Showing posts with label Little League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Little League. Show all posts

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Birthday & Baseball

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Claire marked her 8th birthday with a cheerful Rainbow party!  The kids gathered at her house for cake before heading off to G-6 airpark for jumping on the trampolines.  Andrew's last birthday party there left him with a sprained ankle.  He is now afraid of G-6 and didn't want to jump, (and issued many warnings to Kitti about it) but wanted to celebrate with Claire for her birthday.  So he joined for the cake and ice cream part before heading out.  (more on that in a bit).

Coincidentally, Kitti developed an ear infection while previously jumping at G-6.  Half way through the party (in december) I had to leave with her because she was in a lot of pain and sure enough, she had a bad ear infection.  So before the party she was asking me if it would make her ear hurt to go jump there.   :)  However, she still wanted to go and had a GREAT time.

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Such cuteness.

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This was such a fun, cheerful birthday theme and as usual, Shannon did a great job with the party.

After cake, Shannon took Kaitlin and went to G6.  Dan took Matthew and went to his end of the season party.  I took Andrew and went to get Andrew changed and off to his last baseball game.




Is it just me because I'm his mom, or can you see the sweetness in this little one's face?

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After I got Andrew to his game to warm up I drove back to Shannon's house and got Kitti and took her to Matthew's end of season swim party, then came back to the game. 

During the game, Andrew had an opportunity to play first base.  Here he is catching the ball!

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Even with more activity at first base, the lure of the dirt proved to be too much.

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The kids enjoyed pizza, cupcakes and received their trophy after the game. Here is Andrew with one of his coaches.  Our friend Kyle helped coach too, and both were exceedingly patient and positive.  They were exactly the kind of coaches Andrew needed to have a good season, and I was grateful!

And that officially wraps up baseball!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Baseball

We wrapped up baseball in June.

What a season.

I was not a good Little League mom.  We had 2 kids in Little League and I have to say it was two too much.  Or at least one to much.  Little League is my least favorite sport.  Game nights are LONG.  From when we leave the house until we get home it's usually around 3 hours.  And we had 27 of them between the two boys.  Not including practices.  Then there's the rainy pacific NW weather to be had....I think if my boys were really passionate about the sport and really engaged, I would have a different attitude about it.  But to make that kind of commitment for them to play in the dirt....

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(Which was what my boys did most of the time).

Um, I don't think so.

Thankfully, Andrew has decided this sport is not for him.  I agree.  The pace is way too slow.  So we'll just have Matthew continuing on.  And yes, he wants to continue on.  Not for the love of the game.  Nope.  For the love of his friends....

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He has been playing with the same kids for years now, and has a lot of fun with them.

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He has very little interest in practicing outside of the actual practice time.  And spends a lot of his time at practice socializing.  Which is the real reason he plays.

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Dan and I think it's good for the kids to participate in team sports and Matthew has very little interest in most of them, so we'll continue to do Little League as long as he's interested.  The part I DO like about baseball is getting to sit and chat with friends.  That's the fun part!

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Dan filled in for the coach on Andrew's team one evening.  Here he is with Andrew at bat.

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The kids all rotate through the positions.  Andrew took his turn at pitcher this particular night.


Pitching takes a lot of coordination and his little body just isn't there yet.

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Which is quite all right.  He has so many other gifts, pitching needn't be one of them.

He's really looking forward to soccer in the fall and I think that will be great. 

I can't seem to find the photos from andrew getting his trophy.  Like much of that month it was a crazy day that included a birthday party, Matthew's end of the year baseball BBQ/swim party, a baseball game and another end of the season party.  The times all overlapped and we were running around like loons. 

Above all, I have to say that despite my less than desirable attitude,  I really did appreciate the great coaches that we had this season.  Little League is no small commitment and I'm grateful that there are people willing to step up, invest the time and help the kids.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

April in a Nutshell

Thank you for the support after the last post on Andrew.  I appreciate having friends/family who care enough to read them.  It's always a hard decision thinking over what to share...what not to share.  But these posts help me keep track of some parts of this process and I do think it's important that those closest to Andrew understand him.  I won't always do these posts as Andrew gets older but for now, it feels okay to share and it's easiest for me to do it this way as people as after him regularly. We are plugging along...I had a meeting with the school today to review Andrew's testing which really helped to clarify things for me.  He's on his new medicine ~ he's not thrilled about taking 4 pills each day, but he's adjusting.  Jury is still out on the effectiveness.  We have 2 appointments with his psychiatrist in the next two weeks...so we're just in a period of transition.   I'll wait for things to settle down/filter out and do a little catch up in the future.

On a lighter note, in an attempt to do some speedy blog catch up, the rest of our April fun is going to be in one post.

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Library and movie day!  And this is the problem with being behind on the blog.  I have no idea what movie we went to....but Jeannie, the basket you gave Kitti has become the 'library book basket."  We were heading out to do some returns and head to the movie with Easter candy for movie treats.  Oh, and a little something for me!

I often drink tea in the evenings and Matthew wanted to join me one evening as we were reading The Hobbit together.

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We love our reading time.  We've finished The Hobbit and now Dan, Andrew, Matthew and I are all reading "The Lord of the Rings" together.

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Matthew loooooves Origami.  At any given time there is a piece of folded paper close by.  There are 5 little ones on the ottoman as I type this.

