Baseball!

Well, this season of baseball has ended. Riley's t ball ended over a month ago but I have been waiting to write this entry until Matthew's baseball season ended. He just had his end of the season picnic so the season is officially over. Matthew's season was so much longer than Riley's because he had a tournament after the regular season and then was picked to be part of the All Star team and do another tournament. Both boys had a wonderful time playing and I really enjoyed watching them play! Matthew was so proud of himself for making the All Star team. It was such a nice thing for him because he worked so hard and to see his hard work pay off was very rewarding for him. He was also very excited because one of his good friends from school was also on the All Stars team and they finally got to play together after having been on different teams during the regular season.

It's crazy how much they have grown since they started playing with the BYA. This is Matthew in his first season of t ball:



Here he is this year during the All Star tournament:



He has grown so much!!!

Here is Riley during his first season of t ball:



This is Riley during this season:



Time is just flying by. I think that's part of the reason I love photography so much, to capture these moments that are gone in the blink of an eye.

The All Stars tournament was very exciting for Matthew. He got a snazzy new jersey with his name on it! His number has been the number 1 every year that he has played baseball and he got to keep that number for All Stars as well. I loved seeing both of the boys in their uniforms, they always look so cute. It was definitely neat to see Matthew wearing a jersey with his last name on the back.



I'm a proud mommy :-)




If enough kids in his age group sign up we will be starting baseball again in the fall for "fall ball" and if not then it will be Spring time again by the time we get around to more baseball. Until then, we have a lot of things to look forward to and I can't wait for everything we have coming up.

Spring is here!

It may be rainy and kind of chilly out there right now, but don't let that fool you..Spring is here!!

There are certain things that I love about every season. With Summer it's that I have the boys home from school, no schedules, just fun from sun up to sun down. Fishing is our staple summer activity, we go pretty much every night. Trips to Kennywood, walking to get ice cream, so much fun! Fall is my favorite season. I love the weather. I love that I can cover up in a cozy hoodie on some days and then walk out of the house with no jacket other days. I love the pumpkins and farms and don't even get me started on Halloween. Winter, well snow is beautiful to look at though I absolutely loathe driving in it. Still, building snowmen, having snow ball fights, and trying my best to push my husband into a pile of snow (though he always manages to get me first!), is so much fun! Finally, there is Spring. Beautiful weather, the beginning of fishing season, sports for the boys, lots of outside activities!

We've been lucky enough to have been able to go fishing a couple times already this Spring. Hopefully the weather gets nicer in May! The nicer the weather gets, the more fishing we can do! The boys love fishing so much! Spending the day at the lake is probably my favorite thing to do. It's peaceful and relaxing yet exciting at the same time. The boys always find something new to explore. Matthew is becoming quite the master fisherman, he has caught over 100 fish!! Each time we go fishing I bring along my notebook. It's not just any notebook mind you, it's THE notebook. It's a purple (of course) notebook in which I record each day we go fishing, where we are fishing, and all the fish we catch listed by who catches it, what kind of fish it is, and how many of those fish that person has caught. Yes, I'm a dork. It may sound silly but I know it will be something we will look back on years from now and it will be so great to flip through. The boys like it too because they can keep track of just how many fish we catch! Riley loves looking at the fish that we catch but for the last couple years he's been more interested in finding frogs and butterflies, though this year he wants to be the one catching all the fish! It's exciting that they are both so excited about it. I'm so glad that 3 years ago we decided to take a chance and see how the boys (and indoor girl, me!) would like fishing at the lake. I never could have guessed the great memories and wonderful times that would follow.

The other thing that comes along with Spring is the start of baseball and t ball season! This will be Matthew's 4th year playing with the BYA, he played 2 years of t ball and this will be his second year of baseball. For Riley, this will be his second year of t ball. I love watching their games and can't wait for them to start. So far they've each had a few practices and games are starting really soon. In fact, Matthew's first game is in less than a week! I can't wait! Matthew is doing very well at practice and having a great time! Riley is doing well and has surprised me with how well he is throwing. I'm glad that they enjoy it so much, I know I sure love watching them play. Even though I know they should be focusing on their game/practice, I have to admit that the thing I love the best is when I catch them looking to make sure that I was just watching. It just makes me want to yell out "Yes, I'm watching you, I love you!!!!" Do you think that would embarrass them?! haha!

Well, I may be just a little embarrassing but one thing is for sure, they know I love them and that's worth a little embarrassment I think.

Sports Mom

Well, now that both my boys are on sports teams I guess you could officially call me a "sports mom." It's crazy to think that both of my kids are old enough to be playing sports. Weren't they just wearing diapers and sleeping in cribs yesterday?



Matthew has played t-ball for 2 years and this year he moved up to baseball. So far, two weeks into practicing, things are going great. Riley has only had one week of practice so far but he is definitely enjoying his first year of t-ball! A lot goes into having your kids active in organized sports. You have to make sure they have the equipment they need, practice with them, teach them about good sportsmanship, clear your schedule to make room for their schedule, get homework done before practice (or you will regret it later that evening), get them where they need to be when they need to be there, and the most important thing-be their biggest cheerleader.



I am very excited for them to get their uniforms, they both got the team colors they wanted! Matthew's team is black and Riley's is green. I can't wait until the first day that they both get to wear their uniforms and have their first game. Even at their young ages I've seen parents who are really hard on their kids when they don't do things exactly right. I'd like to tell those parents to sit back and enjoy watching their kids have fun and to stop stressing them out by yelling at them! It is definitely an awesome feeling to see your child excel at sports, you feel so proud! On the other side of that it does make you feel like you want to fix it for them when they aren't quite getting it-but I would never yell at my 4 year old son that he "just can't do anything right!" like I heard one parent say to their son. As long as they are having fun and giving it their all it won't matter if they hit a million home runs or strike out every time at bat-I'll still be their number one fan!