Birthday Party, Baseball, and a Bike Ride

This past weekend, we celebrated Seth's birthday with his two close buddies and the rest of their class at a local, minor-league baseball game. It was so much fun! The kids played in the play area (merry-go-round, moon bounce, whiffle ball), ate an unlimited buffet of hot dogs, popcorn, chicken nuggets, and ice cream, and watched a great baseball game. The birthday kids got to stand on top of the dugout while the whole stadium sang Happy Birthday.

Then they got to go in the press box and announce a hitter ("Now batting, Buck Britton!"), learn how to work the score board, and see the behind-the-scenes working of a baseball game.

Seth especially loved the mascot, Louie. Check him out, peering up at Louie in this picture:

Equally as exciting as the birthday party, however, was the huge milestone of Seth learning to ride his bike! Without training wheels! I actually got this one on video. He's still learning how to stop (as you'll see in the video) and how to start, but he's so proud of himself!

After such a busy and exciting Saturday (which included a t-ball game in the morning), we were able to chill out a bit on Sunday and enjoy new toys and bike riding and a great dinner with out neighbor and Baba.

Today was back to the grind--a rainy, cool Monday. Blah. Seth and I took the Metro to work today because our car was in the shop. Taking the Metro on a rainy day is not on my list of things I love to do, but Seth was such a trooper. Our train into the city this morning was packed like sardines, and Seth and I had to stand almost he whole time (thanks, two middle-aged dudes in the seats right by us--I guess chivalry really is dead). He didn't complain at all! When we finally got seats, there was a long delay, so by the time we finally hoofed it to his school from the Metro station, he had missed morning snack. We were both starving so we went to my office building and bought breakfast in the carry-out and ate it in my office. Seth's comment on the way back to his school made it all worth it: "This is turning out to be a great day!" Too cute.

I'll end with some pictures of Seth and William on Seth's actual birthday:

And finally, a chair picture, reminescent of the chair pictures I took every month for the first year of Seth's life. Now:

And then:

November 2008

Happy 5th Birthday Seth!

Dear Seth,

Today, you turn 5. I can hardly believe how quickly time is flying by, and how much you are changing, growing, and learning--on a daily basis it seems! In your fifth year of life, you traveled a bit (to Florida and North Carolina, including an airplane ride), played at the beach, spent lots of time with family, started Pre-K, grew 3 inches, learned to swim (almost), discovered Legos, climbed trees, spent lots of time riding your bike and scooter, and gave more hugs and kisses than I could count in a lifetime.

You are writing your name now, along with lots of other letters. You are learning to read and still love books--maybe even more than ever before. Every night after I tuck you into bed, you put on your headlamp and grab a pile of books and sit on your bed and read. This year you have loved Junie B. Jones (reading them and listening to them in the car), Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, Harry Potter (you like HP even more than William does! It doesn't scare you like it does him.), Ladybug Girl, Spiderman, IronMan, High Five Magazine--pretty much anything that anyone is willing to read to you.

You also still love to help around the house and in the yard. It's pretty impressive how good your are at sweeping now! And folding. You are not afraid to work hard and you love seeing the fruits of your efforts. This year, you have noticed that your dear old mom is not the most organized person in the world and have taken it upon yourself to help me out. You love to make lists and you are awesome at reminding me of things that I shouldn't forget. What would I do without you?

Best of all, Seth, you are passionate and direct and loving and thoughtful and earnest and sincere and willful and happy. You are such an awesome part of our family and such a great kid to be around. You know what you want and you never hesitate to stand up for yourself, but you are also willing to works things out and always show concern for others. You want everything to make sense and to have a purpose and you live life with such conviction. You are a people person and love nothing more than interacting with others, whether it's playing a game or having a "little chat" or going on an adventure or just watching TV.

You are growing up so quickly, and I wish time would slow down. But at the same time, I am loving all the things we can do together now and am looking forward to all the things we will do in the future. I hope that you have a special day today and feel loved, treasured, valued, and safe, today and always. Daddy and I love you so much and are so proud of the 5 year old you have become. We will keep doing our best to guide you, to be patient and kind, to appreciate all of the wonderful things that make you you, and to help you see every day how capable and interesting and amazing you truly are. Happy happy birthday Seth!

And Life Goes On

I've had all kinds of awesome stuff that I've wanted to blog about, and then the bombing at the Boston Marathon happened. And none of it seemed quite as important anymore. The boys have no idea what happened, and I'm very glad for that. I'm happy to shield them for as long as I can from the horrors that a few people can unleash on our world. But at the same time, I'm almost looking forward to being able to show them how wonderful people truly are. People amaze me and inspire me. My favorite quote so far is from Patton Oswalt: "So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.'"

But, as we all know, life goes on. There is still work that needs doing, laundry that needs folding, groceries that need buying, dinner that needs cooking, books that need reading, butts that need wiping, kids that need hugging. Blessings that need counting, for sure. So in lieu of the post I was planning, I'll just stick to the bullet point format:

