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“Perfect 8th Birthday (fun)”

10 Apr

That is just one of the many wishes Nia has added to her birthday list. No pressure, right? What I find even more innocently sweet is that it is not even the first thing on her list. It’s sandwiched between “dresses (gouns)” (I love that she sounded it out and spelled it to rhyme with nouns. Yes, wrong but still – it’s a young brain thinking!) and “a sock monkey mini (with a little hat).” (I’m going to have to google that one.)

Little growing up Bean, I hope your party is perfect to you. Even if you don’t get everything on this wishful list that I’ll always cherish.

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Have Injury, Will Play

9 Apr

"I look like me again! Only three days and my face came back!" Nate, this morning.

Nate didn’t let his boo-boo face get in the way of this second ball game of the season. Just to capture a few memories:

  • He slid out at first but got a RBI on that. (Of course, I thought he was safe – or at least should have been given some “safe” points for the slide effort. I’m only half serious.)
  • He had to hit off the tee for his second at bat because Coach Daddy was pitching pretty wild in the 3rd inning. (Andrew was really beating himself up for that – two kiddos even got hit by his pitches. No one wants that pitching job, that’s for sure! Too much pressure!) Nate got to come home from that hit though – after a sweet slide into Second Base and then running around to home on the next few hits of his cutie teammates.
  • After a few missed catches at First, he caught two throws to him in the last inning and made those outs. (Sadly, I missed them because I was doing what mommy’s like to do sometimes – talk!)
  • He would look each runner on First up and down – kind of sizing the kid up. Pretty funny but then it also caused the other base runners to advance because he didn’t throw it to the pitcher quick enough for time to be called. Next practice topic.
  • He was chewing his gum all tough like a pro-player and when it fell out on the field and he took his glove off to figure out what to do with it, I actually shouted, “Put it back in your mouth!” I still don’t believe that came from my mouth. Thankfully, he really objected to that and Andrew was behind him to make it disappear.

Next game is Thursday!

In-field pop up on First Base Line

Ready

Fan of Her Little Brother

Daddy and Son

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A Bat, A CAT and A Nate Face

8 Apr

It hurts him. It makes it hard for him to breathe. It is swollen. It is NOT broken.

It happened at the batting cages last night. Nate and his team were practicing and (from what I understand) Nate was gathering the pitches and the batter brought the bat back to swing. That’s when Nate’s little nose took the blow.

Tears poured. TLC and ice flooded in. And he still wanted to take his turn batting.

After batting (with some great hits despite his injury), we realized we needed to do more than ice and hug. We couldn’t take the chance of a broken nose but we also couldn’t take the reality of a broken nose. They may have to re-break it or he may have to see a plastic surgeon. Those thoughts scared us for our little man. His tiny 5-year-old nose.

Thankfully, the CT Scan (which Nate said he was very still for) showed no breaks, just soft tissue damage that will swell worse and turn purple before it gets better. Nate first noticed that as he was brushing his teeth. He looked wide, teary eyed at himself in the mirror and reacted in heartbreak, “My face! My face looks funny! Kids are going to laugh.” I consoled him and told him that he did not look funny. That he was still Nate. That he looked tough, like a boxer. It would get better soon. I asked him what if mommy or Nia had it, would he say we looked funny? He said, “No, but you wouldn’t look this bad!”

Hugs and kisses, little man. For your sweet worries and your boo-boo.

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Right After It Happened

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One Hour and a Gatorade Moustache Later...

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Morning After

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Taking It All In

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Owie

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Right after this picture: "I play the Yankees tomorrow!"

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Science Experiment

4 Apr

That’s what Andrew calls his home brewing and now he’s teaching the kids. Not with hops and malt but with brown sugar and root beer flavor.

Andrew asked for a Mr. Root Beer kit for his birthday so he and the kids could brew together. They yummed at the smell of the packets and took turns helping pour, measure and stir their cola concoction. Once it was bottled, they had to wait a few days until it would be ready for sipping. Nia faithfully reminded Andrew to check on the bottles and was brimming with excitement when he announced it was time for floats.

To the kids, science is delicious.

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Strange Bedfellows

3 Apr

The objects I find in Nate’s bed after a nap or night’s sleep surprise me more and more with each discovery. I’m not just talking about the mountain of plush animals he has avalanching on his feet each night. Those are a given. I’m talking more about the:

  • Books
  • Valentine card from his girlfriend, Madeline
  • Wristwatch
  • Race cars/trains
  • Superhero action figures – including putting on his Spiderman costume
  • Baseball bat
  • Multiple baseball hats – one often being worn on his head as he emerges from his room
  • Baseball glove
  • Yep, baseball
  • Baseball trophy (I bet he won that pretend game he was playing.)

Sure seems like he’s having a blast in that bed. So much so, he falls asleep from exhaustion.

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Carved in a Blog

3 Apr

Because it seems to me that this blog post will likely remain in existence for longer than blue ink written on our fence post, I wanted to capture Nia’s “was here” message.

She wanted to mark the spot where her baby brother crushed the baseball into our fence. I wanted to mark the spot when she made our hearts happy.

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Opening Day 2011

2 Apr

Opening Day may be over but Nate continues to want to play ball. He and Andrew are outside right now batting and I’m surprised we finally were able to convince him to change out of his uniform. Nate is so proud and comfortable in that uniform. He woke us up at 5:50 this morning asking where it was and if he could put it on yet. (Big, bad mommy told him to try to get some more sleep and then fell back asleep before I heard a complaint from him.)

