More T-Ball - And Finally A Shirt!

We had T-ball again on Saturday (only one more to go!) and this time almost all of the kids on the purple team had a shirt. But it seemed like very few of them actually wanted to be there, and in fact there were only about six kids there from the green team. Xander looked mostly bored as he played the field, which is not unusual.

The kids played one game, with each one getting two chances at bat. That's Xander's favorite part and he's a very good batter.

He's pretty good at running, though a lot of times he does this prancing thing more than actually running. But I got some good running shots today, like this one.

I was annoyed about one thing - we missed the team photo. The photographer came the day we went to Richmondville Day. None of the parents were notified ahead of time and some had to scramble for money to pay that day. But that's okay. I'll take my own picture of Xander in the yard at home and it'll be just as cute.

Flag Day Parade

This was our second year of marching in the Flag Day parade - our last one, too, at least for a while because Xander will have aged out of T-Ball next year. For unknown reasons, possibly because people are stupid, we were told to meet in the parade staging area at 5:15pm. That gave all those little five and six year old ballplayers a full 45 minutes with nothing at all to do. So naturally they ran around being crazy, scraping their knees and elbows bloody on the asphalt, and generally whining about how bored they were. Xander spent some time playing games on my phone, but that only helped to pass a little of the time. If we were marching again next year, I'd be getting there maybe ten minutes before parade start time. Crazy!

The marching was okay. Xander was the only kid in T-Ball that was throwing candy. I'd picked up six bags of candy at two different dollar stores and it didn't take Xander long to toss it all out. Especially to all his little friends yelling his name from the curb, LOL! I had to keep reminding him to throw the candy down, not up, because he was hitting people in the face with some of it.

We were near the front of the parade, so once we reached the end we doubled back to the Sunoco, where Joe was sitting. I was surprised to see that he'd been joined by Eli, Krissy and the kids, who had probably come straight from Moving Up ceremonies.

The kids were going nuts collecting candy. Not a lot of people had any left by the time they got to us, and those that did would toss out one or two pieces. For four kids. Not a good scene! But they had fun anyway.

Aislin got excited any time a live animal would go by. "Awww, lookit the horsies!"

Xander kept waiting for his school band to come by, and waved at his music teacher when it did.

The parade in Stamford is a really nice one. It's really long, and a lot of school bands participate. Plus the Hobart Pipes and Drums, which Xander loves. Scotland music, he calls it. And he tells me how much he likes it when they play their "saxophones." What a goon!

Next year we'll get a spot more in the middle, for better candy retrieval, and we'll get to see the whole thing from start to finish. No marching for us!

T-Ball Time Again

Well, it's that time of year again. Xander started his second and final year of T-Ball this past weekend. He's on the purple team this year, the Wolves. They didn't bring enough t-shirts for everyone, but Xander was able to score a hat. And I couldn't help but notice how tall he was compared to most of the other kids.

The kids ran drills - throwing, hitting, running bases. Then they played a quick game - each team got a chance at bat and in the field. Xander's strength is still in batting - kid can hit a ball, especially when it's not moving, LOL!

The T-Ball kids have a hard time running the bases. Almost all of them need to be prompted to run to the next base when the new batter hits the ball. Xander had a little trouble because the batting helmets are all so big, he could barely see where he was going!

My favorite part of the day was watching Xander play first base. He got the most action there - the kids that catch the ball are supposed to throw it there, and then Xander throws it home. He's got one dramatic throw!

Next weekend they'll play a longer game, and hopefully there will be more t-shirts to around. Warmer weather sure wouldn't hurt either!

Last T-Ball Game?

Xander had his (maybe last) T-ball game on Saturday. The grownups in attendance - no coaches again this weekend - seemed divided about whether or not it was the last game. There's one more on the schedule for this coming Saturday, but I don't know if it's going to happen or not.

Instead of running drills at this last game, the kids played three full innings. Some of the Red team had to play with the Blue team because there were vey few kids at the game this week. Xander had a chance to play first base, short stop, and a spot between second and third. He had more chances to field the ball - but only when he paid attention! The ball would fly, or roll, right by him but he'd be too busy socializing to even notice it. My son, the baseball star! LOL!

After the game there was a cake with little plastic baseball helmets on it. And rain. We didn't go to the T-ball picnic that was held later in the day, because of the weather and also because we had to get our grocery shopping done. It was okay, though, because Xander didn't want to go to it anyway.

I asked Xander if he'd want to sign up for T-ball again next year. Right now his answer is pretty definite. No!

T-Ball Fun

I'll admit it - ask Xander if he likes T-ball and he'll tell you no. I know that there are some parts that drag on for him, like being on the field when the ball only ever seems to go towards first base. And waiting for your turn at bat.

But I have plenty of pictures of Xander with a big old smile on his face, and he seems to get plenty of horsing around in during the hour and a half that we're at the ball field. And of course he gets his chance at bat. At the end of June T-ball will be over. And I bet he'll miss it!

Xander's First T-Ball Game

Saturday was Xander's first T-Ball game with the Catskill Mountain League. Quite a lot of kids turned out, including some friends of Xander's from daycare and school. (His best buddy Brandon never made it on the field, he was too scared.)

The kids broke up into groups, and ran some drills with the coaches. Batting, throwing, catching, and which direction to run the bases in.

Then it was time for a quick practice. Hilarious! They split the kids into two teams (Xander is on the red team, #13). All the kids on one team were in the field together, most of them clustered around the pitcher's mound. Whenever a ball was hit, there was a dog-pile on it! Unless, of course, the batter ran to retrieve the ball instead of running to first base.

Xander did pretty well. He's a good batter, but he got bored hanging around in the field. Next Saturday is another practice day, and then the "real" games start. This is going to be fun! (Special thanks to Uncle Mo and Aunt Jen for the awesome baseball mitt and bat, and to Tami for the baseball pants!)

PSA - T-Ball

For those of you keeping score at home, Xander's first day of T-ball got switched from today to May 9th. So if you're here looking for cute baseball pics, sorry to disappoint! You still have a week to wait!