Baseball, Lacrosse, and More Baseball

Jacob's t-ball has been going relatively well.  He's definitely a great hitter, even now that they're doing coach-pitch instead of using the tee.  He gets a lot of attention from the other teams, as we hear rumblings nearly every game about what a good hitter he is.  I have to admit, his form looks pretty good.  He definitely loves it and always wants to practice, but he still needs to work on fielding and paying attention.  He gets preoccupied by checking out the bases, drawing his own batter's box, and just generally trying to do things his way, so he needs to work on being a good teammate and making sure he won't get clunked by the ball.  He's definitely a good player in comparison to the other kids on his team and other teams, but they all have a long way to go!  It's hard to watch sometimes, since they're all all over the place, but it's fun to watch them learn and improve!  Here's a picture of our little player from Thursday...

Saturday we all took off for Hamilton, where Craig had to work a lacrosse game.  We had a relatively pleasant drive up--some rain, but no issues at the bridge!  We dropped Craig off at the stadium and the kids and I went to IKEA.  I had a few things I wanted to look for and ended up with a longer list of projects I'd like to do someday, if I could just have a master handyman come and do all the scary stuff!  I got four small things.  Jacob was a little all over the place at times, but generally wasn't too bad.  Carter was completely content in the stroller.  As we finished up shopping I knew we wouldn't have time for a full dinner before the game.  I was thinking we could have gotten food at the game, but decided at the last minute that it would be much cheaper (and potentially tastier) to get some snacks at the IKEA Café.  We got two hot dogs and a soda for $2 (!) and added a cinnamon roll to split ($1.50).  It was perfect and we headed out into the drizzly night to go to the game. 

I didn't take any pictures, probably because I took some last year and had my hands full this year.  It rained once while we were out in the stands, but the umbrella did its job and the temperature stayed reasonable enough.  I had Carter in the Bjorn and we ended up sitting with Craig's boss and his wife for a while.  She loves babies and was happy to hold Carter for a while.  Craig came out to find us at one point, and eventually we headed up to his booth in the press box...and just in time, as it poured near the end of the game while we were up there.  After the game we headed to a hotel, where Jacob did his usual hellish hotel antics--not going to sleep, screwing around on his bed, throwing pillows, etc.  He didn't get to bed until late, though luckily we all slept rather well and woke up around 8:30.  Even Carter did well in his pack-n-play, aside from one barely noteworthy whiny spell that I shushed away. 

We decided to work our way back slowly, much like we did on our Hamilton trip last year.  We grabbed some breakfast and drove to Niagara Falls, where we strolled down Clifton Hill.  I fed Carter in a park across from the Falls while Jacob and Craig played, and then we walked up to the railing so Jacob could see the Falls...

Perfect day!

And then we worked our way back up the hill, stopped for ice cream and a game of bubble hockey, then headed to my parents' house for a little while.  Jacob played baseball and Carter was his usual charming self.  We took off a little after 4pm so we could hit up the Batavia Muckdogs game on our way home.  We last went to a game there when Jacob was two (!), and I took one of my favorite pictures of the boys ever, after Jacob ran the bases postgame.  It was a nice night, though it got a little chilly as the night went on, and the game was quite the barnburner (10-5 final, I think?).  The boys saw a foul ball break someone's back car window (UGH), Jacob met the mascot...

...and we tried to enjoy the night despite near-constant whining from Jacob (about any little thing you can imagine), and a little fussiness from Carter (not sure if it's teeth, or if he had just sort of had it with being ported around all weekend). 

The thing was, we had to stay until the end of the game so Jacob could run the bases...

That's him in the red shirt.  And yes, he's wearing his baseball socks with shorts (I forgot pants for him for when it got cool) and his cleats.

And, yes, we did a follow-up picture three years later to attempt to match the glory of the original.  Not quite, but it's still a great picture of the boys!


The hats have changed and Jacob is way bigger, but the smiles are the same!  Maybe next year Carter will join the crew :)

We had fun, but it was a long day.  I was so happy to get home, get the kids in bed, and get in bed myself...though I had way too much to do to get around to that early enough.  I'm still glad we got a chance to go to Hamilton this summer, but it is always hard to be gone for a weekend because I feel so far behind when the new week starts.  And this week we had t-ball again on Monday, and tonight Craig was back up in Canada for a work-related event, so I was on my own with both kids, including an overtired Jacob who was barely functional.  Oh, the whining.  Jacob, if you don't want me to yell, try listening and obeying the first time!  UGH.  So now it's nearly mid-week and I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water.  But I am too mentally spent to do anything except blog! 

We're home this coming weekend, thankfully.  We have a Red Wings game where Jacob gets to parade with other Little Leaguers on Saturday, and a birthday party for one of his friends on Sunday.  Craig is home so we should have some good quality family time in between all of these events.  I hope.  Summer is rapidly dwindling, and I feel like we've barely gotten to do anything, including swim in our own pool!  Oy...and I wonder why I'm stressed.  Hopefully another (happier) blog post coming up in the next day or so...