Baseball Fever

We've been living it up at the ball field a couple nights a week.  I think all three of us are enjoying it equally. 

Miles has surprised us with how quickly he has caught on.  When the coach put him at third the very first practice, I really questioned how he would do there.  With some help from Darrin, he has learned how to throw much farther.  He's even thrown 3 batters out at first.  He's also gotten several grounders and tagged third for the out.

He says he likes third, but he'd also like to play pitcher, which at this age just means more action.  He takes the job of communicating how many outs to the outfield very seriously.

This week he got moved up in the batting order from 6th to 2nd.  Not a bad stance...

He consistently gets singles.

Granny & Pa were able to come watch this week. 

He always slides into home even though it's never been necessary :)

He also made his catching debut last week for one inning.  Catching at this age consists of wearing the equipment and squatting behind the plate. Our coach actually throws the balls back.  Nevertheless, he liked it.  Cutest little catcher I've ever seen.

Post game snacks are always a hit.

It's been a lot of fun so far, and we've gotten to know a few more people.  As I've mentioned before, the coach is the father of one of Miles' best friends in his class.  We have really enjoyed getting to know he and his wife.  Darrin & I both hope that he is liking it as much as we are.

Game Day

Miles woke up very excited about game day.  We had to leave the house at 10:15am and that still wasn't early enough for his liking.  I completely underestimated the amount of time it takes to put this amount of gear on a 6 year old.

Despite the beautiful sunshine, it was a windy, chilly day.  This is one of my new favorite pictures. 

Miles has his game face nailed.

This is one of Miles favorite friends from school, Tyler.  They are in the same class at school. His teacher said they are usually playing a sport together in the gym or outside at recess. 

His dad is the coach, and we are really looking forward to getting to know their family throughout the season. 

Today was picture day before the game, which caused some downtime, which caused some rowdiness. All smiles for picture day.

I can almost hear the background music as they strut across the park to their field.

Pregame prayer...thank you Coach Steve for that.

Miles was so excited to play third base.  He's been practicing there for a couple weeks.  He played two innings at third and then went to the outfield for a couple innings.  

Warming up...

During the game, he kept looking towards Darrin's dad and me. I don't know if he was looking to see if I was watching or if he wanted confirmation or encouragement.  He never did that in soccer.  Baseball seems to challenge him a little more, which pushes him a little outside his comfort zone. Because he's like me in that regard, I think he was looking for some affirmation.  He pushed through the game like a big boy, but I think he was pretty nervous every step of the way.

Even between swings he would look over at us.  He fouled a few balls and then finally made contact. He grounded towards first and the first baseman got him out.  I was honestly just relieved that he made contact b/c I think that's just the confidence he needed for the next two at bats.

The next two at bats he made contact with the first swing and made it to first once and to second once due to an overthrow.  

I was very happy with his attention span during the game. The coaches do an amazing job of continually reminding them where the play is and what their specific job is.  They also encouraged them all game long but not in a babying kind of way.  Miles didn't see much action at third, but his coach bragged on him for covering his base at least 4 times during the game. I think that is so smart to help remind them that they have a job to do with every batter, even if the ball doesn't come to them.

His first time to run home!

Today was just a "fun" day for the entire city league, but they won the game and more importantly they got the jitters out.  I was amazed at how far they have come since the first practice.  

Proud to have his Pa...

...and Granny at the game...

Darrin was out of town for the day with his team. We woke up to a voice text from Darrin giving Miles a pregame pep talk.  All three of us hate for him to miss stuff like this, but it's our normal and Darrin does a great job of staying involved even when he's away.  He called right after the game to see how it went. 

During the game, I found myself thinking that I could really get into baseball.  It doesn't seem to come as natural to him as football or even golf, when he started swinging a club years ago.  But, I can almost see his mind spinning with excitement and the challenge of it.  I'd say he had a very successful first game.

20"ish" Week Baby Update

I was 20 weeks last Sunday, so technically I'm closer to 21 but who's counting?  I am!  Time is going by much quicker this time, but it can never go fast enough.  We went to the doctor this morning for my 20 week check up and full ultrasound where they check everything.  It was a good visit and the baby looks great!  No concerns.  Now, the last check point that we need to get through is the full ultrasound and heart scan at the high risk doctor.  That happens in a couple of weeks.  If we get through that without any concerns, we just wait for baby to arrive and I do my best to keep him in until term.  Doctor's office selfie...

