I realize I just posted photos of my niece yesterday, but I had some more from our day at the pool that I wanted to share with you. She is just so stinking cute, I could eat her up! (And Sophie, if you're reading this, I could eat you up too – you know you're my sweet pea!)

Neenee loved Sophie's goggles, so Sophie dug around in her bottomless swim bag and pulled out a pair for her…

Suddenly, a whole new world opened up for Natalie, and she was no longer afraid to put her face in the water. She loved the idea of goggles so much, she dug around in Sophie's bag for yet another pair. These weren't such a good fit…

So she dug and donned another pair…

…And was very pleased with herself.  But soon it turned into an obsession, and she started scrounging in other children's swim bags for them. Eventually, Mike distracted her long enough to teach her the Hook 'em Horns sign (which will come in handy when she's older, since she is a Texan, after all)…

Soon it was time to switch goggles again and head back out to the outdoor pool, where she showed Uncle Mike how she could put her face under water. Uncle Mike was very proud of her, and gave her a high-five…

Meanwhile, my Sophie was swimming by herself, quite content with the one pair of goggles Neenee wasn't allowed to try on. 😉

After all, she had to share her Best Buddy for 2 days…a girl's gotta keep something for herself!

There’s something about her Uncle Mike that my niece Natalie just adores. He’s always been very soft-spoken with her, and has a very gentle way about him when it comes to little people.

At the pool, Mike worries what parents think when their children flock to him like he’s some sort of Pied Piper. After all, their children seemingly fall in love with this adult stranger who has no problem behaving as if he’s one of them. They’ll splash him and he’ll splash back, they’ll show him their water toys and he’ll pretend they’re the coolest things he’s ever seen, and eventually they all start to climb onto him, begging for dolphin rides or pretend monster battles… and at that point, the fun must calm down. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of world we live in.

Natalie is no different in her fascination with Mike, except for the fact that this man, who is adored by every child he meets, isn’t just a stranger to her. He’s her uncle. And Sophie was gracious enough to share him with her, just for a moment (but with some possessive apprehension, of course) at my parents’ house during our 4th of July visit…

She’s back home in Texas now, no doubt charming her Uncle Paul, who is completely besotted with her. Natalie is like that: she’s adored by every grown-up she meets.

Except for when she wants to have real monster battles. 😉

When Sabrina was in Germany, she became quite the FIFA fan, donning the glorious Deutschland colors and cheering the team on with her German family. Since Mike is also an avid "football" fan, she brought him an official jersey as a souvenir, and included her sisters in the World Cup action as well.

As soon as the jerseys were on their new owners, a transformation took place, and suddenly our back yard became Federation of Fußball's best kept secret…

When Brea was little and was on a soccer team, she used to spend the entire game doing cartwheels. Therefore, I marvel at her athletic prowess.

And if this doesn't give you heebie-jeebies goosebumps, you need to pay the doctor a visit…

(One of Mike's dreams has always been to design the World Cup uniforms.)

(And Sophie thinks all athletes should make sure their press-on nails are in place before every game.)

And the crowd goes wild, as the ball is passed to the player-with-no-number, Mike Stewart!

By the way, when Bean was shopping for an official jersey for her dad, she couldn't seem to find any with the player numbers or names on them, which is what she was searching for. After all, isn't that what we Americans do when we choose our favorite athlete's name and number? Turns out the Europeans find it tacky to wear a professional athlete's team member information on their clothing, which came as quite a surprise to Sabrina – and the rest of us! I can imagine the look on her German sister Julia's face when Sabrina announced that all the jerseys were oddly blank!

Sabrina, you're a sweet girl for bringing back such cool souvenirs for your family. (I got some amazing ones myself – including a set of cookie cutters in the shapes of ampelmann, which I found to be the most unique, fun gift I've ever received!)

Maybe next time you could bring your dad back some cleats or something.

Welcome home, sweet girl!