Tennis Lately

I kind of forgot I even had a blog in these past two months. I'm just going to pick up with all of the sports we've had in the last weeks.

Freddy and Zita did a tennis tournament in mid Febraury. Freddy was happy to do it, Zita not so much.

 He played on a far court on the other side of a chain-link fence for his first match, so I got no pictures of that, but for the second match I stood at the gate where coaches normally stand.
Freddy is never too bothered about winning or losing and looks bewildered at the many tears shed by other boys when they lose.

I took a million pictures of Zita, not because of favoritism, but because she had good center courts, good light (except for the first game), and played a lot more matches. She took second in the 14 and older category! 

When Sebby saw her trophy, he said "oh look Zita! You won some cheese!" In fact it does look exactly like a wedge of cheese. 

Tennis, Tennis, and More Tennis

Freddy did a great job in his first tournament playing "real tennis." He's played in a mini tennis tournament with foam balls, scoring to 10, and only using half of the court. This was the real deal.  He entered with no expectations and was cool as a cucumber, playing his bst tennis throughout. First round: win. Second round: loss (to the boy who went on to win the whole tournament) 

The next weekend was Zita's turn. Her coach wanted her to do a 16 and under tournament that proved to be a big challenge.

I was so proud of her for not getting discouraged and taking it to heart. She walked off the court with a smile, undeterred from entering another tournament, only next time she's like to play with girls her own age.

Moojie is the best big brother at these things. He keeps me up on the score and always knows what's going on.

Seb kept saying "there's Zita! She's playing tennis! There's Zita! What's Zita doing?" I think we finally passed the point where it is a huge chore having Seb on the sidelines at sports events. He was absolutely fine, and most importantly quiet (enough not to be taken out of the vicinity anyway :) )

We all got a turn seeing some amazing tennis at the Estoril Open. Lucky Mooj got great seats for the final.

Mooj at Zita went together mid-week as well.

This Estoril Open finished, but we're eagerly awaiting the 

Roland Garros and another tournament for the kids this weekend. 

Recent Tennis Tournaments in Photos

Zita did her first two real ( federated) tennis tournaments during our first week of Easter break. I absolutely loved watching her play; during her lessons, I'm busy chasing Seb around and never see more than a few minutes. Seb fell asleep koala style so I got to watch two sets uninterrupted.

I'm not sure how many tournaments she'll be doing throughout the year, but I need to organize a little better next time as far as court side entertainment goes. Freddy was not a keen spectator after a few hours of blazing sun and absolute quiet. Seb also wanted no part of staying still when he was awake. 

Back to Tennis

Freddy was excited to try out his new Christmas racket and tennis shoes. Finding these shoes for him was the true Christmas miracle for us this year. I had almost given up. While his current shoes were springing new holes every day, we were running out of options when we decided to go back to the original place we had already tried. He took the first pair he tried on and one week later, he still likes them. 

 Seb loves messing up all of the equipment while I go around behind him putting it all back.

 

His burn shows up in the cold, but it looks like a darling rosey cheek, not a burn scar. Thank goodness for that. 

 He watches Freddy longingly as if he knows it's more exciting to be playing on the court, swinging a racket around, than it is to be stuck in the stands shifting cones around.

 A few more years and he'll be out there too.

Exercising and Exersaucing

I personally don't partake in either, but both are fun to watch. 

Filled to the Brim

That's how this lead up to the end of the year feels. I'm throwing this mish mash up while Freddy brushes his teeth and Seb tears apart a magazine. Mooj is strumming away on the guitar, and Zita is sprawled out after a packed day.
I hope I never forget the details of these ordinary days.
If I can get on the computer tomorrow, I'll get captions on these photos.

Okay- Seb is all squared way playing with Zita on the floor.
The kids tennis coach couldn't make it last week, so Mooj came fresh off the beach and hit balls with them. They are starting to reach the point where they will accept some of Moojie's pointers, and Moojie is scaling back the criticism helpful hints just enough to make a rally feasible.

Freddy snapped this of me just before we got Sebby down for the night. 

Zita has been to the dentist twice in the past week. The first time for a cleaning/flouride and sealants, and the second time to fill cavities.  We had gone in see about braces and came out with lots of brushing samples and instructions. Thankfully they were so small that it was easy and fast to fix them. What one can't see in this picture, is that the view from the dental chair is nothing but palms trees and the ocean. 

I'm how many years into motherhood and still without a birthday party gift cupboard? Too many. This is Zita on the way home from yet another birthday party where they had a crazy hair station. The green spray actually makes her green eyes pop. 

Half a bottle of conditioner and a lot of tugging with a thick comb got her back to normal.