T-ball!

My sweet and sometimes very shy boy, started t-ball this last week. He was so excited to play. He ran and jumped in the car when we said it was time to go to his first practice. However, it was a very different story once arriving at the baseball field!

So excited to get to practice!

I don't think he realized there would be other children playing t-ball with him.

His excitement quickly disappeared the moment we pulled in to the park and he saw the small gathering of kids and parents. He announced he didn't want to play and his smile quickly turned to a scowl.

The coaches had all the kids run out to the grass where they started out with some stretches. You can see Jackson, in the red hat, wanted nothing to do with the those people and shut down completely. From across the field Matt and I could see him trembling as he stood there looking down at the grass with his fingers in his mouth. Oh, my poor, poor boy.

After stretching, they all enthusiastically and happily ran back to the diamond and got ready to practice throwing and catching the ball; everyone but my sad little Jack. Doesn't this picture just break your heart?

After some coaxing from Matt and his wonderfully patient coaches, he eventually came out of his shell. He did pretty well his first time at bat! He hit the ball and took off running!

He ran and ran and ran! He ran way past first base, you can see his coach pointing to the base. I wanted to yell "Run Forest run!" I think the thought of getting far away from all these new people made him happy!

I think the hard part is going to keep these three to five year olds focused on the game! Come on now, stay focused Jack!

Then Saturday we had our first game! Char had fun hanging out in his stroller for a little bit while I took some pictures. Matt literally had to drag Jackson to the baseball diamond, but once he got there he seemed to loosen up.

It came time to bat and he stepped right up there and gave a good swing! He hit the ball and took off for first base! (Luckily, this time around he knew where first base was).

For some reason he ran kind of weird, very timid-like, but made it safely to first base!

In between innings daddy took some time to give a little pep talk. I don't think this kid's facial expression changed the whole game! Hopefully, by the end of the season he will be smiling out there.

Gettin' ready to catch the ball! Getting some last minute pointers from the coach.

Unfortunately, as soon as the ball was hit, the whole team swarmed around the ball, so Jackson made sure to stay clear of that scene!

Little scowly face.
Don't worry, Jack was the only one in baseball pants, cleats, AND a baseball hat. Thanks dad for making sure he looked the part!
Never smiled once..... :(

Darn flu bug!

Well, not only did Charlie get the blasted flu bug, but now I am suffering with it too!  Luckily, the boys didn't have it too badly. I, on the other hand, thought I was gonna die last night! But I am feeling better today and am looking forward to a day of rest!  Oh, and I will not be posting any pictures of me sick...it's just not as cute! 

My little sickie!

Jack isn't sick in this picture, I just thought it was a cute one. This kid is obsessed with character pajamas...his one pair of spider man pj's are so small on him his belly shows and it looks like he's preparing for a flood, so I let him pick out this lovely little Lightening McQueen number and he's been wanting to wear them every night.  
This is also the chair where we find Jackson in the mornings a lot of the time.  For some reason he gets up at night and ends up on our floor, the couch, or this chair.  As long as he stays outta my bed I don't care where he sleeps. 
On Thursday he came home from school and crashed on the couch, he didn't even have lunch. He was a tired little guy.  
And this brings us to my little sickie.  We are experiencing his first bout with the flu.  The poor kid did not have a good morning, hence the crazy sheet behind him! I had to protect my couch....I've got doubled up towels underneath the sheet too.  He is in good spirits though. Still happy as a clam and for awhile there just wanted to be close to naked.  Don't mind the Little Mermaid swim diapers he is wearing (to which he replied when I first put them on him, "Mommy, these are for grils!") I had to put something disposable on him and that was all we had! (Not to mention they are Charlie size!)  Oh my poor little sickie.
Always a ham!  Now we just pray that Char doesn't get it. 

While daddy's away, the rest of us will play!

Matt left us for the weekend to go to Utah and watch his cousin play football for BYU. So, since he had planned a fun weekend getaway I planned a fun weekend at home.  We had our good friends from Phoenix (who we miss so much) come and stay the night with us Friday night. It was double the kids, double the mess, and double the fun!  

