Lola reading

I can recite most of "Go Dog! Go!" without looking.

Same goes for Hooper Humperdink, One Fish Two Fish, Hand Hand Fingers Thumb (a small list of Lola's current favorites)....oh, the list could go on.

There are probably parents out there that can do that with "Goodnight, Moon" or "I'll Love You Forever" (most heart wrenching book on the planet, by the way--don't go into that one unprepared, moms! Read it through first, compose yourself, and then attempt reading to the kiddos. *grin*).

You know what I'm talking about--that handful of books that your child just wants to read over and over.

This one has been read so many times that, not only does Mommy know it by heart, so does Lola!

I love it! (And please don't judge me on dress code or girly hair violations. This was a "Lola gets to dress herself" day, and she picked a pajama top and a tutu. Of course she did.)

 

The end of T-ball season

T-ball seemed to come and go in a flash.

The little ones do not have as many games as the Rookie boys do, and it seemed as though they were here and done in no time! I was so excited to capture a few really great moments from the Catlin Cardinals' very last game of the 2012 season.

Ethan, watching the other batters before getting ready to bat himself!

Here is a quick video of Ethan's last time at bat. He had a great hitting season, only hitting off of the tee one or two times all year. You have to watch to the end to see the HUGE grin on his face, once he is safe on first base and everyone is yelling that he did a great job!


Ethan scoring for the last time--Coach Bobby knew to move that tee because Ethan would slide at home every single time, whether he "needed to" or not! *giggle*
{Note the Merritt signature 'thumbs up' at the end!}

And then, there is the big slugger. 

Warming up with two bats, no less!

Cameron loved getting to be the last batter, because it meant he was the only player that didn't have to stop at first base when he got his hit. If he hit it hard enough, he would be able to do this:

(I was always so worried he was going to run poor Rylee over!!)

The very last time he was at bat, I caught a still of him sliding into home. This last hit 

was a lot closer than the video above, and he actually had the presence of mind to slide under the tag! 

The kid just amazes his Momma. :)

Lolee girl always offers comic relief on the sidelines!

Since this was the last game, the boys and their teammates were awarded their trophies.

They were awfully proud. :)

Coach Wright handing them their trophies

{Ethan, I do believe, is still sleeping with his. lol}

2012 Catlin Cardinals!

The crew

It was a wonderful season, filled with lots of special memories....

....and, as usual, I couldn't be prouder of the boys and their accomplishments!!

Bismarck Game -- first real game of the season!

My goal at the beginning of baseball season was to capture a little bit of each game and then blog about it.

Yeah....about that....goals don't always come to fruition the way we would like them to, do they? :)

This game was our very first games of the season, once we got past our first pre-season tournament. It was the very first game with live pitching! In our little league (and most around us), the boys play the first four innings of the game with a pitching machine (that delivers 'every' ball right down the middle of the strike zone for ease of hitting). This not only speeds up the game, but it helps the kids to develop an "eye" for strikes.

Then, in the 5th and 6th inning, a live pitcher comes in. We have two--one in the 5th, and one in the 6th. This would be the first game Colin had ever pitched in, so we were excited and a bit nervous for him!

I take so many pictures that this time--Colin's first at bat (he is the first batter in the line-up, so this was actually the very first hit of the game)--I decided to take some video.  He hit a triple!
(Sorry about the quality--it's hard to video through a chain link fence!)

Colin coming in from scoring. Always so serious!

Lola girl....

....being goofy as usual. :)

I snapped quite a few, and by the time I went to take one with her, she was tired of the camera! *grin*

For preservation's sake, I wanted to make sure to record here who was on Colin's Mud Hens team this year:

Reef and Colden

Hayden and Bennett

Blake and Brayden

Isaac and Jackson

Sebastian (not pictured) and Cole

The boys did well, and we had a the lead going into the 5th inning--where Colin's best friend Colden was up first to pitch! He did a great job, and we got out of the inning without any additional runs scored!

