P's first soccer game

P's team had their first soccer game at the end of September. He was very excited when it was time to leave for the field. He loved his "shiny shorts" Grandma Hen sent, and I thought the uniform might be his favorite part of game nights, but on our way down the stairs and out the door, he asked, "Mommy, are you and C comin' to watch me?" and when I replied in the affirmative he exclaimed, "Well, okay! I want someone to come and watch me every time I play!".

When we arrived at the field, P received his shirt (clearly the printers took their time this year) and changed into full uniform.

He posed for a photo with his "bes' friend" Colby. P kept making strange faces for the camera, but when I asked him to smile he explained, "I have to keep my face like this, because I have my mouthguard in and this is the way it makes my face look."

I didn't get a great shot because of where I was standing and where the sun was in the sky, but I did the best I could to get the whole team on camera.

I was very proud of P. We were lucky enough to draw the earliest (5:30pm) games for the entire season, but since he has pretty much outgrown his nap that is still late for him. He's the youngest on his team, because technically the youngest age bracket for city soccer is 5 - 6 year olds, but we squeezed him in there anyway because we're rebels he liked soccer camp so much this summer. Despite the evening game times and his young age, he was out there running after the ball! (He's number 8.)

Remember that mouthguard I mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago? Yup, that one. P really really really doesn't like it. Every time he came off the field for water, half time, Gatorade, or to sub out, it wasn't in his mouth. We had this exact conversation at least four times the night of the first game:

Me: Where's your mouthguard?

P: I don't know... (looks down at shoes)

Me: Well, you have to wear it to play soccer. That's one of the rules, and it's to keep you safe. I have an extra one. Do you need me to open it, or do you think you can find the one you already have?

P: (devilish grin) It's in my pants. 'Cause I don't like to wear it. It feels funny.

Me: What do you mean it's in your pants? Your soccer shorts don't have pockets... (cue P reaching down INTO the front of his soccer shorts/underwear and retrieving his mouthguard) P, that's gross! Don't put that... (the mouthguard is back in P's mouth) ...back in your mouth! Listen, buddy, I know you aren't used to wearing a mouthguard, but you need to keep it in your mouth when you're on the field.

And back onto the field my mouthguard-wearing soccer player would go.

C saw our good friend Amanda when we entered the soccer complex and had sweet-talked her into hanging out with him before I even had P in his new shirt. The game she was watching was right next to ours (the fields shared a sideline) so she and C split their time watching two different games.

Of course, when the game was over, the teams showed good sportsmanship and high-fived. I'd tell you what the score was, except they don't keep score for the youngest division because "it doesn't matter". Um, okay. They pay referrees, but I guess that's just to keep things fair between the teams. If they had kept score, the kids wouldn't have had to do it themselves. :) We wouldn't have been the winning team, but everyone had a good time.

P's coach gave every team member a little bottled water and a package of two brownies with orange icing. P shared his treat and gave one of the brownies to C.

The boys decided that since it was "fair" because they both had a snack, it should be eaten right away. They were both finished with their brownies before we loaded them in their car seats. We all had a good time, which is nice, because there are several more games to go this season!