Game Day!

So there will never be another like this...the first T-Ball game! -N- will never experience another first like this, there may be other sports and other games but never again the First of the Firsts. It was so fun to see him out there. Now keeping him corralled in the dugout when we were at bat, was a different story and getting him to run bases and field the ball and...I digress. The first of firsts...

Batter up...

Fielding the Ball...

Yeah, yeah good game, I wanna hit the ball again!

And this is how you convince said little man to run the bases, you tell him you are gonna get there first!

Take the Field...

Let the adventure begin...-N- is playing a game called blastball, otherwise known as t-ball with bases that Honk at you when you jump on them. It is going to be so much fun, since -B- was unsure of his schedule this year, I opted to coach -N- and his team. We had our first practice this last Tuesday and will continue to practice every Tuesday until the first weekend in June. His first game is this weekend and now -B- will be in charge of manning the camera and taking lots and lots of pictures. Here are a few from Tuesday's practice.

It was so fun to watch the kids play. -N- was so excited about standing out there to catch the ball. The Easter bunny was one smart cookie and brought him a brand new baseball glove, so he was ready to play, come time for practice. Getting down low for the ball meant sitting on his knees, and getting his glove ready to catch the ball meant putting it on his head, apparently there are some fundamentals we will be working on. But you better believe as soon as that ball was hit, no matter the kids were on the field they were all running to get it! A comical scene none the less.

I think the best part for each child was getting the ball, even if they were the one to Hit it off the tee. Too fun! He has been asking all day when he gets to play baseball again, so tomorrow cannot come soon enough.

And what is any great baseball player without his FANS!

Look Who's 9 months Already!

So it's official -A- is 9 months old, with 3 new teeth, one more on the way, he is at a total of five, soon to be six and crawling like a champ! He goes in for his check-up next Thursday so we'll have the official measurements then, but in the meantime he is almost 20lbs! and it looks like he has stretched to a length of 28.5 inches long. My how big he seems, starting at 6lbs 4 1/2 oz and more than tripling in 9 months could have something to do with it. He is a muscular little boy, the other day I was changing his diaper when from the flat of his back, he sat straight up...I can't even do that, I have to put out an arm or something for added support, okay so maybe not but I was still rather shocked! HA

Now the tricky part is capturing him crawling on film as he has gotten rather speedy and has a mind all his own, so the path I want him to take isn't necessarily the one he WANTS to take. Look at him go!

-N- loves his little brother and boy are they going to have some fun as -A- gets older.

It's apparent that -A- loves his big Bro -N- too.

Lastly, Eating one at a time is highly overrated, especially when you can devour 3 at a time.

Did YOU Know?

So there is this amazing feature...I can post date a blog entry! No more needing to feel like I have to sit down and document every moment as it occurs, or the stress of not being able to find the time to do so.

When I finally find a stretch of time to do my thing, I just change the date and voila, it looks like I never skipped a beat! hehehe

So needless to say, if your blogger seems to be acting up, not telling you when there is a new entry, it might not be your computer's fault. I was just slacking again and rather than cramming 500 pics in one post to cover the span of a month, a post dating we will go!

So be sure to look for more when one updates.

Happy Easter

So this year for Easter we opted to go to church for the Easter Vigil on Saturday night and then spend Easter Sunday with family at our house.

Saturday night, we packed up and headed out, for church. No pics, we were lucky to get there on time, dealing with dinner and parking and finding a place to sit all with an 8 1/2 month old and 3 year old in tow.

The Easter Vigil is special to us because 4 years ago -B- and I took part in the Vigil as Candidates, we both completed our confirmations Easter 2005. We opted to brave the event knowing full well that it was going to be a long one, topping out around 2 hours of sitting and listening after 9 readings and so much more.

We entered the church to greet darkness and found our way to the "cry room", it was a full house and people were spilling out of the doors into the hallways, so as others, obviously battling the parking situation, arrived they filled in to the only open seats they could find in the cry room. We packed in like sardines and listened to Father Casey as he began, speaking of the death of Jesus on the cross. Then the Vigil started as the baptismal candle was lit and the lights rose, "In the Beginning..." Genesis 1:1.

At one point a family of four joined our row and with only two empty seats, we gave up -N-'s seat and let him sit on our laps, while one of their children sat in the row in front of them and the other in the row with them.

Coming fully prepared for the endeavor, I packed several activities for the boys, more so -N- and he gladly sat at my feet coloring, drawing and looking at his bible, all while sitting and standing in rhythm with the congregation and -A- sat happily playing with an Easter Egg. After two trips to the bathroom, one for each boy and nursing -A-, "God putting Abraham to a test..." Genesis 22:1-18, "...a parting of the red sea..." Exodus 14:15, "the returning of exiles..." Isaiah 54:5-14, standing and sitting a couple times, watching the catechumen become baptized, renewing our baptismal promises, and watching the candidates receive their first holy communion, the family in the row in front of us began to pack up with their little ones and hopes of the rising claustrophobia going away rushed over me.

