"Officially" in Coach Pitch

Wyatt moved up to coach pitch in the fall, but now that the spring is here, he is officially in Pinto baseball!

The biggest difference between his experience in the fall and this spring season is that we now have umpires. Our biggest concern with Wyatt has always been that he has a bit of a temper. And his temper tends to show on the field.

We've been warning him about the fact that once umpires enter the equation, they have the power to punish him for unsportsmanlike behavior (i.e. his bottom is on the bench).  

This is the actual conversation that we had while we were doing homework on Wednesday:

"Hey Mom, are there going to be umpires that can throw me out of the game?"

"Yup."

"Well, I guess I need to change my attitude before we get there."

 Adding the Umpire made an amazing difference.  No bad attitude was detected (although he did try to fake Brian out once at second base by pretending to throw his hat on the ground).

He also singled twice and doubled once!

He does have a few things to work on this season - mostly his speed!  But these games are so fun to watch - they make great plays as a team, and they're really learning to be ball players.  Even better, he's on a really great team, so it's fun to root for everyone!

(And also, the coach is really cute!)

Reese Takes the Field

Reese's first tee ball game was Tuesday night.

This was clearly something to dance about.

She was very excited.  I think that after sitting on the sidelines (or in the sandbox) for three years, she was excited to finally compete herself.

Her pink helmet made her a power hitter!  She had a few good hits. 

She's also a switch hitter.  I know that it sounds insane that I'm all like, "My 5 year old daughter is a switch hitter," but she actually is.  I think she's got a better handle on batting lefty because it's what she does naturally (even though she's actually right handed), but recently she picked up the bat and started hitting as a righty too!

Hanging out at second base.  Love her purple laces - she "had" to add them to make them a little girlier!

When she took the field in the second inning, she got to play second base.  She even managed to field a ground ball and tag second base for an out!

And that obviously earned her a high five from Daddy!

She had a great first game - we are so excited that she decided to try tee ball  this year!  I know she's having so much fun!

Actual Birthday Shenanigans

Wyatt had a weekend full of birthday activity (and if you can believe it, he hasn't even had his party yet!). 

Brian took lunch and cupcakes to school for lunch on Friday.  He completely surprised Wyatt (I even sent him to school with an empty lunchbox!)  Wyatt has a fun group of friends at school this year. I've gotten to know them because I'm in there every Monday, but Brian really got to know them (and all their good knock knock jokes) at lunch on Friday.

Saturday (Wyatt's birthday eve) was filled with baseball pictures and a few errands.  Then these two were off to enjoy a hockey game!

We had our traditional "Donut Day" on Sunday, and then the birthday boy opened his presents.

This girl loves to give gifts.  She has been working on her big brother's birthday presents for two weeks.  His birthday card was finished last week.  And then she decided to construct her own gift bag.  She cut out the sides and taped everything together.  She is such a great sister!

 7!

 New Captain America mask that does some special trick.  (I'm clueless.  Apparently it's way cooler than the one he already has.)

 After spending the day having a "pajama day" and a hockey guys playoff tournament, we met all the grandparents at Red Robin for birthday dinner.

 Then we came back home for more presents and cake!

Wyatt is 7!

I can't believe that my first born is seven years old.

Looking at this little collage of his sweet little life, I realize that as much as I hate cliches, the days really are long, and the years really are short.

His second day of life, second Christmas, first soccer game, hugs from Woody at Disney World, building train tracks, and baseball games and hockey lessons...all of these things, these moments, have shaped this smart, funny, active, emotional little boy of mine.  And they've shaped me too.  The tantrums that seemed like they might not ever end. (and oh yes, we've had them.  Sometimes we still do.)  The sportsmanship that we still have to work on at every game.  The shyness that sometimes makes him uncomfortable and extra silly in new situations.  I don't always know how to handle our every day.  But I'm learning with him.

And some of these things?  They're just my worries. Not his.

When I worry about whether or not his shyness-turning to-silliness causes him problems at school.  He is fine.  He has friends that he loves to play with.  He is doing so well academically. And he talks non stop while I'm there on Monday mornings.

When I hold my breath during every at bat worried that he might get out.  And that an out might be followed by a helmet flying across the dugout.

His coaches have that covered.  He is probably going to get called out every game and he needs to get used to it. And some parents see his passion and tell me they love how much he cares about little things like getting out. 

He is such a sweet boy, with an extra dose of competitive fire.  It drives him to be better at some things.  And it can sometimes get in the way of his relationship with his little sister (who is also competitive).  But it's who he is.

He has more energy than anyone I know.  He jumps out of bed (usually before the sun is up) and comes to ask Brian the scores of any games they watched the night before, then he starts playing a sport in the living room.  But do not interpret that as "he likes waking up and getting ready for the day." Getting ready for school is not high on his list of priorities.

