For the love of the game

I absolutely believe that baseball is one of the most wonderful things about being an American. Something about the smell of the grass, the pace of the game, the hot dog/bbq smell, and kids running around with their gloves and hats makes me feel like life is so good (which it is). So you can imagine my utter happiness when my son decides that he loves the game too. I am picturing the blissful years ahead, packing snacks, lounge chairs, and sunscreen to baseball fields to cheer on my firstborn. Of course that hinges on him still loving the game as he grows up, but I'm not ready to consider that option yet.

To say he was excited about playing t-ball is an understatement. I am one of the coaches (along with my good friend/neighbor Jaymie) so we were able to take a lot of the equipment home. That turned into him becoming attached to a certain helmet which he slept, ate, and traveled to Costco in. He constantly talks about how hard he can throw, how far he can hit, and how fast he can run. When it came time for our first game this past week, it all culminated in one of the best days of my life. To see my son in uniform (Red Sox too, one of the benefits of coaching is you get to pick your team) and playing on a team, it was heaven. I think I'm sounding a little dramatic about this simple event, but being someone who grew up playing every sport every year all year round and loving it, this just makes me happy. If he changes his mind later and decides ballet is his thing, then I'll learn to love that :)

He has six more games so there will be plenty more pics, here's just a few from opening day.

This was his team pre-game in the dugout. Coaching tball has little to do with baseball knowledge and lots to do with child management strategies. Cole is sitting on the bench, hat and glove on.

My little slugger, so excited!
This is the helmet that became a permanent part of his wardrobe for a few days. He's getting ready to bat first. He did a great job hitting the ball off the tee hard, but we definitely need to work on running to first base, not chasing the ball! He's so used to shagging his ball after he hits it off like we do at home that he chased right after it.
His gal pal Ellie.
Bumble the Bee, our local Salt Lake Bees mascot, was there signing autographs and such. We waited in line and when it was his turn Cole says, "Will you please sign my hat?" When Bumble took it and kneeled down, Cole turned and gave me this face and said "He is signing my hat!" It was adorable.
Later that night when Cole was talking about his day he told me he loved Bumble.
The loyal fans! Mom and Tegan broke a few speeding laws I hear to make it in time for the game, we're so glad they did :) Jess was the official videotaper, and poor Tyler had to work. We love him!
Eating at Chili's post-game. My kids cannot be bothered to stop eating for a picture.
Some pics from earlier in the month...Kate has now graduated to piggy tails almost everyday and they are the absolute cutest thing I have seen. She is our sunshine!!! Happy, warm, constant. And Cole is our lightning, bright and brilliant and unpredictable. Those were kind of cheesy analogies. Oh well. I'm feeling more wordy than usual.

Playing catch with daddy in the front yard.
I love love love this kid!

Tyler had the opportunity to take his 15 scouts to Goblin Valley and Moab this past weekend, which is in Southern Utah. He is the ultimate scoutmaster and loves what he does and does it so well. We miss him when he's gone but feel great that he gives so much to his calling and does it all with a big smile. This is one of the slot canyons they hiked through. How handsome is he?

Kissing the rock that looks like a face. Kind of jealous, I must say.

Delicate Arch with Tyler below.

Just another of sweet Kate to end with. She's crawling like a pro, she has two forms: one is a scoot where she tucks her right leg under while she scoots around so she can sit up quickly, the other is the basic crawl which she will only choose when she's in turbo mode and sees something she wants right away. She loves standing though and cruises everywhere along the furniture. She's kind of independent for a 11 month old and will just crawl around checking out all the rooms while I am making dinner or playing with Cole. She is so mellow and even tempered.

Here's a video of the scoot! I thought she'd break out the turbo speed to get the chocolate graham I placed on the floor, but I don't think she knew what it was or else she would have hurried faster :)

Featured!!

We once became friends with this great couple, Tyson and Julie. They had just gotten married when we met, we were recently married and child-less as well, and we quickly found out we had much in common - we honeymooned to the same place, attended the same university, we all loved meat, and Julie and I were both first grade teachers in the same district. And then we moved away to Farmington, and they ended up moving away out of state, and we really miss them! But we still keep in touch. And Julie has a terrific blog called teacher-2-mom.blogspot.com with wonderful ideas for moms from moms who used to be teachers. Anyway, I got to guest post on her blog last week and you can see it here: http://teacher-2-mom.blogspot.com/2011/04/moms-who-teach-mondays.html. Just a few things I do with Cole each week. It was fun! And made me want to do more.

