A New Athlete in the Family!!!

Jayden and I "escaped" from the Cub Scout camp-out for a few hours on Sat., May 16th to attend her first t-ball game at the YMCA. Holy cow was she ever cute... dressed to the nines in her baseball gear. Someone gave her pink and black cletes (sp?), and she wore Jake's old baseball pants and hat. She also had all her new pink gear (bat, ball, mitt, bag, wrist band) that her brothers gave her for her 4th birthday. She did SO well listening and participating. I helped her out some ("I bet I can beat you to the base.", etc...), but she wasn't at all too clingy. It was a pleasant surprise. She's really grown up a lot in the past several months! I could really tell the difference between the 3 year olds (hanging on their moms) and the 4 year olds (more independent and better able to follow directions). The weather was beautiful- and Jonathan was so bummed that he missed her game (he had one at the same time). Her coaches were very sweet, and she loved the snacks afterward- esp. the baseball cookie seen in the pix above. For days after her game she'd tell the boys proudly (and like it was of great importance), "I have to go to my practice Jonfin (Jonathan)," She definitely thinks she's hot stuff now! She's finally just like the boys!!! And yes, I AM nuts having all 3 of my kids playing baseball at the same time (in case there were any doubts)! I can't wait for her next game- and neither can Jonathan. There wasn't one last weekend due to Memorial Day.

Jake's Baseball- San Francisco Giants

OK, so this will most likely be the last year of Jakey's baseball career, so I figure I'd better capture it on film while I still can (actually I guess it's not really film). Anyway, he seems to have fun during the games, but dreads going to the games and always is eager to skip the practices.

He got beamed with a ball before the first game during one of the practices- and has been afraid of the ball ever since. He seriously swings at any pitch he gets- rolling in the dirt, over the backstop, 10 feet wide- you name it, he swings away!!! He also swings about 3 seconds after it's in the catcher's mitt- JUST to "get it over with."

Well, we finally figured out what he was doing, so Jonathan had a little chat with him and pointed out that if he actually looked at the ball and hit it on the FIRST pitch, he'd be "done" with his turn sooner. And this idea piqued his interest... So ever since their little chat, he has hit the ball nearly every time- usually on the very first pitch- and usually directly to the first baseman (oh yeah- he runs really slowly, too...), but a hit is a hit!

He looks so cute in his little uniform and loves the social part of the games and of course the snacks.

I told him at the last game that if he hits it over the fence I'd get him a frog (the fence is about 200 feet away so I'm safe)!

And well... I'd love to tell you his fielding is better than the hitting, but I'm afraid I can't do that either!!! He swings his arms around nonstop- like he's winding himself up or something, so he definitely doesn't look like he's all business out there or anything... The good news is that he no longer picks flowers or builds sand castles in the dirt- so improvements have been made!

And then there's Jonathan... So funny how different they are!!!

Mother's Day- May 10, 2009

Ah, mother's day... my favorite holiday, or one of them anyway. Today I picked the kids up at Jon's at 9 am. We came home for breakfast (pancakes, sausage, and eggs) and the kids gave me cards. So sweet- well not so much Jonathan's- but it was funny anyway- very "teenagery". I'll have to post it soon. Jayden even signed her own name- several times all over the card she gave me. Very cute! Jake made me a butterfly pin at school , which I wore proudly all day.

The weather started out really sunny but got increasingly overcast throughout the day. We drove up to the Padilla Bay trail and Jonathan rode his bike, Jake searched for little critters, and Jayden pushed her Webkinz cat "Toodle" in her baby stroller (for about 100 feet- and then her feet hurt and she wanted to be carried so I went back to the car to get her REAL stroller and push her).

Then we did a little shopping in Mt. Vernon and had dinner at Applebees (steak- yum!), which was much better than our Space Needle steak- that's for sure!

Now we are at home watching Dodgeball together- and Jake is giving me a foot massage (I cashed in my coupon he gave me this morning before it expires, as I've learned the hard way his do!!!)

I am praying for no heavy rain due to the roof... Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

My Little Sweeties!

Jayden looks SO forward to show and tell at Melissa's every Friday. Just about every morning she asks me, "Is it show and tell today mama?" It is even easier to get this little night owl up in the morning on Fridays because I tell her, "It's show and tell today, sweetie"- and this gives her incentive to get her lazy buns out of bed! Today she brought her new baby (actually she keeps her Webkinz in here) "pack and play" for her show and tell. Melissa says it is hysterical to watch the kids during show and tell because they just kind of sit there and don't say much... Wish I could be a fly on the wall for this!

ZOO

Jake has been anxiously awaiting for the penguin exhibit to open at the zoo for months. Well the day finally came, so he, Jayden and I went to check it out. He was so pleased with it, stating that "it is SO much nicer for the penguins than the old place." Typical Jake- concerned about the animals' well-being. I thought it was OK- not spectacular. So many people there that it was hard to get a good look. The set-up reminds me of many of the exhibits at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The highlight for me this time was the bear exhibit. Both bears were going in and out of the water RIGHT in front of us. The first time Jayden was startled and turned around so fast she almost fell- but then she got used to it. Jake wanted to feed the birds of course, and was very sweet to catch a bird on his stick and pass it off to Jayden, (who moved her stick whenever a bird tried to land so scared them away). This way Jake could hand it to her slowly while I encouraged her to hold still. Such a nice brother! We also went to the Zoomasium for awhile. It poured on our way out. Even though we didn't have time to see as many animals as usual, we still had fun!