3 Cheers for the Texans!

Back in the spring when it was time to get Connor registered for another season of tackle football, I realized that Kaitlynn was now old enough to sign up for cheerleading as well. Connor's Texans team has never had enough interest to create an entire cheer squad, but this year many of the little sisters were ready to sign up. I approached Kaitlynn with the idea of participating on the Texans cheer squad, but she said she was too shy (say what?) and wasn't interested. Fine by me!

But then Sweet Daddy stepped in and began trying to convince Kaitlynn how fun it would be to wear the cheerleading outfit with pompoms and how she'd be able to cheer for Connor's team to help them win. That was all it took, and then Kaitlynn agreed to sign up.

I wasn't sure how Kaitlynn would handle the responsibilities of cheering on a squad, but I was just glad that her practices would coincide with Connor's so we didn't have to worry about how to get each kid to their respective teams. She seemed excited when it was time to meet with her team and her Coaches, and she especially loved the idea of her new practice shirt and cheer shoes.

Kaitlynn's practice uniform.

Lined up with half of the squad at the first practice.

Cheer pose at the practice field.

From the very first practice, I could tell that Kaitlynn would be iffy on this cheer stuff. She starts out with good intentions but quickly gets bored and distracted.

And here's the honest truth. In Kaitlynn's 5 years in this world, her life's motto has become evident to all around her: IF IT ISN'T HER IDEA, IT AIN'T HAPPENING!

So when Kaitlynn isn't 100% committed to something, there's a good chance it's just not going to go well. I try to keep my distance from her practices, because sometimes my presence there just makes things worse. I'm sure the other Moms are wondering why I'm so much more interested in Connor's activities, but it has nothing to do with that. Kaitlynn usually cooperates so much better when I'm not around. Is this a Mommy/Daughter thing? I'm still trying to figure it all out.

Back to cheering, after a few practices the Texans squad attended a cheer camp at a local high school. Kaitlynn was again being her wishy-washy self and not fully committed to the cheers and dances they were learning. I tried to leave her alone and eventually she started to have fun and learned some of the moves.

She got her pompoms at the cheer camp.

With her squad at the camp.

She actually looks ready to participate here.

Lined up and ready to learn their first cheer.

We are playing this whole cheer thing by ear hoping that Kaitlynn will decide it's something she enjoys so that she cooperates well on the squad. It'll be hard to divide our time between watching Kaitlynn's sideline performances and Connor's game time play, but we're looking forward to the upcoming season.

Meanwhile, Connor has been attending his football practices since mid-July! We couldn't believe they started an entire month earlier this year, but you'll hear no complaints from Connor. As much fun as he's had this summer, he will tell you that his favorite time of summer is football practice. Crazy kid!

I looked outside my office window recently to find this going on in the front yard. Dedicated practice with a golf bag tackle dummy, love it!