Tommy's first season of soccer

Tommy is finally old enough to join his siblings in playing Upward soccer.  We joke that he'd play in his cowboy boots if we let him.

Tommy really enjoys soccer, but the sad face here is because I'm making him take a picture when he's not in the mood. I was interested in capturing how he currently writes his name (as seen on his Upwards water bottle).

Tommy loves when he has the ball!

Love that Tommy (far left) plays his games with Pikes Peak in the background!

Tommy, Week before Christmas 2011

Tommy is so excited to show off his "set-ups" that have definitely grown larger since the days of two and three toys in his set-up. I'm constantly hearing, "Mom, come see my set-up! Close yaz eyes!" (yuhz...translates to your) Tommy then leads me to his set-up so thrilled that I've closed my eyes to follow him to his creation.

Tommy fully bundled for his snow play.
Almost fully bundled for outside time! One more layer to go...the "Broncos coat"...just because it happens to be blue and orange, how convenient for our budding Broncos fan!
Thankfully, Tommy loves his snow boots (almost as much as his cowboy boots, but not quite!) I was shocked when he began asking for the snow boots regularly. Not sure why I was shocked since we've had snow on the ground for WEEKS now! This is new for us. It has always snowed and melted away within a few days, but not this year! Tommy has definitely bitten it on the slick ice on more than one occasion in his cowboy boots so he is wise to be asking for the snow boots! It is slippery out there! Our friend even broke his foot slipping on ice just a few days before Christmas.
Tommy has most recently become obsessed with wearing his (one and only) tie. He wants to wear it everywhere. It all started four days before Christmas when Charlie wore a shirt and tie to work (which he NEVER does!) Charlie had to give the message at a teenage girl's funeral and the family had asked everyone to wear her favorite color, pink. Tommy was going to a friend's house for a playdate while Charlie and I went to church for the funeral, but he insisted on wearing a tie like his Daddy. He would not take it off that day, wanting to wear it even for nap. Two days later he was insisting on wearing it to "Uncle Dan and Aunt Anise's" house for our Christmas celebration with Charlie's stepbrother and his wife, despite the fact it is an Easter tie and looked atrocious with his Christmas clothes. I let him wear it with his red sweater vest with which he was delighted. He wore it the entire day that Friday enjoying every minute of it! The next day, Tommy even asked to wear it to the Christmas Eve services we were attending, but I refused. I love that he loves to wear a tie...wonder how long that will last?!?!

Daddy's tie that inspired Tommy's love for his tie (a hand-me-down from his best friend, Reese)!

Tommy Quotables, Dec.2011

Tommy's new friend, Cape, was a great playmate tonight. The boys played Hiden' where Tommy proceeded to count to five or nine and then call what sounded like, "chicken pie," but was really, "Peekin' pie." He was trying to imitate his older siblings who count out loud and then yell, "Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie, whose not ready, call an I!"

Tommy and Cape played, "Catchin' bad guys," in which they found the bad super heros and "caught" them with "nets." They kept bringing bad guys down to show me on the ends of their respective sticks.

After Sarah and Paris decorated bracelets, they decorated Cape and Tommy with war "paint" since they were playing "Mare-icans" (Native Americans) Warriors.

"Baf-tize"...apparently, Tommy thinks the word baptize is really "bath-tize," maybe because when he has seen people get baptized, they are dunked under water in what appears to him to be a large bath tub, hence the word "bath" with his three year old pronunciation "baf-" tize. :) love it!

Today I told Tommy to be brave like Superman when I went to brush his teeth and he was disappointed that the adult "spicy" toothpaste was on his brush instead of the milder kid version. "Mom, me want kid kind!" "Tommy, be brave like Superman." Tommy just looked at me seriously and stated emphatically, "Mom, me NOT Superman!"

I overheard this exchange between Tommy and his new friend, Cape, whom we all fell in love with tonight when he played at our house. They were playing, "Native Americans," which Tommy just calls, "Mare-icans!" with much gusto. As the two little friends ran down the stairs into the basement taking their make-shift weapons with them into their couch-cushion tepees, Tommy declares, "Me have a spear-it!" Cape asked, "A what? A spirit?" Tommy replies with much emphasis, "Spear-it. Me have a SPEAR-it! A pokey thing." Cape seemed slightly distressed in his confusion about Tommy's comments so I say, "Tommy, you mean a spear. You have a spear." Tommy says very matter-of-factly, "MOM, I just said that! A spear-it!"

First snow PLAY day, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011

Of course, we had to make snow cream! Fletch was the only one who didn't want any. He is the least of the sweet tooths in our family. He and Charlie definitely prefer salty to sweet foods. Those crazy boys. Tommy also weirds me out that he often doesn't want and turns down chocolate items. Not sure he is my kid after all! Unfortunately, Tommy is still obsessed with sausage, hot dogs (uggh!) and pizza. How embarassingly American poor food choices! Poor fourth child.

Sweet Tommy said to me after tasting the snow cream for the first time this year, "Ohhh, THANK you, Mommy! Make snow cream. You good cooker!"

Tommy also had another quotable that day that melted me. He saw Noah attempting to sign "more" while he was eating lunch and said, "That's like our friend. (pause) Our cousin. When I play wid' her. 'Cuz her like me. (pause) Her L-O-V-E me!" (I knew exactly what he was talking about but asked him to clarify just to make sure..."Which friend? Which cousin?") Tommy said, "Jew-ya. Ummm, no Samanth-ya." He remembered correctly that it was Manfers who would sign "more" when she wanted him to continue the game he was doing as he interacted with her this summer.