FIRST BASEBALL PRACTICE

Why is it that I'm the one that gets stuck watching the kids do their activities on the really cold days? My goodness, the wind started blowing hard and the temperature dropped drastically about 20 minutes after practice started and was a brisk 42 degrees. That was just great.

I was really hoping it would start raining so practice would be cut short. Evening practices times mess up dinner and showers and bedtime. Especially when they are from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm and on a school night. An hour and a half seems to be a bit excessive for 7 year olds, and I really hope that this isn't going to be the norm.I didn't want to be that annoying mom flashing pictures all night at the very first practice, so I kept the flash off and took what I could even though I knew the quality wouldn't be so good. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some really clear shots during the day games.

Cole was a little nervous but he was very excited to go on the field and get started. The head coach introduced all the players and coaches and then sent the new kids one way and the veterans another. Except for Cole...He was sent straight to third base with the veterans for some infield drills. He was stoked! He did everything the coaches told him and tried to take it all in while pushing his nerves aside.Cole looks so cute out there with his glove all ready to go. It's going to be unreal seeing him in an actual baseball uniform. Their uniforms will be green and white. Oh, and Upper Level is the name of their team. The coach's wife is sponsoring them, and that's the name of the salon she owns.
A few clips from practice. Nathan had to work so I tried to discreetly take a few videos so he could see what Cole needed to work on. I thought Pa and Grandpa might want to see this, too.

He did pretty good on throwing except that he was releasing the ball too early like a football and doing a rainbow toss. I tried to quietly tell him but he was purposely ignoring me. I don't think it's the cool thing to have your mom give you pointers, even if I do know more about most sports than most moms. Oh, but all the dads had something to shout out to their kids without question.

They changed up his swing completely. Evidently, now they don't teach the kids the way Nathan learned, so we've been telling him things all wrong. It's all about the "chopping the wood" motion. And the two bats we have are not right for him. One is way too small and one is too heavy. Luckily, some of the kids are serious ballers and have really nice bats that they don't mind sharing. Good thing because we sure as heck aren't spending $250 on one.

The only reason I grabbed our jackets in the first place was because we were supposed to get more rain. Our lightweight jackets weren't enough, but the kids both had on sweatshirts, so I really didn't think we would need anything more. Luckily, I also had my big coat in the car and was able to sacrifice my freezing self for my sweet daughter that never complained about having to watch and wait on her brother for so long.

The effects of some fruity and fabulous Fun-Dip that she found in my purse.

She is going to be just like I was as a kid...Forced to go to every game until it becomes second nature, and she somehow never wants to miss a game because she loves supporting her big brother so much. At least that's how I hope she will feel.

I loved watching my brothers play ball and was always so proud to say that I was their little sister. It would have been nice if they would have felt the same way about me and supported me in volleyball all those years, but they didn't.

I suppose it really doesn't matter now, but it's something that I will probably never get over. And because of that, I will try my darndest to make sure Cole is just as supportive of Brooke as she is of him.

It's not so much about making things fair, but more about the importance of family and being there for one another. I want our kids to always feel like they can count on each other, encourage each other, laugh with each other, love each other, hang out in public with each other, and help each other in any way possible...And actually want to do those things for each other throughout their lives.