His game was great. His team of cuties didn’t win but you could tell they all had a blast despite the score. As far as stats go, I think Nate ran home twice and got one out at first. (I was so happy he caught the throw that tears crept out of my eyes.)  He executed a beautiful (but unnecessary) slide at home that made the team’s other coach chuckle with surprise and give Andrew a pat on the shoulder. Another stat that I can’t ignore would have to be that he played with the zipper on his new uniform pants – a lot.

I’m thankful we got to play a bunch of nice boys with considerate coaches for our first game. I didn’t hear a negative word – only praise and thoughtfulness for the little guys on both benches. It was a wonderful feeling and has me looking forward to the next game. In the meantime though, I’ll enjoy Nate’s reaction after seeing the Baltimore Orioles were on tv tonight. “Oh! I gotta go get my Orioles hat!”

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Throw Mom & Dad Under the Bus

29 Mar

You love them. Kiss their boo-boos. Cut their food. Cart them around to all the fun stuff they want to do. Oh yeah, birth them. And then what do they do? Throw you under the bus with the simple raise of a hand or nod of a head.

Nia is the biggest tattler of the mommy/daddy fails. (Although one, I will argue, was a total fabrication!) Here’s just a sample of what I mean:

  • A teacher was talking to them about safety the other day and she asked the class if they are ever left alone at home. Nia told me she raised her hand because sometimes I “walk to the mailbox while she’s still inside.” The teacher didn’t know that though. She just now thinks that we leave Nia to fend for herself at 7 years old. That would be a no. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to leave her by herself, even when she is old enough. (Mom fear nonsense.)
  • The doctor asked Nia if she wears her helmet when she rides her bike. “Nope,” Nia replied nonchalantly. Excuse me, child? You do so wear your helmet! She told me she said no because she was answering about if she ever rides her bike.  That’s ok. I wanted to hear the two minute safety speech about why she should wear it…
  • During Nate’s baseball practice a week ago, I was looking at an incident happening with another child on the field and said aloud to myself, “I’m not sure what’s happening.” Nia then proceeded to shout at her daddy, Coach Andrew, on the field, “Daddy! Mommy says she doesn’t know what’s happening out there!” Boy did he shoot me a look! I gasped and said, “Nia! Why did you just get me in trouble with daddy?!” She giggled and giggled.

Of course, I’m not saying I would prefer if Nia fibbed or anything like that. It would just be nice to have some cushion to bear the brunt of the bus.

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From Disappointment to When’s Our Appointment?

28 Mar

Is it possible to say you had a good time at the doctor’s office? A doctor visit with a finger prick, urine test and shots? Also, a doctor visit involving two children under the age 8? Who would really feel like, “Whee! I’m taking my kids to be stabbed with a needle! Party!” Um, no. That’s why I can’t believe how awesome it is to take the kids their doctor now.

I used to dread it. When we first moved here, our doctor visits were agony. (All three of those < links in the previous sentence will share the past doctor drama with you.) I’m not saying I now look forward to a shot in the arm visit, but the kids’ new doctor’s office makes it worlds (WORLDS) better.

This doctor’s office never makes you feel like you are bothering them or that you were forgotten about while waiting. They send encouraging messages to parents like, “You are doing a great job with your children.” They talk to the kids and to parents, not at us. They genuinely seem to care about our children – what they do for fun, how they are doing in school what’s their favorite activity. They draw smiley faces and hearts on the hospital gown/shorts the kids wear during checkups. They know beneficial tricks to help make things like shots and strep tests less uncomfortable or scary for kids. (Not like when I had to forcibly hold toddler Nate down on the table at the last doctor.)

What’s even more cool about their doctor now is the Treasure Tower. The kids were given coins that would grant them the goody of their choice. (Our nurse gave the kids two each because Nate broke her heart with his pre-shot puppy dog tears. He and Nia both handled the shots like tough guys though. Not even a sniffle when the needle went in!) Along with the treasure of their choice, they got stickers and I also added a Chick-Fil-A milkshake to their after-shot spoiling. I’m pretty sure the kids won’t mind when we have to go back for the next check-up. Party at the pediatrician. Whee!

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Coins for Treasure Tower

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Shots in Arms, Milkshakes in Bellies

 

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Blog Post of a Wimpy Kid Fan

23 Mar

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Nia is all about reading some kid’s diary and it’s so great. Actually, she would likely correct me and tell me that he really wants it to be called a journal. She has entered into the reader’s world of befriending book characters. This Wimpy Kid and his adventures have captured her heart and imagination and it’s wonderful to share in her excitement.

She finished the first book in two days. (She counted down to us as she turned the pages – asking us to subtract 152 from the total.) When she turned that final page, we knew we needed to continue her Wimpy Kid connection so we drove the 30 minutes to the nearest open bookstore and bought each book in the series, plus a special one about the movie.

She’s now nearing the end of the second book but she’s not happy with the interruptions of the school week. Like, the bus rides in the morning. She told us it was too dark for her to read and asked us if she could bring a small flashlight. She now has a book light to help expand her reading time. She’ll soon be finished with all the them and waiting for the author to write more. Good thing there are movies to tide her over…

 

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Happy to Have Them All!

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Nate is inspired too!

Book Light for the Bus

 

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