SoccerTots - Bring It On!

Jack had a cupcake overdose a few weeks ago!

This morning Jack had soccer lessons which we almost missed because I was a little on the lazy side. However, at 9:15am, Jack was sitting on my head and poking my face... I think he was really excited about practice and didn't want to miss it. So, we threw on some clothes and headed to the soccer arena.

Jack's usual coach wasn't there today, so Coach Olivia was in charge. She had all sorts of new games for the kids to play. Jack is one of the younger ones and he didn't understand "dribble the ball through the cones and score a goal". The 3 year old kids got it pretty well, but the younger ones like Jack were kind of off in their own worlds. I didn't expect Jack to understand that or to do it, however, I did expect him to stay with the other kids. Jack wanted to go out of the arena and play. He also wanted to play with toys that weren't apart of the games Olivia had set up. So, I told Jack he had a choice: Either he can play with the toys Olivia had set up and be with the other kids, or he can sit out and watch, but he can't just go do his own thing and pull the balls and other toys out of the storage area. So, Jack sat down and didn't play for about 10 minutes. Finally, he decided that he wanted to play with the other kids so he got up and went over to them. When Olivia would talk, she told all of the kids to look and listen to her. At first Jack didn't want to but I sat him down and told him he can either look and listen to Coach Olivia, or he can sit out again. So he went up to Olivia very quietly and paid attention. For me, this is truly a breakthrough with him. Jack is very independent and likes to do what he wants to do, and this is kind of the first time he's actually listened to me and understood what I was saying. The rest of practice went really well from then on! He even did the entire obstacle course which he's never done before (he usually goes down the slide and then gets back in line.)

After practice we walked outside and I told Jack he had to hold my hand while crossing the street. He told me no and pushed it away. I grabbed his hand and said, "Jack, you can either hold my hand and we go to the car, or you can sit here and we do nothing." He glared at me, and then grabbed my hand and we walked to the car. I didn't like having to be so stern with him and give him ultimatums, but that's what had to be done and it actually worked.

Babycakes is down for a nap now. If the weather stays nice, and by nice, I mean not rain or snow, then I'll take him over to the park to play. He's been a very good boy today, and I think he'd enjoy it. Tomorrow is his second day with swim lessons, so be sure to stay tuned in tomorrow for that adventure!