With -A- falling asleep in -B-'s arms and -N- curling up on the floor and covering up with his blanket I feared we wouldn't make it much longer. Soon after the family in front of us left and the family to our right stayed put, we met our limit. -A- decided to fight sleep and -N- and myself for that matter became restless, one can only handle having their foot stepped on so many times. Father Casey came around and sprinkled holy water on the congregation and we began to pack up.

As we drove home, I realized that though we didn't make it the full two hours, we did quite well considering and soon we will sit through an entire Easter Vigil again, but for now this is just fine and we can always try again next year.

Bringing the story of Christ to life for -N- this year was important to me, so we talked about the death and resurrection of Jesus and read his bible stories on the respective days. He went to bed, Good Friday, understanding that Jesus died on a cross for us, and then Easter Sunday we read about how Jesus was resurrected "He is Risen!" Mark 16:1-7.

We then enjoyed a Ham dinner with my parents and discovered eggs left by the Easter Bunny, so -N- went on an egg hunt and looked through his loot as did -A-. I even managed to capture that pic of the boys together in their Easter Sunday clothes.

Here they are checking out the goods, and since it was too wet to hunt outdoors on Easter, here's a pic of -N- hunting the other day at a hunt with friends...Happy Easter and God Bless!

-A- even figured out there are yummy things hidden inside those eggs! (Baby Goldfish in his case)

A Very Sad Day

Okay so let me start by saying, this runs in the family and it does not skip a generation!

-B- loves his cars.

Each one holds a special place in his heart. He still remembers the day that his Dad sold the orange truck...also referred to as his truck at the ripe old age of 3.

Long before he and I started dating, he owned the famed Ford Bronco. It was his first car and he worked hard on it, he sanded it down and prepped it for a new shiny coat of paint among other things. Oh the pride!

About a month after the paint job was done, he was heading home from work (if memory serves correctly) and as he drove down the road an electrical fire ignited under the hood. He quickly pulled onto the side of the road (up over the curb and onto a patch of grass, to be more precise), without a fire extinguisher or water, he was forced to watch the electrical fire wreak havoc.

After having it towed home and figuring out the extent of the damage, it was decided that there were two options:

The first being: FIX the Bronco and be a licensed 17 year old without a mode of transportation, relying on family and friends for rides (hmm was this ever REALLY an option?)

or...

The second: SELL the Bronco and inherit the '91 Mustang

A pivotal moment in hubby's youth and one he second guesses often, he decided that it was best to sell the Bronco and inherit the Mustang.

Some years later, the urge and need to own another Bronco resurfaced and we purchased a white Bronco from a friend that he worked with. Having spent most of it's life in Chicago, (yes I realize it is a car) it suffered quite a bit of rust damage. We took it down to the family farm and began the restoration, after replacing the quarter panels and beginning to gut and or clean the interior it was decided that this one would just not DO, nor could it replace the beloved one from his past and it was later sold.

Fast forward a few more years, and hundreds of miles away, we found ourselves in need of another vehicle. With a little extra cash and some free time, -B- opted to begin his hunt for the one that got away. He found one that was a little over an hour away and seemed to fill a very large pair of shoes. We drove out and looked, studied, then test drove...It wasn't the familiar black with orange pinstripe (a.k.a. Midnight Pumpkin), but instead a dark blue, bordering on navy blue. My dear hubby was taken back to his youth, though not too terribly far away, and we headed home with the newest member of our family (again I realize it is a car).

At the time, our little guy -N- was a mere 15 months old and he fell in love! It was no longer -B-'s Bronco, but instead -N-'s Bronco and he was just letting Dad borrow it. He begged to ride in the Bronco any chance he could and it was even better if Dad was able to take the top off. A love shared deeply between the two and could always be counted on as a prized reward for good behavior.

Over the past couple months, a few changes has prompted the sale of the Bronco, namely the purchase of yet another truck. I spent a little time, when we initially decided we were going to sell it, explaining to our now 3 year old, that we were going to sell it and what that means to him. I explained that some day, someone will come and look at the Bronco and decide that they like it too. They will then give Dad money and drive away in the Bronco. At which point -N- explained that he would call the "complice" and "they would go get that guy and make him bring back My Bronco." Thus began the journey...

Several tire kickers visited our home and looked, after time began to pass with no offers -B- began to refer to the Bronco as "his Albatross". Then someone called very interested, he came out and looked at the Bronco, and though he acted as though he needed to think it over, it was apparent that he too had a love for cars. Feeling that this might be the day, I made sure to take -N- on a final voyage in the Bronco while Dad was at work. When we arrived home, I made sure to document his love through photos and videos.

One of -N-'s favorite past times is to sit and pretend to drive the Bronco, so he did just that. Once the man returned, he and -B- hashed out pricing and a deal was made. I told -N- that if he wanted to say "goodbye" to the Bronco, now was the time, and my little man began to Cry, hysterically. My heart began to break into a million little pieces and I began to cry too! I never thought I would feel the kind of attachment my hubby does for a car, but there I stood in that moment hurting for my little man. He was heart broken, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. When I went to take a picture to continue documenting the life altering event, I was told, "Mom I don't want anymore pictured right now, I am too sad" it was at that moment that I realized it RUNS in the Family!

So without further ado, my son and his Bronco...