Play Ball!

Christian started baseball just a couple of weekends ago!  It's kindergarten coach-pitch and he ended up with a very nice coach, who Christian always calls, "Coach."  It's very sweet.  And, so far, he just loves it.

There are a lot of little guys who love to field balls.  Christian especially.  He will run from his position on third base all the way to right field to chase down a ball.  It's great to watch his enthusiasm for the game.  And, it's also hilarious. 

Christian is also a great hitter!  Both of the games (and practices) that he played in, he gets a good hit or two off of the first two pitches.  He is very coordinated and has a great swing!

 Christian also takes his base running very seriously--always watching the next hitter, waiting to sprint to the next base.

Here is 1/2 of Christian's cheering section.  (Emily is off climbing a nearby tree and Daddy and Juliana just aren't in the shot.)  Kari loves to cheer her big brother on...provided we have brought enough snacks.

And, one final shot of our little slugger.  Big smiles all around!

Ballgame with Daddy

The Saturday before Easter, Cubby and Emily got to go out to a ballgame together! Emily had read and reviewed a certain number of books through school which earned her a free ticket to a Stormchaser's game. She was up for a Daddy-daughter date and the rest is history! They had a great time together and got to hang out with our friends, Ella and Brooklynn, and their Dad too.

We've really enjoyed having the new ball park so close by and hope to be able to take the rest of the family this summer!

Ballgame Extravaganza

Friday night we went out to the ballgame! Recently, our city became the new venue for Omaha's minor league baseball team. It is a beautiful new stadium and incredibly convenient for us. (My mom and I took Kari home to go to bed and I drove back once she was asleep to catch the fireworks--that's how close it is!)

In anycase, it was a pretty hot and humid night (that's part of the reason Grandma volunteered to stay home with Kari!), but the kids didn't seem too phased. The hometeam won and we even got a ball! (see above)

The highlight of the evening (for the kids, anyway) was the "Kid's Zone". There was a carousel, a bounce house, a playground set, and an obstacle course. The first time Harvey and Cubby took the kids to a game (a couple of weeks ago), their seats were along the first base line and they didn't get over to said Zone. This time we were along the third base line and it was right behind us. So naturally they were just itching to try everything out.

After the game came the fireworks! This is the first year that we've been able to take the kids to a fireworks show without one of them freaking out because of the noise. By the time I made it back, the heat and humidity had gone down and it turned out to be a really lovely night. We all love having a ballpark so close by--it really helps for us to capture "summertime" with the kids. Thanks for treating us to the game, Harvey!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Baseball season has begun! Once again, both kids wanted to play. (I'm happy that they both love the game, but it just gets so HOT here that I was secretly hoping that one of them wouldn't have wanted to!) But, we're sucking it up and having a great time!

Both kids had great first games--Christian was chanting "Hey, batter, batter, batter!" and running after everything. Emily got two hits (coach pitch) and made a stop while playing second base.

Great job, kiddos! We're looking forward to a great season!

Emily at the Bat

Emily has had a fantastic baseball season! She is playing Kindergarten coach pitch (and it is OVER hand pitching!). The kids get three pitches before the Tee is brought out.

One of the assistant coaches brought up the point that when Emily gets up to bat, you underestimate her b/c she looks like this little girl who nonchalantly steps up to the plate--right before she powers one over the in-field's head. One time the ball even made the "ping!" noise right after she hit it. That was Emily's favorite hit of the season. Of the three innings they play, she usually hits it off of the pitch at least once, most of the times twice.

Here she is on first base. As you may have noticed, her jersey is a bit big. We tried to exchange it for one smaller, but they said no since she'd already worn and washed it. She IS, however, wearing shorts underneath!

It's a hit!

Emily has had a wonderful coach, "Coach Larry." He really knows what he's doing and has really helped the kids learn and improve their skills.

The other girl on the team is named Ellie. She and Emily became fast friends and always cheer each other on. They also field together so they can talk about the latest and greatest. Ellie is also quite the slugger. Her dad plays basketball with Cubby on Tuesday nights at the church and so our families have gotten to know each other a bit more as well.

Here they are giving each other a "good job" low-

five as they trade places in the field.

Emily is always excited to play and to have fun. Great job, Slugger!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

This past weekend, Emily and Christian had their first baseball games of the season. Emily is one of two girls on her team. Her league is coach-pitch, so each kid gets three pitches before they bring out the tee. In the two innings played, Emily got two hits without the tee. She's a real slugger. On her first hit, as she was running to first, she stopped to take off her batting helmet to bring it back (it was too uncomfortable). On her second hit, she remembered she had to wear her helmet the whole time, but she took it off and gave it to her coach before crossing home plate.

Christian plays tee ball. He had a lot of fun meeting new friends and started playing catch right away with another little boy. He really liked batting (seriously, what little boy doesn't like hitting things?) Cubby taught him how to crouch down and get ready to field the ball. He was even pounding his glove with his fist and taunting the batter (e.g. "Here, batter, batter"). Very funny.

We forgot the camera for Emily's game, but Cubby ran home in between games and got the camera for Christian's. So, enjoy Christian's pics. Hopefully Emily will forgive us - we'll add some pics of her playing next week.

Next week, we'll get him to point before he hits

Regular gold glover

My two white Lindseth boys (look at those legs),

although Christian will be nice and tan by the end of the summer