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He made a bunch of Star Wars finger puppets.  These were the beginning of around 6 that he made.

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The beginning of Han Solo.  I didn't tell him I thought it was a referee.

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Andrew attended Carter's birthday bash.  Which was an Oregon Duck party.  Katie was very brave hosting all of these little boys in her house and did a fantastic job putting together this amazing party for Carter.

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The boys were (more than) a little crazy.  They most definitely had fun!

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A pinata is always a hit!

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It's rare that I bake for leisure these days.  I love to bake.  But this particular day I made maple scones.  Baking is such a comfort for me.  I will never be gluten free (the horror!) I will never give up refined sugar.  I will never give up white flour.  I know this is the "thing" to do right now for healthy eating (I realize some people have sensitivities that require dietary restrictions).  I have no idea how people do it.  I'll keep my treats in moderation thankyouverymuch.

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We had sunshine one day when I brought the kids home from school one afternoon and we seized the moment and went on the bike ride.  It's foolish to let a sunny day pass by unused in these parts during spring.  The kitty helmet kills me.

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I toured these four little ones which felt like 10 little ones around the World Forestry center for Andrew's first grade field trip.  I had a raging headache by the time I got home and was exhausted from coralling children and running around looking for one little girl's coat that she couldn't keep track of, which was currently missing at the time of this photo, and totally gave up on the educational form I was supposed to guide the kids through and just tried to make it out of the museum with all the kids I was looking after had a fun time.  (I really do love the sweet kids in Andrew's class.)

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Woe to the person who tries to bake or clean a bathroom without this little one's "help."

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We have been living at the ball park the last couple of months. I'm not going to lie.  I have not had a very good attitude about it.  Little League is a big commitment as far as sports go, and with the busyness at the end of the school year it just felt like a lot.  I did enjoy it once I got there, but there were just waaaaay too many games this season between the two boys (27 to be exact).  I'm sure everyone is glad that baseball is over simply because I'll stop complaining about it now.  I think it would have been different if my boys really loved it.  But they didn't.  Despite having great coaches, Andrew said he didn't want to play next year (too slow for him, I think).  And despite having to drag Matthew out for games, etc. he said he wants to play again.  I actually think I'd miss it if both boys decided not to play.  Just having Matthew involved next year will be much more manageable.

By the way, look at andrew's great stance.  Just looking so much more coordinated.  Yay!

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Andrew spent a lot of time climbing this tree while Matthew played.

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Kaitlin had a BALL during baseball playing with all her little friends.  That was the great thing about it.  Playmates on both teams!

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And I have to say, this is pretty darn cute.

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Love andrew's sock half way down in this one.  So Andrew.

The highlight for April was really Winnie's oldest sister Pat coming to town.  She is just such a neat person and we loved having her come and visit.  She lives in North Dakota and so we don't get to see her near enough.  She is just lovely.

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I just love this next photo.

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The flowers on the table were for Dan.  He lead Matthew's "K2 Live" Youth group this past year, every Wed.  It was a fantastic experience for Matthew and I was so happy that Dan did this with him.  I think it was special for the two of them and Dan has such a great personality for things like this.

Anyway, I loved this of Carl and Kaitlin.  The bug in her cheerleader outfit and the bonnet eating breakfast side by side.  Just so cute.  (And note the random origami on the table?  You can always tell where Matthew has been!) :)

And that wraps up April! 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

First Little League Game

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Little League started again! Matthew loves his little league team ~ lots of little friends from school are on it which makes it really fun.  Sports are all about socializing for Matthew right now.  Here's how I know.

Me:  Matthew, which is your favorite sport to do, Baseball or Tae Kwon Do?
Matthew:  Well, I have more friends at Baseball, so baseball.
Me:  Let's pretend you don't have any friends at either sport.  Which sport would you like the best?
Matthew:  Well, I can't really make friends at Tae Kwon Do, so....
:)

Many of the practices have been cancelled due to rain, but the first game rolled around and I took some photos of Matthew in his uniform.  He was having a play date that day, and Dan had a late meeting so things were a little hectic around our house as I was packing a little dinner for Andrew & Kaitlin to bring with us, getting everyone changed into warmer outdoor clothes, getting blankets, umbrella, etc.  We dropped off Matthew's friend and headed to the baseball field.  By this time it is raining.  Then it starts pouring.  We stood out in the rain for 20 minutes while the coaches found a time to reschedule and long enough for Kaitlin and Andrew to get completely wet & muddy and then we went home.  Isn't that how it goes?

Our second game was scheduled 2 days later and the weather cooperated!

Matthew played second base, and Dan was there giving pointers.


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Our team had the option of playing up a level where the kids pitch, or down where they still coach pitch and hit off the tee occasionally. We played down. It correctly reflects our commitment level. We're all about having fun. No intense little league parents on our team, which is nice. little league-5

Matthew did just great. He had a fun time. I stayed for an hour and divided my time between trying to watch the game and keep an eye on Kaitlin and Andrew who were playing on the playground equipment. I took the kids home to feed them when the last inning started. Dan came home and said Matthew played center field and a ball was hit to him! He had an opportunity to make a play, and I'm sure he would have done great, if his mitt weren't on his head at the time.

Serious ball players, we are.