Little League Opening Day

The opening day for Little League was April 14, 2012. What a day! We had to be at the field at 9am. All of the teams were called out onto the field. Ben was so excited to run out when they called his name. His team is called the Elks. Sounds fierce, doesn't it? His colors are purple and grey. He was sure to point out to me that the purple is "boy" purple. He's such a guy. After all of the opening ceremonies were over, his team played a game. Of course they don't keep score, but Ben wanted to know who won. We told him it didn't matter and what's important is he's a good listener and nice team mate. I don't think he bought it but oh well. I agreed to be the Team Mom so this should be an interesting, and hopefully short, season! Play Ball!

Strategizing with a team mate

Great stance!

Happy Easter!

Today we celebrated Easter. Ben's preschool class was supposed to play the bells at the Easter service, but they weren't able to get enough kids so it was cancelled. Ben was a little disappointed so the Easter Bunny made sure to leave some extra treats for him this morning. Last night we told Ben he needed to be in bed by 8pm. We told him if the the Easter Bunny showed up while we were still awake, he might be too scared to come in our house. I have never seen him get his pajamas on so quickly before. It's amazing how fast he can move with the right motivation. The Easter Bunny, just like Santa and his reindeer, trashed our house! The big bunny tracked Easter grass and eggs from the front door, up to Ben's room, back down the steps, through the living room, dining room and kitchen. His trail of destruction finally ended in the family room where he left Ben's Easter basket. Ben was overjoyed to score a big chocolate bunny, Reese eggs, a panda book, monster truck and rocket balloons. We spent most of the morning playing with the rocket balloons. We finally stopped when Dad offered us $100 to play with something else. We had a great day and are planning to take a trip to Ohio tomorrow! Ben getting ready to color eggs!

Easter Basket!

Six years ago.....

Six years ago today I found out I was pregnant with Ben. I'm not that sentimental but I remember the date because it was 4/5/6. Isn't that cool? Chops was with me when I found out. She thought my excitement meant she was getting a new chew toy. I guess she was kind of right. I couldn't wait for dad to get home so I could tell him. The look of happiness on his face was beyond cute. He still gets that look everytime he looks at Ben. I honestly don't remember life before Ben came along.

Opening day of T-ball

Last night was Ben's first t-ball practice. He played for the YMCA last year but this year he has moved up to the big leagues. He's playing for the National Little League. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? The coach introduced himself and the assistant coach, who happens to be the coaches dad. They seem like nice guys and were really good with the kids. During a momentary lapse of sanity, I volunteered to be the team mom. Yikes! Those poor kids. Apparently this very important role is more of a glorified babysitter. I have to make sure the kids stand in line and wait their turn during the games. I also get to collect any forms the parents fill out. Whew! Good thing I went to college. Ben did really well at practice. He was delighted that dad was able to cut out of work early and join us at the field. Dad had a good time too, standing in the field and helping to direct the kiddos. Here's to a fun t-ball season with my two favorite guys!!!

Take that, big colleges!

"Mommy, I love you more than anything else in the whole university" - Ben Beckett, melter of my heart, confuser of words.

The Egg Hunt!

Holidays used to be a hassle for me. It meant a bunch of last minute shopping, housecleaning, guests and much more. Holidays still require all of those things but I no longer consider them a hassle. Now, I love holidays. Every, single one of them! Since Ben came into our lives, holidays are beyond fun. This year we hosted an Easter egg hunt here at the house. Ben had a bunch of his adorable little friends come over for an egg-citing afternoon. We started with a very intense game of pin the ear on the bunny. Next, the kiddos decorated bags to use during the hunt. When the administrative work was done, we started our quest! Ben, his friends, and their bunny ears invaded the backyard, searching for prized eggs. This event required a lot of preparation, but to see the smiles on their cute faces, made it totally worth the effort! When I was putting Ben to bed after the party, he asked me what is the next holiday. I told him Memorial Day would be after Easter. With a crazy amount of enthusiasm, he asked if we could have a Memorial Day party. I guess I better start planning..... The Egg Hunters!

High five....or is it high hive?

We are so fortunate that Ben is rarely sick. But, unfortunately, when something is a little "off" with him I panic because it doesn't happen very often. We were getting ready to give Ben his bath the other night. When he took off his shirt, I discovered a few red bumps on his tummy. Yikes! My first thought was chicken pox. Then I remembered he was vaccinated for that - whew! But then my next thought was what if the vaccination didn't work? More yikes! Fortunately, the reasonable one, also known around here as dad, came in to see what my scoffs were about. Upon further investigation, we discovered some more bumps and some red splotches. The reasonable one thought it was just a skin irritation or maybe he said something else. I stopped listening to him as I ran to make some urgent phone calls. First, to my sister. She didn't answer. Next, to my mom. She answered - one point for mom, zero points for sister. We discussed the posibilty of hives and my mom suggested I call the doctor. She raised five kids so for her to suggest the doctor, I knew I should probably call. Meanwhile, the reasonable one finished giving Ben his bath and let him fall asleep on the couch. I called the doctor's office. Since it was afterhours I had to leave a message. While I was waiting for the return call, I jumped on the internet. Upon googling "my child has red splotches" several pages came up. This was serious if other people had searched for it, right? The first page I clicked on, and each one after that said, "skin problems rarely require an urgent call to the doctor". Oops! The doctor called back and said we were actually the third call that day with these symptoms. Their explanation - so much pollen in the air is causing kiddos to get hives. No big deal. The next morning when Ben woke up, he asked if he still had spots. I checked him out and there were no spots to be found. I told him the spots were called hives but since they were gone, we had nothing to worry about. Then, the most curious look arrived on his adorable face and he said, "do you mean like bee hives?" He cracks me up!