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..... :(