Check back soon - on my to-do list for this week is to blog about Cole's first tball game! Adorable!

Spring!

Time for the monthly post! Tyler turned almost 30, Kate learned some new tricks, and Cole starting tball in a couple weeks would be the highlights. But we've also done a lot of other super exciting things such as changing diapers and cleaning up toys, so don't think we've just been sitting around :) I also registered Cole for preschool this morning which was an exciting thing for me. He'll start in the fall at Knowlton (where I taught for five years) and I am just bursting. It's such an amazing program and the teachers have been doing it forever together and are my good friends, they are great educators and do so many wonderful things. It's such a highly recognized preschool that they have had to go to a lottery system to determine who gets in, where you register and they draw names and you wait and see if you were lucky. But since I was a former teacher and still sub there, they let Cole bypass the lottery so we're in! Anyway, it's a big step for me and him and I'm excited.

Kate is 10 months old now! And doing so many adorable things. She is sweet and affectionate, she loves to put her head on my shoulder when I'm holding her and hugs soft things like soft animals and blankies. She waves bye/hello, claps, and does this adorable head tilt smile when she has a lot of attention. She loves taking baths and being outside. Hates getting diaper/clothes changed. She is our little sunshine and we can't get enough of her sweetness.

Mom came to visit and took us ice skating for Cole's first time! He was "so essited", he's beeng talking about wanting to go all winter. He loved it and my arms were soooooore after from holding him up the whole time :)
These two play so cute together, he is such a great big brother. We've given him "brother jobs" that make him feel important because it's only things that big brothers get to do, things like throwing the diapers in the trash or getting toys to give to Kate when she's bored. He takes them very seriously and never turns down a job as long as it's called a brother job. Last week we put the tent up for a couple days in the living room, it made for some great times.
Tyler's birthday!! He turned 29 and wanted to go for a hike so that's what we did. We got up early and it happened to be a beautiful day so we were pretty excited. We packed up the kiddos in the backpacks and headed up Davis Creek Trail looking for Pretty Valley. We never found it, but had a great time looking for it! The foot of snow made finding the trail difficult in some parts. We saw a cool waterfall though and enjoyed the sunshiney day. There's just something about being outside as a family with no other distractions that I just crave. We always feel more bonded after.
This kid loved the upgrade from the frontpack to the backpack :) And after about 30 mins....
She took a little snooze.
The boys having fun too.
I saw this on the hike back, I thought it was awfully romantic. Tyler thought it was awfully disrespectful. I think we're both right. (it says "will you marry me")
Birthday pie! A blackberry pie for my birthday boy, made with lots of love.
Cole showing off his new suit, how handsome are my guys?
The fam came over for a Sunday birthday dinner, Kate was completely relaxed with uncle Shane.
For the family birthday dinner we had regular birthday cake. We let the candles burn a little longer than usual, and when Tyler held up the cake in front of me to let Cole help blow them out, he blew candle wax all over my white shirt! Still trying to figure out how to get that out.
We were lucky enough to get to go home for 2 weekends this past month while Tyler did Woodbadge (a scout camp for leaders). Kate loved swinging in grandma's swing while watching the dogs chase balls.
Sorry, out of order...but we had to put the gate up. Kate is moving around so much and so fast it was starting to worry me so we put it up. Aren't they the happiest prisoners you've ever seen?
Just had to share these great rainbow cupcakes we made when we were working on the letter R with Cole, aren't they fun! And they were delicious and easy to make.
Okay, back to grandmas. Cousins Jackson and Josh were also in town on one of the weekends and the boys had so much fun hanging out together. Jack and Josh were so sweet to include Cole and put up with some of his "younger" behaviors like taking toys that he wants or, I guess it mostly was just taking things that they were playing with :) I loved seeing them interact and hope they can have a connection even though they live thousands of miles away.
Nominated for best uncle award!
It's fun going to grandma's because you get to do what you want and have whatever you want!
Dressing up with daddy's do rags.
Ready for tball!! Only 16 days till our first game. This kid can barely contain himself, he's so excited. As I type, he's napping in his room sleeping with his hat and uniform on! It's my dream to have my kids play sports and grow up loving it like we did, so to see him so excited just makes me smile. Of course, if he chooses to do something else, like music or whatever, that will be wonderful too. But I love baseball and am just as excited as he is!!! Go Sox!

Wanted to show you Kate learning how to wave a couple weeks back. What a sweetie!!