Charlie had his first cornbread (made with egg substitute and rice milk) and he loved every bite! He also had his first homemade pancake (made with the same ingredients as above) and he was in heaven.  I am so glad I found alternative ways to make the things I always make so that he can eat them! Anyway, the handsome little guy next to him is Tyler.  Tyler is about two months older than Charlie.  Tyler made sure to show Charlie all the fun things there were to climb on and all the fun cabinets to get into!  
Here we have the big boys, Jackson and Hunter.  Jack was so excited to have his best friend come and stay the night (Hunter was told at least 3 times that he was Jackson's best friend).  
Ah, the two besties, enjoying a silly movie I had rented from Redbox.  I am amazed at what these kids will watch, however, it has been a favorite of Jackson's all weekend.  
These boys had a great time dancing, running, and playing.  I love to watch Jack interact with other kids, it is so funny to listen in on their conversations and see where their imaginations take them.  
And the big ball is always a favorite! A couple kids got hurt thanks to the big bouncing beast, but they just got right back up and continued laughing and playing. Thanks to our friends, I didn't take any pics of Becca and me but we had fun talking and crafting. I am so glad they could come and help make our weekend a good one. 

Open gym

This morning we took the boys to an open gym at My Gym.  It was a cute little place where the boys could run free and do all sorts of fun stuff, along with 500 other kids!! (Slight exaggeration!)  

Charlie enjoyed hanging from the bar over the ball pit. 
Jackson enjoyed being in the ball pit. We put Char in there and he kept sliding farther and farther down to where he almost disappeared. Needless to say,  he wasn't too happy with that so he didn't last long in there. 
But Jack sure enjoyed it. I really like how pale his skin looks with all the colors behind him.  It's hard to believe, but he may even be more white than me! 
Charlie found a great tunnel to crawl through.  He didn't enjoy being in the balls, but had to have a ball to carry around with him everywhere.  It was funny to watch him crawl through this cause it kept moving with him and it made him a little uneasy! 
This is what we need at home!! It was just the perfect size to keep him trapped in.  We threw a couple balls in with him and he was happy!  This would make life so much easier for me! 
And then we found a little monkey hanging from the bars.  
Another shot of the monkey.
Another thing we could use at home.  This could provide hours of endless entertainment! 
Poor kid, wasn't having fun at all...you can just see the look of boredom on his face!
I am a little biased, but my kids are sure good lookin'! 
Trapped once again. 
Bouncin' on the tramp! 
He wanted to be on the big tramp, this little one is for sissies!  

Some unwelcome visitors

This is what I found the other day when I walked out to the garage to take the trash out.  Luckily, I married a man who doesn't get freaked out by disgusting creatures like this!  I have been forced to face my fear of bugs and slithery things since moving here.  Between large frogs, tarantulas, snakes, and scorpions (never mind the lizards we see running all over the place) I have had my fill of creepy crawlies!  

Here is Mr. Toad,  I came across him in the garage one night....he was gross, and I found out the next day these frogs are poisonous.

11 months old......

It's hard to believe that in less than a month this boy will be one.  It's a bittersweet feeling. It makes me sad my boys are growing up, but at the same time the more they grow the more fun we have with them.  

This little guy has been testing the waters with walking for awhile, he has been able to stand for quite some time, and will actually take a couple steps from here to there.  However, he still finds the best way to get around is to crawl. 
He is pretty strong when it comes to standing up.  He'll stand for quite awhile before getting wobbly and falling down.  
This kid is all boy, he loves balls of all shapes and sizes.  He has mastered the act of rolling the ball back and forth and he still finds it funny when the ball comes rolling back to him.  
And he is into throwing EVERYTHING....I have had to steal a couple golf balls from him for fear of losing an eye or something! 
This is one of his favorite positions.  He loves to play peek-a-boo upside down. 

He is a good baby in that he always finds a way to entertain himself.  

Cute little feet
Bath time is his favorite time
Char has such a funny personality, he is always so happy, and he has the best giggle. 
This boy loves to play in my cupboards. Jackson was never interested in my cupboards. 
He loves trucks and cars and loves to share.
Love this pic!
He loves to be on the bed, as soon as you plop him down he giggles and crawls right for the pillows and falls into them.  
He LOVES people food.  I can never keep food on his tray, he grabs whatever I put on there and shoves the whole handful in his mouth.  We are still trying to figure out things he can and can't have.  We kind of found out by accident that he was allergic to peanut butter, thanks to Jackson feeling the need to share his sandwich with Charlie while we were in the car.  I had no idea he was sharing and when I pulled Char out of his seat he was just chompin' away and enjoying every bite, however, it was then that the hives appeared! All over his face....poor boy, a life without peanut butter is just plain mean!  
He has a million funny faces.
He loves to clap and claps at everything! There are so many reasons why we love this little guy. He's my little monkey!