Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Friday Mom – Jaime:
As a lawyer, my job is to solve other people’s problems. It’s messy. it’s hard. But I absolutely love it. And, actually, if I’m doing my job really well, I psych out the problems and figure out a way to steer the client around a potential landmine before they blow themselves up with it…

Parenting is like another planet. I don’t see most of the landmines before I’m firmly entrenched in them. And, as good as I am at solving other people’s problems, the mystery of how to get Andrew to eat something other than one of the old standbys is still a total mystery.

But every few days he comes home from school and tells me about the taste test he did. His new teachers have somehow convinced the world’s most picky, stubborn eater to try (AND ENJOY!) stuff like broccoli and carrots. The carrot experiment was apparently to get the kids to experience the different textures of the same food (hard and soft, depending on whether the carrots were raw or cooked). Andrew proclaimed that he liked crunchy best and that he would actually eat five…no! TEN!…carrots if I made them for him.

The kid won’t even look at broccoli if I try to feed it to him. They managed to get him to chow down on it. I’m still not sure how broccoli and chocolate worked together in a taste test… Or why anyone would think to put the two together… But hey, they somehow managed to get him to eat a green vegetable.

Even our own taste tests that we do in the house are met with stringent opposition. So what is it about doing one at daycare that makes it not only worth trying, but fun? And good?

I just don’t get it.

But I’m now going to turn to much happier subjects… Today is the home opener at Yankee Stadium and I cannot wait! There’s nothing better than blowing off work (on a motion day, no less) to catch a ballgame with my sister, uncle, hubby and especially my dad.

Go Yankees! And have a great weekend everyone.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Jack has started “buddy ball” or T-ball as we call it. His team is for kids age 4-6, so he is definitely the rookie on the team. Jack got his first “real” glove, bat, balls and helmet this week, and his dad took him to his first practice. From what his dad said, Jack has a long way to go to catch up to his peers on the team. The kids who played last year are hitting pitches and throwing to basemen.   Jack is busy working on the basics.  He loves to play third base.

We want Jack to have fun, but we also want to encourage him to improve without putting too much pressure on him. We work on catching and hitting in the back yard to keep him interested. His friends are a little more advanced than him at practice, but he is improving. He loves to go to practice and interact with his teammates and coaches.  We are pretty confident that he will get better naturally over the course of the season. He has to start somewhere, right?

The other parents’ involvement ranges from volunteer coach to moms more consumed with their smart phones. We are somewhere in-between. As long as Jack wants to play, we will continue to support him. You have to learn what makes you smile.  As a former player myself, I’m hoping he follows in my footsteps.

From Friday Mom – Jaime:
Andrew’s vote for my post topic this week goes a little something like this, “Um…You should write about…Maybe…You love me…and I love the books…and I swing the bat so well…” That probably could be three posts – but let’s see how I do with rolling it into one.

The first part’s easy.

Yes, Andrew. I love you to pieces. Even when you’re (still) trying to sneak into my bed at 3 in the morning. Or when you’re staying awake way after I pass out so you can watch the end of the Yankee game. Or when you’re driving me crazy because you would rather not eat anything than eat what I make you for dinner 🙂

Mr. Andrew’s new favorite books are the little Mr. and Ms. series. You know the ones… Mr. Tickle. Ms. Naughty. Actually, those are the only two they have at daycare. Andrew reads them ENDLESSLY. Every day. Several times a day. And he even falls asleep with them during nap time. (Sounds like we’re going to need to acquire these books for him, right?)

Andrew continues to make us proud by being totally obsessed with baseball. Watching it. Talking about it. Playing it.

He wants to go outside and play baseball every day. Some days he wants to throw the ball around, but lately he’s been on a batting kick. No trying to whack a ball off a tee for my kid. We pitch to him.

And he’s actually really good. He’s great at making contact with the ball. This week he managed to slam a ball up onto our roof, ending the evening’s play because he got it stuck in the gutter, and smacked the ball down into the little stream running behind the house. Andrew has declared himself the next Babe Ruth.

He also fancies himself as Brett Gardner…because they’re both super fast and can bunt. Yes, I taught my 3 year old to bunt. I think it’s awesome.

He got so good at it, I tried teaching him to to slap hit. We’re still working on that one… 😉

So hopefully Andrew will approve of my post this week. And, since tonight is parents’ night out, I’d like to thank the good people at daycare for staying open late so hubby and I can go out (without the munchkin) for a change.

Have a great weekend everyone!

From Friday Mom – Jaime:
Last Sunday, we took Andrew to his first baseball game at Yankee stadium. I’ll admit I was a bit apprehensive.
The game was right in the middle of nap time and, although he’s pretty into the games on TV, who knew how he would do in person. So I packed my purse full of coloring books, crayons, cars, books, snacks and anything else I could fit in there, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best…

It’s always really cool to see someone’s first reaction to the Stadium. I remember this one game where a little kid walked in with his dad. I was walking in behind them and found myself tripping over the kid because he had stopped short, staring in amazement at the field. The dad immediately apologized, telling us it was his kid’s first game. I think the little guy stood there for a full 10 minutes, jaw dropped open in awe as he took in the sites, sounds, colors of Yankee Stadium.

It was kind of like that with Andrew. He rushed out to the rail and stared at the field, mouth hanging open. Then he looked back at us and demanded to know where all the Yankees were. He was running around, jumping up and down – totally psyched to see the Yankees play in person.

He actually did great throughout the day. He was into the game. He asked “what happened” after every play (and pitch and foul ball). He got on A-Rod’s case when he wasn’t hitting and started calling him a puppy dog (“not a cute one, mommy!”), which was hysterical.

Andrew got really tired and wanted to leave in the 7th inning (30 minutes after his nap should have ended)…just as the Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs. “Please, mommy. We go home now?” he asked, yawning big.

He wasn’t so happy when I said absolutely not, but quickly changed his tune when the Yankees started scoring, tied the game and quickly surged ahead. He was jumping up and down on his seat cheering the team on. It was awesome…

In the end, the Yanks won. Andrew had a blast. And I had worried for nothing. A successful outing all around.

Have a great weekend everyone

So many of my favorite memories from when I was little involve baseball. My dad had my sister and me playing t-ball as soon as we could hold up a bat without falling over. He coached our little league teams for so long that the town almost named a baseball field after him. My sister and I both played catcher, and I’ll begrudgingly admit that she was far better at it than I ever was. But no matter what else he had going on, dad always came to our games.

Sundays have always been about baseball. My dad started taking me to games when I was 5. I knew how to score a game by age 7. In the beginning, he would bring an activity bag full of toys and coloring books. When I was older, my sister was the one with the activity bag and I was almost as into the game as my dad and uncle.

When I heard I was having a little boy, I couldn’t wait to continue the tradition. (I would have been equally excited to introduce a little girl to baseball.) Andrew has his own little Jeter jersey, a baseball glove, tons of baseballs and a little bat that he likes to swing around like a golf club.

Andrew is learning baseball slowly, excitedly pointing out whenever he sees someone playing. He sat with me on the couch and, like all good Yankee fans everywhere, together we rooted for the Angels as they ended the Red Sox’s time in the post-season.

Traditions are important. Every family has them, no matter how big or small. I still think it’s the most special thing when I get to sit next to my dad at a ballgame. It’s just not the same without him. And I love being able to share this one with him.