Me and My Boys: October 2015

Friday, October 30, 2015

1st Season of Baseball

Caleb is an awesome soccer player in my humble opinion. He has excelled so well at soccer and loved it so much that he hasn't wanted to try any other sport. I've always wanted him to try baseball ever since his 1 year old well-visit where he threw a ball with amazing accuracy to the pediatrician several times in a row.

Finally, this season he wanted to give baseball a try. Baseball is kind of intense in this area for the league we wanted him in and we were afraid that Caleb would be way behind in skill level compared to boys his age, so Caleb practiced a lot with Matt to be ready for try-outs. The league does machine pitch for his age at 40 mph which is fast! The practicing paid off because Caleb was drafted first on his team.

In his first game, Caleb caught a line drive playing 3rd base, went 4 for 4 batting, and won the game ball for most valuable player of the game. He had a strong start to his season, and then a few games later he got in a slump where he could not hit the ball. It was very much a mental thing, but he finally got out of his funk when he tried a teammate's bat at practice. The bat was 28" whereas Caleb's is 27". Now, amazingly, Caleb can bat just fine with a 28" bat but strikes out when he uses his 27" bat. He's hoping we'll buy him a new bat for his last 4 games...

In the outfield Caleb rotates between playing 3rd base and 2nd base. He's very good at catching fly balls and does well throwing and catching. Another strength is that he is a fast runner and has only been thrown out at first once. He struggles a little more with reading ground balls because of the uneven ground. The coach has remarked that his favorite thing about Caleb is that he is such a hard worker. I've only been to two of his games because Matt usually takes him, but it is so fun to watch his team play! They are 7 and 1 right now and having an awesome season.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Capturing Moments

Life tends to revolve around baby Austin right now. We are all so in love with him. Matt and I are undecided if our family is complete or not with Austin. Just in case, I am trying to enjoy and appreciate every moment of this precious baby stage.

Caleb and Austin at about 1 week old

Carter and Austin at about 3 weeks old

Bryson and Austin around 4 weeks

And the rolls are coming out...all my babies have been super chubby. We joke that I produce cream instead of milk. Austin looks like a slug in this picture, but I love Bryson's "stank" face.

I do a "dream feed" right before I go to bed around 10:30-11, then Austin usually wakes up around 3 am and 6:00 am when I get up for the day. He generally goes back to sleep pretty well after night feedings. We took Austin to church for the first time on October 11th when he was a month old, and I did his first grocery shopping trip a few days later. Both went great! Austin tends to have one really fussy time of the day where nothing makes him happy, but other than that he's been a super great baby so far! He's starting to respond to my voice with smiles :)

I have a tendency to bounce back pretty easily after having a baby which I attribute to staying really active during my pregnancy. I was at church 9 days after having a baby (this is a busy time of year for my church responsibilities with the Primary program at the end of October) and back running again 3 weeks after Austin's birth. I set out to run a mile or two that first run but it felt great so I ran my 3 mile loop at a 9:35 pace. I'm signed up for a half marathon beginning of March where I'm hoping to be running around 8:30 miles so there is lots of work to do! I ran 3 miles tonight at a 9:08 pace so I'm shaving off some time and soon I'll start increasing the distance.

I'm grateful to have the year off of preschool this year where my days can be a bit lazier, and if the stars align I can catch a nap during the day. I am teaching 3 piano students this year instead of teaching preschool which is a nice outlet in addition to my responsibilities at church which keep me busy.

Other randomness...

Carter has ringworm of the scalp. About a month ago, Carter lost a small chunk of hair kind of randomly. Then we noticed this bald spot. After I did some research, I thought it most closely resembled a picture of ringworm of the scalp. We took him in to see a pediatrician who confirmed my findings and then said she has never seen it in a caucasian before. It's a common problem for African Americans just like lice is more common in caucasians. Carter has to drink some medicine for 45 days; as long as he is on the medicine, it's not contagious. We're puzzled by how he caught it. He's over halfway done with his medicine. Carter is more than due for a haircut, but I'm leaving the top long to comb over his bald spot!

Caleb has started baseball for the first time. More pictures and an update on his season to come.

Bryson naps about every 3 days right now. He often falls asleep like this with one leg crossed over the other.

The other night Matt and I were heading to bed and found this little guy had snuck down the stairs and fallen asleep.

Friday, October 9, 2015

More Austin

My brother and sister-in-law came to visit for Caleb's baptism and Austin's blessing at church. Because Austin took so long to make his debut, we postponed both the baptism and the blessing, but my sister-in-law did snap some pictures of Austin while she was here. Here are my favorite ones:

She is so talented even though Austin was completely uncooperative.

Austin is one month old tomorrow!

I'm getting told that Austin looks the most like Bryson, so I was looking through some pictures of Bryson at the same age to compare.

Austin

Bryson

Austin had a doctor's appointment at 2 weeks old where the pediatrician was concerned about a bulge over Austin's soft spot. Worst case scenario the fluids weren't draining properly from his head which could affect brain development and growth. Neither Matt or I noticed the bulge until the pediatrician pointed it out and Austin wasn't showing any of the symptoms of hydrocephalus. Still, the next day Austin and I headed to an ultrasound lab so the technician could take pictures of his head. It's kind of agonizing to have the tech taking pictures and notes but not be able to tell you anything. Later that day we got a call from the radiologist saying that the fluids in his head were normal. We were definitely relieved to rule out hydrocephalus.

Other visitors:

My good friend Kim

First time that my dad held him (he was sick when Austin was born)

My grandma is visiting right now for 6 weeks so I was able to get a picture with her and Austin.