Mother's Day Weekend, cont.

After our strawberry picking and quick trip to Atlanta on Friday, we were supposed to get up early (for us) on Saturday morning to take Jack to get his T-Ball pictures. On this particular Saturday there were no games, just team pictures, a cookout, a home run derby and bouncy houses. Daniel had scheduled a vet visit for Sophie so I took the boys to the baseball festivities.

Let's talk kid's pants for a minute... Jack's baseball pants are white. The morning of pictures I realized that while his pants were clean, they were no longer white (rookie mom mistake?). With no time to spare, we headed out the door with dirt-stained knees.

Once at the ball field, each team had to wait their turn for photos. Our team was third up. This translated to little kids jumping off of bleachers, which lead to more stains of the grass variety (in addition to dirt-stained knees). Barring threatening your child to sit quietly and not play, how do parents keep kids clean for outdoor photos? Knee stains and all, the photos were completed and I took Jack to the bouncy houses.

We were early enough in the day that it wasn't too busy. Jack had a blast while Isaac was stuck in the stroller. I finally convinced Jack to leave by way of teaching empathy: Isaac is stuck in the stroller, how would you feel being stuck in a stroller?

We headed home for lunch and a nap for our littlest. After nap time we loaded the boys up and headed to Prentice Cooper for a quick hike. 

The weather was perfect. We didn't have enough time to go to Mushroom Rock , so we did a shorter trail with lots of bridges. Jack was happy to explore some and cross all the bridges.

Isaac just wanted to chew the straps on the kid carrier he was riding in. Which lead us to sing the mom version of "My Answer is No," while we hiked. It was a great way to wrap up our afternoon. 

On the way home, we grabbed dinner for my guys (McDonalds for the boys and Guthries for Daniel) and then I got ready for a girl's night out. I have only really come to understand the importance of GNOs in the last couple of years. I don't think I have really participated in this type of thing since college, but as a mother it is nice to take a break from parental duties and catch up with other moms.

We discussed the first movie that made us sad, the one where you realize life doesn't always have a happy ending. For me that movie was My Girl. I was 10 and it was shocking to sit in a movie theater and realize that there wouldn't be a happy ending. We discussed our kids, what we are cooking, things we are worried about, vacations we have taken, and just generally caught up on life. All while eating delicious food at Tupelo Honey Cafe.

It was a great day to end a Saturday. I didn't get home until 10:30. For me that is a pretty late night, but it was worth it!

Kid's Sports: T Ball

Baseball is in full swing, with opening game day for many local leagues happening this past weekend. Our family was a part of the fray, squeezing in a game between other activities.

Daniel was a trooper and gave up his afternoon nap (before his last night shift of the week) to attend Jack's first game.

Practices have been pretty comical. As you might expect with 4 and 5 year olds, there is a lot of looking at the sky, throwing dirt, using gloves for things other than catching, etc.

Thankfully, Jack seems to be enjoying himself. 

When I asked him what his favorite part was, he said "hitting the ball."

During the game, each player gets a chance to hit the ball and run the bases twice (for a total of two innings with no score). The last hitter gets to hit a "home run" and runs all of the bases at once.

For our first inning Jack went last and he loved getting to run all of the bases.

In the second inning, they batted in reverse so Jack was first up. We had to tell him to stop at first, and each subsequent base.

Evidently where we live baseball is a pretty big deal, and it can be taken really seriously (even on the T Ball level). 

I have to say that we are very pleased to have fairly laid back coaches who encourages parents to get out on the field to help direct the kids.

The kids have a little bit of a herd mentality as they try to simultaneously field the ball and throw to first.

Jack managed to field and throw to first once, and was pretty proud of himself.

Jack's team is the Hot Rods and he was really excited to get his jersey and ball cap. He wants to wear them everywhere.

I don't know if we will be a baseball family forever, but it is fun to see Jack make new friends, and learn some new skills along the way. 

With practices every Monday and games every Saturday for 8 weeks, it helps with our goal of getting outside everyday!

A glimpse of what 4 and 5-year-olds look like practicing T Ball.

Lots of herd mentality, chasing the ball during their first game.