He loves hockey and baseball and soccer, but that's not all of him.  He has a heart for animals.  He adores them.  Books about them, shows about them, seeing them in person.  He still dreams of being a paleontologist when he grows up.  And he has a memory that you wouldn't believe.

He loves his friends and family.  He and Reese are so competitive, but they love each other so much.  He and Hudson are "best buddies." And he and Finley?  They are super sweet together. When he finds friends that he clicks with, he is so happy.  It's one of the things he loves best about sports.  Sure, he gets to go play, but playing with Hunter or Aden or Evan or Jack - that's what he really loves.

He has other interests - super heroes (his current favorite is Captain America.  Probably because we let him watch it last week), Lego, his Hockey Guys, reading about things he's interested in (Elephant and Piggie, National Geographic books, and Berenstain Bears are his current favorites), and he's also developed a bit of an interest in Titanic.  But more often than not you'll find him in my living room with a hockey stick or a baseball bat.  It's just what he wants to do all the time.

Loving him and watching him grow has been such a fun, educational, emotional, crazy ride.  I can not wait to see what the next year brings us.  Actually, I can.  I'm hoping time slows down just a bit before we hit 8!

Happy Birthday, Wyatt! We love you!

Soccer and Baseball, Oh My!

I promise that our lives don't consist of Wyatt's sports and nothing else.  Saturdays are just the only day that I'm able to pick up my big camera!  I'm going to TRY to be more conscious about it next week.

Last Saturday was INSANE.

10:30 Soccer (which means out of the house by 9:45)

12:00 Birthday party for one of Wyatt's good friends 

1:00 Tee Ball for Reese 

3:00 Baseball scrimmage for Wyatt (which means home at 5:30).

Needless to say, it's good that we're now a two-cars-that-can-fit-more-than-one-kid-each family.

Wyatt's soccer game was really fun to watch (I use "fun" loosely because, well, it's soccer. And soccer to me is meh.  But my kid was playing, so FUN!).  His team had only played together twice before Saturday's game (at one practice and another game), and they played a team that has been together for awhile.  And it's a team of all girls.  Wyatt's last team suffered a tough loss to them, and our hopes weren't high for this game.

 But he and his buddy Jack scored a goal apiece.  Wyatt has headed the ball in the last two games.  It's weird because no one has taught him how to head the ball.

 A little celebrating occurred.

 He also got to be an official goalie for the first time.

 He was excited to try it, but I don't think that being goalie is his jam.  He needs to be in the middle of the action.  He spends his time in the goal following the ball at the opposite end of the field.

 The other team ended up tying the game in the last 30 seconds (really), but that made it exciting.

And after a birthday party, some pizza, Gatorade, a juice box, and water, this kid was ready to play baseball (not what I would feed him on a typical Saturday, but you know, birthday party!).

After a quick change of clothes, he hopped behind the plate.

 And then headed up to bat.

You know, just a typical Saturday.

Jumping the Boards

...is that what it's even called?  

We've been so busy with soccer and baseball over the last week and half that this poor guy hasn't been able to skate.

And in his words, that's "just not cool."

Brian set up two more skating sessions for him this week.

And he was really happy to be back on the ice.  

 It's amazing to me when I think about his progression over the last two months.  When he started lessons he could barely stand.  And now he sprints across the ice, and even has little "games" with his instructor at the end of each lesson!

Pretty sure hockey academy is a must do for this little guy this summer!

Sporty Happenings

I know it's only the third week of March, but spring sports are back with a vengeance around here!

Wyatt had his first soccer practice last Thursday, and his first game on Saturday.  I will try desperately to spare you the details of my dissatisfaction with his league.  We still don't have a game schedule.  We're just winging it week to week.  I'm told this is the norm for soccer leagues.  This disorganization really makes it fun for the kids.

We actually had decent weather for the game.  This little girl was able to run around the fields with her little brother.  She decided not to play soccer this season.

It was an interesting game.  We think that the team he played has already played together, while Wyatt's team seems to be a combination of kids who haven't ever played together before.  With a new coach.  And one practice.  But it's supposed to be about having fun, right? 

(Sidenote: That's not fun for my uber-competitive first born.)

Reese decided not to play soccer this year in favor of tee ball.  She already has dance and art, so loading her up with two sports seemed a bit much (for her.  And me.)

Does she make baseball look adorable, or what?

We went to get her a bat bag last week.  And somebody batted her eyes at daddy and walked away with a new pink helmet, purple socks, and a pink bat, glove, and bat bag.  She's serious about her style.

She's also serious about hitting.

Big brother was filling in at first base during the practice.  This went about as well as you might imagine.

They are in separate divisions (thank goodness!) so we shouldn't have to worry about this sort of showdown again!

We're ready for spring sports around here, now we just need the weather to cooperate.