Then, it was little Colin's turn. This Mommy was nervous! There is not much in this world 

quite like watching your child (seemingly all alone out there on that mound!) with a lot of the 

pressure of the game riding on his little 8 year old shoulders!!

(Throwing a warm up pitch)

Daddy giving a word of advice before the inning began

Here he goes!

Colin did great--actually, the best he's done all season. He has pitched several games, 

but this one in particular he threw nine pitches total. Three strikes a piece to three different batters. 

It was incredible to watch and I was so excited for him!!

Coaches congratulating the boys!

I think Col's face says it all--he was pretty relieved!

And also....pretty happy. *grin*

Colden and Colin--best buds on the best Mud Hens team around!

More baseball soon! :)

How to do the backstroke. Or not.

Since we have gotten our new pool (which I will blog all about later--can't wait to do that because it has been such an AWESOME transformation and an amazing addition to our lives!!) I have spent quite a bit of time with the boys during the day teaching them how to actually swim.

In the last few weeks, both Ethan and Cameron have been able to ditch their 'floaties' and can now swim independently for long lengths of time, both over and under the water.  Colin has been a pro for a while, thanks to a SPLASH program at his school where he gets to go to the local YMCA for a week and learn all about water safety.

In the last few days, both Colin and Cameron--who happened to catch some Olympic swimming trials the other day on TV--have become interested in the different strokes, and so I've been showing them that there is more than one way to swim!

It has been incredibly fun for me--I was lucky enough to be on a swim team for a few summers when I was younger (thanks Amy and Dad!!!)--and a lifeguard in high school, so I love everything about swimming and water safety. I am so thankful that I get to teach my kids about it too, right in my own back yard.

So, yeah.  Teaching....about that. It appears as though I need to work with them a bit more when it comes to the backstroke.  If you need a little pick me up today, enjoy the first 30 seconds of this video; I've watched it 10 times now and can't help giggling at Cameron's version of the backstroke.



Happy swimming everyone!!

Kindergarten Graduation

At the end of May, we had another special night in our family--a Kindergarten Graduation for my sweet Cameron!

He was all smiles and couldn't wait to get there. 

He knew at the end of the night, he would be a big first grader!

The night started off well, but I could tell Cam was a little nervous. We have found that he is very shy when he is up in front of people, and I just hoped all would go okay for the program.

Getting ready to start

Mrs. Winkler introducing the class. She had a lot of wonderful things to say 

about Cameron's class, and that is always a good thing to hear!

Then, it was time for the class to perform a song that they sang every morning. And that is where the stage frightened side of Cameron came right out. The music began....and though all the other children did really well, he....slowly.....crumbled.



He recovered all right, just pretty much not singing when they did their other songs, but it was fine. You could hear the "poor buddy" 's and "awww, sweet little guy" 's from the moms and dads around the room!

Then it was time for the coveted diplomas!! You can see on his face that he was still nervous.

Mrs. Winkler told him what a great job he did and how she loved having him as a student. :)

That seemed to make him feel better!

Ready to turn those tassels now!

Aaaaand.....done!!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Cameron the first grader!!

Cameron and his friends (from left) Gabby, Jared, Kiley, and Cheyenne.

Proud little kiddos!

Cameron and Kiley

I don't know if Cam was more excited to be a first grader, or more excited that the program was over. :)

The fam. So proud of our sweet guy.

Cake. Cake always makes one feel better.

Cameron and his little buddy Waylon. 

I see these two in mounds of trouble for years to come! lol

Mrs. Winkler--Cameron's "favorite teacher ever", according to him.

I could not be more excited to see what the future holds for
my special, sweet, caring and super unique second child!

On the way out, we crossed paths with the school janitor, and Cam just had to show him his diploma!

We love you so much Cameron! I believe there are amazing things in store for you, 

and I am so thankful to be able to be there for such a special milestone in your life. 

Happy Kindergarten Graduation!