Baseball Batting and my Diamond Darling

We rounded out our kindergarten year's introduction to team sports with baseball.  Collin was on a team with 5 other boys from our elementary, and 6 boys from a nearby school in our district.  We loved this low-key church league that let the boys try to hit off four coach pitches and then gave them a tee for guaranteed success.  Even if they threw the batter out at first base (which was rare - the throwing accuracy was abysmal), the player still stayed and rounded the bases.

Even though Collin likes basketball more, this so far is his best sport skills-wise.

At the end of the year, he won the hitting award, as he was the most consistent kid to hit off the coach pitch.

Maya attended almost every game, cheering from the stand.  She'd shout instructions like "watch the ball, swing hard" which was entertaining to hear coaching from a two-year-old.

When she wasn't watching her brother, she was playing with her baseball buddy, Kate.  They're just a few months apart, and we're excited they'll be in kindergarten together.

Waiting for a coach to pitch 4 times and then switch to a tee made it a rather slow game.  Collin would come in from his time in outfield with flowers for me.  Once when he was first baseman, he ran off the field chasing a dragonfly.  And another time when he was in the outfield and it was warm outside, he told the coach he was over it and wanted to go sit down.

We were happy to have great grandma B join us for a game -

 My parents cheered him on as well, and his Lizard team wrapped up the season with a pool party at our house.

A few weeks later, we went to the JJ Watt charity softball game.

From our nosebleed seats, you could barely see the game.  But we could eat cotton candy, ice cream, and watch Maya dance to all the batters' intro music.  It was a fun family night!

After the season, we still practiced throwing and catching on rare occasions.  Front yard practice -

Catching is so easy, he can do it with his eyes closed (not really though!)

We've enjoyed the summer off from Saturday sports games, but look forward to joining many of the baseball guys this fall in a soccer league!

Maya is three

Maya's birthday fell after Mother's Day, so we brought out a birthday cake and she smiled proudly as we sang her "Happy Birthday."

She let Collin know that she didn't need any help blowing out the candles -

 I don't remember most of her presents, even what Cas and I bought her, but she'd likely claim that Spin Art was among her favorite gifts -

On her actual birthday, we took some pictures in an adorable hand-me-down set before heading to gymnastics -

And documentation of her adorable three-year-old pronunciation of colors -

Oh Maya Loo, our little dumpling, our love, our sugar pie, our favorite little girl, we are so happy you are ours!

We forgot to conduct our annual birthday interview until the blog, so here's her 3 years and 3 months responses:
1.  What makes you happy?  Tickling
2.  What is your favorite animal?  Cow
3.  What is your favorite toy?  Fighting men (of Collin's)
4.  What is your favorite thing to eat?  Chicken
5.  What is your favorite thing to drink? apple juice
6.  What is your favorite thing to do? Spin around dancing
7.  What is your favorite movie?  Cinderella
8.  What is your favorite game?  Richard Scarry Busytown (we play it almost daily)
9.  What are you really good at doing? Magic Tricks (this is a blatant lie, but we cheer for her when she tries to imitate Collin's tricks)
10.  What is your favorite part of being a big 3-year-old? Holding a baby (no clue what baby she thinks she's held)
11.  What is your favorite color?  green
12.  What is your favorite song?  "Let it Go"
13.  Who is your best friend?  Gail (from pre-school) 
14.  What do you and your mommy do together?  Sing and Dance, go on choo-choo train (we go on one train ride a year)
15.  What do you and your daddy do together?  Swing, be silly, go placesPlay Memory matching game, coloring, playing with fighting men
16.  What is your favorite sport?  Swimming
17.  Where is your favorite place to go?  Dave and Busters
18.  What is your favorite book?  Press Here
19.  What is your favorite restaurant?  Chick fil A 
20.  What did you do on your birthday? Ate cake, went to gymnastics
21.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  a mommy with a baby in my stomach
22.  What is your favorite part of school?  Ms. Jill's physical education class
23.  What do you know about God and Jesus?  We learn about God in the Bible.  I love the story of Jonah.

May Memories

In an attempt to remember the backstory behind the photos from three months ago, here are some of my May memories:

Farewell party for Great Grandma Jewell Rae before she moved to a memory care facility in Austin - 

 My parents and my kids with their great grandmother -

And this is why I'll always take a massage for my Mother's Day gift -

Hyped up on cake icing at a birthday party -

 My girl -

 Love these two!

 We had the available moms over for Mother's Day hamburgers and snapped a four generations picture -

 May was a spring carnival at Collin's school, where Maya was not a fan of the Chick Fil A cow -

 But she had fun on the playground -

 Collin bravely tried the trampoline ride -

After a few rounds of sno-cones, cascarones battles, and spray painted mohawk hairdo's, Collin was a big fan of the first of many school carnivals -  

 On one of the last days of school, I joined him for lunch and sat with he and three friends -

 Maya wrapped up her year of gymnastics -

 

I was able to volunteer at Collin's field day.  By late May in Texas, it was appropriate to let the kids get soaking wet in every station and to wrap up the morning with sno-cones.  Sweet kinder class -

 

Enjoyed the morning with my boy -

 A few days before the end of school, the kinder class had a beach blast.  I was in charge of the bubble station, but everyone's favorite was the short-lived water balloons and of course, shaving cream!

At some point, I think in April or May, Cas had been up late one night and watched Maya sneak out of her room and come sit in front of the computer at around 1am.  I had woken up another morning to find her with a pen in hand, drawing all over her legs on the couch at 5:45am.  So a child lock was purchased and assembled to keep her imprisoned safely in her room at night.  Until one night we forgot to lock the door to the jack-and-jill bathroom, and when I went to wake up Collin in the morning for school, there was Maya cuddled up in his bed.

We thought it was so cute and sweet, we let them continue to sleep together as long as they didn't keep each other up giggling or talking at night.  Sometimes the dogs joined them - it is one crowded bed!