Grace's First T-ball game

Grace had her first t-ball game this month and it was freezing! It turned out that for some reason, we had one last really cold weekend and it just happened to be on her game day. They went back and forth deciding whether to cancel, but in the end, they played. It was in the 40's and raining (but just misty during the actual game which is why they played). They all wore their little uniforms under jackets and hats and by the end of the 45 minutes they played, they were frozen little popsicles and Grace actually ended up with a little cold from it.

 Ready for her game!

 Look at these kids all bundled up on the bench!

 She hit the ball! And made it home! https://youtu.be/iZCIfGR0IUI

T-Ball & Baseball Season Begins!

Baseball season began at the beginning of March for both Atticus and Grace. Grace decided she wanted to play T-ball this year and while at first, I wasn't sure we could do 4 nights at the ball fields each week, I found out that they had a Saturday only T-ball league for those that were only 4 and turning 5. So, I signed her up. And, we made sure to get on the same team as both Ellie and Dani to make it more comfortable for the girls. Grace's team was the San Francisco Giants.

Atticus also wanted to play and this was his second season for machine pitch. He wanted to play every single day. He could not get enough of playing catch outside or wanting to play games with his friends in the front yard. So, I was excited for him to get to play too. He ended up back on his T-ball coach's team with some players from his spring T-ball team. His team were the Redwings and he was so excited to have a new mascot with a new cap to wear! For that matter, he was excited about Grace's cap too!

Atticus started practice a couple of weeks before Grace. I liked the format of Atticus's practices with Coach Michelle and her other two assistants. They were organized and encouraging all season (except for one game where I was pretty sure she wanted to give up) and did a good job of teaching the kids. But, I'll be honest - this is a tough age. You really want kids to love the game and have fun, but you need them to be serious sometimes. Well, Atticus had Kindergarten and 1st graders on his team. And they are boys. Great combination for expecting serious ball players, right? So, there are always going to be tough moments and kids are just kids. Even if they aren't being disrespectful, they just won't always listen to every word and do everything a coach says. Atticus is a great kid and wants to please his coaches, but he is also a silly boy who can easily get caught up in being silly with the other players. So, while I'm jumping ahead of myself, Vic and I struggled all season with wanting him to work hard but also wanting him to have fun. Parenting is so hard!

Anyways, his practices started out great; he had all kinds of new gear - new cleats and new baseball bag and new helmet from Pop. We had to get him a new bat and glove, so he was excited and ready!

We took a fun lunch date and went to buy a bucket of balls and go practice his swing off of the tee.

Grace's first practice fell on the day of her birthday party. It was at 11:00 that morning and didn't go as I expected. Grace was so excited for her first practice and Atticus was so excited for her. She had a fantastic coach who was also organized and prepared for this age group. The kids sat down at the first practice, with parents all around them and he asked each kid to tell everyone their name, their favorite color and what they wanted their super power to be if they were a super hero. Kids loved this...except Grace. She was the 2nd kid to have to go and as soon as he got to her, she turns around to find me with gigantic tears in her eyes because she is too afraid to talk in front of the group. Poor sweet baby! I went up and answered her questions for her, but she was done for awhile. She didn't want to be included in the group and just wanted me. Oh her little soft heart. Some great parents kept encouraging her and by the end of the 45 minutes, she was participating and feeling good and smiling again. Whew. But, I wasn't sure how this season would go. Even her best friends, Ellie and Dani, couldn't get her going right away. I'll update as the season goes on, but the good news: it gets so much better!

 Ready for the first practice!

 This was right before her tears.

 And by the end, she was better again.

 She kept attending practices (which ended up being on Wednesday nights, so there went my idea that this was only on Saturdays!) and got better each time, although she still needed me right by her side. The good part was that the coach really wanted parent help so it was almost a 1:1 ratio of kids to adults.

 And then she got her uniform in and if that doesn't make the entire experience more fun, I don't know what does!

 Atticus goes to every practice with us. Vic doesn't always know exactly how to manage Grace if she gets upset (well, he knows how, but he would rather I do it - ha!), so this month I did all practices. Anyways, Atticus is so helpful and the coach lets him help kids too.

 And, really - this is just Grace. She had to wear her bunny ears on Easter weekend practice. I think they came off when she put her helmet on, but until then she was a t-ball playing bunny!

And, last but not least, they had College Station Little League Opening Ceremonies at the end of the month. Vic and I traded kids mid-way through because Grace had dance pictures that afternoon and then Atticus had Opening Ceremonies and baseball pictures. And the place was packed at the ball fields! So, I stuck with Atticus while Vic took the girls. We got to visit and see the Gregory's after the event too.

 Atticus and Lane

Atticus's First Year of T-Ball

Here's a little summary of T-ball for Spring 2017! Atticus had a really good time and improved over his T-ball season. His team was the Milwaukee Brewers and his number was 7. In this league, they did everything on the tee for the first game and then after that, it was coach pitch for 4 or 5 balls and then they would switch to the tee to let the kids hit. Everyone made it around the bases, one base at a time and they switched positions all over the field. The most common part of watching this group was when the ball was hit, EVERY kid, from all over the field, would run to the ball and dive bomb it until some lucky player got it and then sometimes, even throw it somewhere. And it seemed that many times, when the last player at bat hit the ball (and got a home run so all kids on base ran home), one of our players would chase those kids all over the field getting them out. It was a zoo! But, it was cute and fun! We played on the little t-ball fields at Bachmann and Wayne Smith in College Station. The toughest part was that we had 2 games (and 3 for makeups) during the week for about 7 or 8 weeks. They were some tired kids in April and May, what with all of the school activities, end of year exhaustion, and t-ball games! But, it set a fun baseball foundation with Atticus! Here's some pictures and a video I compiled...although my video skills are not great!

 First game!

They batted in the same order each time. Stacey (Greer's mom) and I usually helped at the bench and having them in order of their jersey number was so helpful!

 Most of these pictures are a couple of games as the season went on. 

 Ellie & Grace became good friends this season! They played and played and it made games so much more fun for them (and us!)

 Grace, Ellie, Greer, Atticus & Brody

 After one game, Atticus and Grace wanted to stay and play and run the bases and play on the t-ball field. So, they did!

 Below is one of our last games. It was common to see Atticus taking a couple of breaks during the game.

 And below is one of the dive-bombs. I think Coach Michelle was tired of trying to tell the kids to stay in their areas and not ALL go for the ball, but what do you do? At least they are hustling?

 Atticus got to play pitcher at this game.

 

 

 

 

 I love this photo below. Somehow, throughout the season, he started raising his leg to throw the ball. It would take seconds to actually throw it, but so funny!

 A discrepancy on the play, I guess?

 And at his last game, they all got T-Ball trophies. It was a great season!