Opening Day!

I've said for a while that I'm holding off for as long as possible when it comes to sports or just about anything else that is scheduled.  This is the only time in my entire life as a parent where I create the schedule, I get my kids practically all the time, and I am not looking forward to that changing when things like kindergarten come along.  And, yet, somehow, one night in January, there I was, signing Noah up for t-ball.


Is it weird to say it just felt right?  But then as it came closer to meeting the team and practices, it didn't feel quite so right anymore.  Noah didn't want to practice with us.  He didn't care much about baseball AT ALL, except that his team name was the Pirates.  That definitely won him over.

Noah did great the first couple of practices because he's obedient.  He did everything his coach asked, but he still had some frustrations.  He's a kid who notices that someone else can hit the ball harder or throw it better.  Not being the best was a difficult pill to swallow at first.

He likes Buster Posey, so we use Buster as an example of even the best making mistakes a LOT.  Buster Posey swings and misses, Buster Posey misses a catch or has a bad throw.  Thank goodness for Buster.  

We had hyped Opening Day as much as possible.  Noah was truly excited, while Nate and I were a bit on the nervous side.  Correction: Nate was maybe more than a bit on the nervous side. :-)

The unknown.  You just don't know how it's going to go.  And while struggling is key to learning and growing in life, it's hard as a parent to watch your kid go through something hard...even if it's just four year old t-ball.  Noah and I had a few talks about how a great day is when you try your best and have fun.  That's all he needed to do.

The good news:  Why did we even stress??? Noah had a fantastic day from beginning to end.

We arrived at the park where every team was decorating a truck for the parade.  Riding in a truck while wearing pirate accessories was a huge hit for the kids.

Noah's got some pretty decent pirate faces.

And while they were waiting the Chick-fil-a cow stopped by to keep the kids company.  Noah got huge laughs out of that.

Noah's team is filled with great kids and awesome parents.  Only one kid on the team has an older sibling.  The rest are the oldest, which means all of us are also totally new to t-ball.

 Noah has become buddies with Kylie, the one and only girl on our team.

 Our town sure does things right: fire trucks, police cars, people lining the streets -- all just to cheer on a bunch of cute kids who are starting baseball season.  It was awesome.

All of the teams were announced and brought on the field and, after some announcements, the kids were told to "Play ball!"

Luke would have given just about anything to get out there and be a Pirate too.  But he settled for his own 'uniform' shirt and cheered Noah on. 

We came back to the park a few hours later for Noah's game.  It was HOT.  Oh, March, why have you already turned into June?  But this little boy didn't let the heat get to him too much.

 My favorite part of the game was when Noah played first base.  He talked to every kid from the other team when they got on base.  Oh, I wish I had a microphone to hear what he was talking about.  One time I saw him look at the back of a kid's jersey and then the boy did the same to him.  It must have been something like, "Hey, you're number 6.  Did you look at my shirt? I'm number 3."  It was just darling to see Noah chat with every kid and not be the least bit shy.

I love the focus he has on the ball in this picture.

 Three innings was a little long for these kids in the heat.  I loved looking out at the field and seeing Noah in ready position and two of his teammates rolling around in the grass behind him. 

That's t-ball.

Hot weather aside, it was one memorable, fun day for our family!  After a handful of practices and two games I can already see what a great experience this season is going to be for Noah and all of us as we cheer him on.  

Taking a Break

Last week the boys and I headed up to the cabin with Grandma. Taking the boys sledding was our top priority and, oh my, it was a good time.  Noah woke me up three times during the night (NOT fun) to ask if it was time to go sledding yet.  So when the time came to suit up and head out he could hardly contain himself.

Sledding on a Thursday, combined with very little snowfall, meant a VERY light crowd.  For the first hour we were the only ones there.  Awesome.

We started the boys off slow, first going only about half way down the hill and gradually moving up to the top.

I was pretty sure they'd like it, but you just never know.

The truth is, they LOVED it.  Noah and Luke went down by themselves, with me or with Grandma, on their bums and bellies.  It didn't matter.  Sledding is definitely a new family favorite.

Noah was all smiles for the entire three hours.

He hiked himself back up the hill over and over again.

Luke had a brief stint of the grumps, but after a tummy-filling snack he came around.

Between sledding and eating snow, he had very little to complain about.

I love this series of pictures I quickly snapped with my phone of such silly happiness:

  

 

 

Noah could have stayed all day, but after about three hours Luke was worn out and we were all hungry.  Our fingers are crossed for some big snowfall in the next few weeks so we can repeat this fun all over again!

 One afternoon Grandma lit a fire in the backyard.  Roasted marshmallows in January? Yes, please!

 

Oh, it needs to snow! The boys thought finding snow in the backyard was so fun, but to see what little remains is actually pretty disappointing. 