I took this baby bump picture a few minutes ago...so at the end of the day...hence the camera covering my face.

I've been very concerned that I'm much bigger this time. I actually weigh less but my stomach feels huge. After looking back at my 21 week pic with Miles, I was somewhat relieved.  Doesn't look that much different to me.  And, apparently my belly grew really fast around this time with Miles.  Not that I care to get as big as I did with Miles, but at least I know I'm not any bigger at this point.  When you are 5' tall, that's just what happens.

In other news, we've been in the middle of remodeling Miles' bathroom.  We used the same contractor that did our addition for some of it, and then I decided I would do the painting. That was a good idea when we planned this and I was barely pregnant. Now, with the back pain and contractions, it has not been good at all.  Thankfully, we are almost finished.  I can't believe I did this, but I didn't take any before pictures.  I searched through some pictures that we've taken since we've been in the house and found two pics.  This one shows the tub, but doesn't really do it justice.  In person, it was a much darker almond color rather than the ivory it appears to be.

I was actually taking a before picture of the hallway before we put down hardwood and installed a new light fixture.  But you can see the dark floor and the chocolate walls, which weren't much lighter even with the bathroom light on.  It was by far the darkest room in the house.

We still have some work to do so this isn't a full reveal, but Miles is loving his new tub.  I can't remember the last time he played in the tub for 30 minutes.  I just love how bright and clean it looks.  When I get the walls finished, the mirror installed, and the shower curtain up, I'll post some more pics.

Someone is ready for his first baseball game on Saturday...

I will definitely be back this weekend to post pictures of the cutest little baseball player I've ever seen. Good night!

One Sentence Updates & Some Random Pics

Thought I would drop in and unload a few pictures & updates with what we've been doing.  I read a running blog {comical} that I love called Hungry Runner Girl. She does a repeat post called 'Sentence Per Picture'.  I thought I would follow her example.  I would love to post more often, but sometimes the words don't come, or there isn't much time. This should help with both of those issues.

Miles actually reworked a Lego that he's already done. Considering how much they cost, that made me extremely happy.

We've been practicing baseball...

And even though it's baseball season & he really needs a lot of practice, they can't seem to put the football down. Miles just loves it and takes to it like nothing else at this point.

He walks around the house with a football in his hands often...just tossing it in the air and catching it.

They've been working on routes too.

There's also been some nursery decorating going on.  Much more to come on that.

Last week, was Miles' spring break. He spent over half of it with the flu.

This lead to many nights in bed with me due to a high fever.  As I've said many times, nothing scares me like a high fever.

He was down & out on Easter, so we spent the day at home. 

It was sad to miss church and our family get together, but we made the best of the day.  With kids, these things happen.  Remember the year that we missed Thanksgiving and Christmas???

We had an Easter egg hunt in the house since he missed the one with his cousins. I think he liked that he was guaranteed to find the prize egg.

When you are sick with the flu, you get way more screen time than you normally would.

This is my view many mornings as I'm getting ready for work even when he's not sick. I love that he still likes to be near me.

Miles and I went with Darrin's team to a spring tournament yesterday.

Spring tournaments are very laid back.  It was Miles' first time to sit on the bench.  This might be the cutest picture ever.

I love the way his feet dangle in this one. He won't be this little for long.

I am 20 weeks today, so half way there. Technically they will schedule a c-section at 39 weeks so I'm past the halfway point, but who's counting???  So far the second trimester hasn't been quite as smooth as the first, but it's still okay.  I had to go to the doctor last week to get checked out b/c I'm having a lot of contractions.  Apparently this isn't abnormal for the second pregnancy.  As long as they aren't consistent or painful, it should be fine.  It's a little frustrating b/c it slows me down a little, but maybe that's the point.  I'm also having significant back pain from the fibroid tumor.  I know that's what is from b/c it's only on the left side, which is where the tumor is.  I have an appointment on Thursday, so my plan is to talk to the doctor then. I'm sure there's nothing that can be done, but maybe he'll have some words of wisdom.  I'll be back with a baby update after my appointment along with the first baby bump picture.  Have a great week, everyone!