back, pulls hair, bites and punches back but most of the time he does it with a big smile on his face.

Gabriel did better today.

Did as little bit of his assigned work. Peed in the preschool toilet by himself and cried "not even 60% of the time."

Gabriel's first week of Preschool

We started Gabriel in preschool last week. He's gonna be four on Oct. 16 which means he starts kindergarden next year and we wanted to get him acclimated. It's a really nice school and it's only five minutes away from our house.

This whole endeavor will take some doing, because Gabriel is very shy and he doesn't like strangers. He is also very structured and doesn't like changes. I told you guys about the potty training troubles which he finally got over, after lots and lots of screaming and yelling. Now when he goes potty he has this whole routine. We have two separate liquid soap containers and when he washes his hands he gets exactly one drop out of the one on his left and uses it to wash his left hand. then he gets exactly one drop from the one on his right and uses it to wash his right hand. Then he lines the soap containers up exactly, with their little handles pointing at each other before he dries his hands and leaves.

Gabriel also screams bloody murder and fights like the dickens every time we wash or cut his hair. So if we let him have his way he would basically be a recluse with long filthy hair and subsists entirely on waffles with butter.

I took Gabriel to the preschool about 10 times before he started and we met the teachers and played with the toys and stuff, but I knew once I left him there alone all h** would break loose. It was heart-wrenching to peel him off of me and have to listen to him cry and repeat over and over in English and Spanish, "Don't leave me here, I don't like it!" The deep shuddering sighs he let out on the second day on the way to the school were even worse.

He only goes 3 times a week for two hours a day, but you'd think I was dropping him off at the Gulag. The first day he cried 90% of the time he yelled "I want my Papi!" over and over. The second day he cried 80% of the time and the third day he cried 50% of the time. The staff said he's really making progess even though he won't participate in activities and he doesn't talk unless he has to. When he gets home he is really happy and exceptionally well-behaved because he thinks if he's really good he can talk me into not taking him back.

So this whole process has been heart-wrenching, but I don't want him to be like our cousin Gabriel who flunked Kindergarden because he was so shy that he wouldn't raise his hand and ask to go to the bathroom. Gabriel is the same way and he already had a pee-pee accident on one day. He won't even acknowledge a stranger's presence, so I don't know how he'll be able to talk to the teacher so that she can show him the way to the toilet and how he'll be able to pee in a strange place in front of someone he doesn't know'.

Let's see how he does today....

Last week of practice before the big game.

Isaiah's team is not ready for the first game this Saturday, we havent even practiced defense yet. Coach is a newbie coach and has a hard time making good personnel decisions, putting kids where they do not belong. I hope we dont get blown out. For instance , he set up a kickoff return team and i had 4 kids returning the ball against 8 kids. Isaiah ran back 3 for touchdowns and he shouldve been on the kickoff team. We might get creamed if changes arent made. We dont even have a reverse play, the most effective play against little guys. Oh well, it should be interesting.

Mayas First day of School