 I call this Luke's 'bossypants' picture.  He sure looks like he's barking orders about something. :-)

The boys spent a lot of time playing this fishing game.  Like a good grandma does, Shauna found a way to make it even more fun and dropped an M&M in each fish's mouth.  Fishing for M&M's was a huge hit. 

Grandma's Birthday

Shauna's had one of those 'milestone'/decade birthdays in January.  But since all of the family was going to be here at Christmastime, we decided to surprise her a little early.

Preparing for the party alone was fun, so I think all of us were filled with anticipation and excitement when it was finally time for the big surprise.   After a fantastic dinner we gathered around to really celebrate Shauna.

The grandkids sang.

 We shared a long, sweet list of things we love about her.

By the way, we could have doubled what was on that list and still come up with more.

 

She's one special lady.

And then we each gave her a charm that was significant to our relationship with her to put on a new bracelet.

 

 She thanked us for not putting the actual number of candles on her cake, but blew out the ones on there without any trouble.

 I remember meeting Shauna when Nate and I were dating and feeling instantly at ease.  She just radiates peace and goodness and love.  I knew that being a part of this family, and being around her, would shape my adult years in positive, meaningful ways, and it has.  She has given her all to mothering, and it shows in these five kids. 

Shauna is also a top notch grandma.  The grandkids love spending time with her and doing fun things.  She is so quick to help, serve and love each one of them.

Christmas Day

At 7:15 on Christmas morning, two very excited parents couldn't take the waiting any longer and we woke up Noah and Luke.  They certainly didn't mind being awoken to, "Merry Christmas Buddy!  Santa came!"  The stockings were opened up, and present unwrapping began. 

 

Luke was surprised and incredibly happy that Santa brought him his very own box of orange Tic Tacs.

Santa had to get a little creative for Noah because most of his Christmas list items ended up being birthday gifts. 

 

But Santa pulled through with a remote control car, some of the boys' most favorite books we've found at the library, and a big boy bike. 

Noah figured out how to use the controls in no time.  Luke still pretty much drives his backwards, but at least it goes somewhere, right?

 

Noah is amazing on his balance bike, so it seemed like a good idea to upgrade to the next size.  

In no time at all he was cruising down the sidewalk yelling, "Mom, it feels like I'm flying just like Dusty!"  

We're hoping to take off those training wheels in a couple of weeks since he's pretty much already got the balance thing down.  I'm crossing my fingers that he'll be a quick learner.

We were also super happy that Gram was here with Nana for Christmas.  She especially loved watching Luke and hearing all of the big boy things he has to say.

Nate gave me the best gift ever (in addition to a really great present): two weeks off of work to just be with the boys and me.  He was sure we'd be tired of him by the end of it, but boy was he wrong.  I joked with him that it felt like we were a 'real' family: working together, parenting our kids together, completing projects together, pretty much doing everything together.  It was the best two weeks EVER, and the most time he's ever taken off since we've had kids.  'Real' life, with a busy job and church responsibilities just doesn't allow for much always together time, and oh, I loved it. 

Gearing up for Christmas

Christmas came with a whole new level of excitement this year.  It started with decorating our Christmas tree a few days after Thanksgiving.  Noah was suddenly bursting with Christmas cheer and saying things like, "Mom, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!" and "I just LOVE putting ornaments on the tree with you Mom! Let's do some more!"  Luke followed Noah's lead and became excited about all of the good things the Christmas season brings.

We LOVE, thanks to our city police and fire departments, that Santa comes down our street.  He and Mrs. Claus bring candy canes for all of the kids and are escorted by police cars and fire trucks, all with their sirens wailing.  It really is a little bit magical.

The boys loved looking at Christmas lights again this year. 

Clearly they were too busy to pay any attention to their photographer.

Noah said his favorite was the Snoopy house, but he really did love running from house to house checking out all of the different decorations.

 Grandma invited us over again this year to make gingerbread houses. 

 Luke was equally interested in decorating his house and eating as much frosting as possible.

Just a few days before Christmas we gathered at Nana's house to frost sugar cookies, including the ones we'd be leaving out for Santa.

Once again, Luke was a champion frosting eater.

 Nate and I attended his annual Christmas party for work at the Sutter Club. 

It's always a lovely, fun party.  But, it's also so perfect to have a nice evening before that wicked busy season is upon us.  And, oh, it is so close to being upon us!

Now that Christmas has passed, I can report that there's some major post Christmas sadness going on from our boys.  I can't blame them.  This Christmas was one to be remembered: so many fun memories, the music (Luke sings a ridiculously cute 'Mary Did You Know'), events, and presents.  It's been fantastic, largely because of two little boys who have been over the top excited about everything.  They both literally cried as I packed up our decorations.  Noah proclaimed, "Mom, you're ruining Christmas!" and Luke screamed, "No, Mommy! Don't take dat twee down!"   That was two days ago, and they're still talking about how they want the decorations back up.