• Opening Day for our little league was Saturday, April 6. The kids walk in a parade down a long street to the main field. Then the announcers call each team and the teams run around the infield and settle down in groups to watch the opening ceremonies. The t-ball teams are called first, in alphabetical order. Our team is the Barracudas, so we were first! It was pretty fun. But then we had to wait for all the other teams to get called and to run out on the field. My kids did great. As the ceremony began, I looked around and realized that I was the only woman on the field. The only woman managing or coaching a team! I have never felt so proud for stepping forward and taking on this challenge. There are lots of girls who play t-ball, and now they will see a woman coaching. And my own kids are watching me coach! It's a pain in the ass, but worth it for that reason alone.
• Part of what made me feel so proud is that I just read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. It is not just about staying in the work force once you have kids. It's not just about working outside the home. It's not about climbing a ladder or getting to the top. It's about attitudes and stereotypes and leadership and getting along with other people and believing in yourself and being open to criticism and examining your feelings and assumptions and goals. I highly, highly recommend it--not just for women but for men, too. Even if you are skeptical of her statistics and research and assumptions, it's still an awesome book. Read it!
• Back to t-ball, our first game was last weekend. It was . . . comical. You have the third baseman and the shortstop building sand castles. You have the second baseman with his back to the field, staring up at the sky. You have the first baseman watching the ball come right at her, and then watching it go right by her. I'm yelling, "Throw the ball to Charlie! To Charlie! At first base! Charlie! Do you know Charlie?" It was awesome. My only solace was that the other team didn't look that much better. We had practice today and it was HARD to keep the kids focused. The infield was very dry and dusty and the kids just wanted to play in the dirt. We split them up into groups to work on catching, throwing, and hitting. But it was still hard to keep their attention. Hopefully we'll get better!
• Clearly, t-ball is going to consume me until our last game on June 6. (Boy--if you want time to slow down, just commit to something you kind-of dread!) But I still have Seth's birthday and party coming up, and then William's. We're doing Seth's party with his two buddies from school--the last year we'll have their party together. We're going all out this year, to a Bowie Baysox minor league baseball game. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun. William is having an indoor swim party at a fun indoor pool. I haven't sent out invitations yet, but hope to do that soon. I can't believe my boys will be 5 and 7! No more little guys. I pretty much now have kids. I'm not overly nostalgic about the babies years (not my favorites), but at the same time, I'm trying really hard to remember my boys as babies, and at each stage of their childhood. I wish I had taken more videos along the way.
• I almost forgot--one more thing! For over two weeks now, I've been drastically reducing the amount of sugar I eat every day. I'm not cutting sugar out entirely. I still eat processed food with sugar (bread, salad dressing, deli meat, crackers, stuff that you wouldn't assume has sugar) and I'm still eating fruit and drinking orange juice. I've had a cookie here and there. Last night I ate Honey Bunches of Oats. But what I have cut is Coke, chocolate milk, cookies, chocolate, candy, granola bars, and sugar cereals. It's a very small change, really. And while I've cut out a lot of sugar, I'm trying to add in more fruit and veggies. For now, I'm just trying to eat at least one more fruit or veggie a day. (I'm doing well if I eat 3 servings a day, but it's a start, right?) And I'm trying to drink more water. I don't think it's making a huge difference, but I'm eating better than I was two weeks ago and that's a start. Today, for example. when I got the 3:30 munchies and didn't have anything with me, I ventured down to our carry-out shop which is a landmine of temptations. I walked away with a package of edamame, which was perfect. Two weeks ago, I would have walked out with a Twix bar and a Coke! It's the little things, right?

So that's my news. Not much, but enough to keep me busy. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the Boston bombing, and with anyone who is suffering. There is a LOT of suffering out there, big and small. It reminds me that I need to work harder to spread kindness and compassion in this world. I need to actively look for opportunities, great and small, but especially small, to make a difference in someone's life. And I need to work harder to show kindness and compassion to the people closest to me. Sometimes, it's easier to be nice to a total stranger than it is to my own husband and kids. Charity begins at home, right?

Just Bad Enough

Tonight's t-ball practice was just bad enough that I think I got a parent to step forward and volunteer to coach. Woo-hoo! (More like begged. He e-mailed me before he even left the field after practice! LOL)

It was just good enough that each of the kids ran the bases, practiced hitting off the tee, and worked on the alligator chomp to catch ground balls. It was pretty cold and windy, but otherwise, I think it was respectable.

Opening day of the season is Saturday. There's a parade in the morning (all the league player parade from one school to another), team pictures mid-day, and then our team has a practice at 1:00 p.m. Kind of a long day but what can you do? At least I got the first practice over with.

One down, ten more to go. (I think.) *Sigh*

So Much to Write About . . . So Little Motivation

There is so much catching up I need to do! But I really just want to go to bed. So the highlights will have to do.

First up, GIRLS' WEEKEND!!! Laura did an awesome write-up (with pictures) so you will have to visit hers. Suffice it to say that spending time with these four women--and one woman who was dearly, dearly missed--was awesome. They are all so incredibly smart, kind, generous, funny, and thoughtful. Most of the time I feel like I am way out of their league. But I'm so glad and lucky to call them my friends! Thank you ladies! And especially to Laura who hosted.

Second, upon driving home from girls' weekend, I hit a snow storm! Driving in the snow on untreated roads is not fun. But I made it. And on the first day of the boys' spring break (Monday), we had enough snow to build a snowman and go sledding. So much fun!

On Wednesday, I packed up the car again and headed back to North Carolina with the boys to visit my mom and brother. We got to see Ed's sister and brother-in-law and the boys' cousins, and had two beautiful days in Charlotte. We went on walks, went to museums, played at the playground, and the boys got to watch lots of movies and play Minecraft and their DS's to their hearts content. Here they are on the greenway near my mom's house:

We drove back home on Saturday and enjoyed Easter Sunday with a neighborhood Easter egg hunt (arranged by the only girls who live on our street--Hannah, age 8, and Kaitlyn, age 11--so cute!) and dinner with my cousin and her two boys. The highlight of the Easter egg hunt was Seth finding the "golden egg!" He was beside himself excited.

So that's the quick and dirty update. First t-ball practice is tomorrow. I'm dreading it but it will be good to get it behind me. I've got the warm-up and drills planned out. Just hoping I can get some parents to step in and help out. Wish me luck!