Life-ier

About two weeks ago Jacob and I strolled (I pushed the stroller while Jacob sat in the stroller!) through the deep dark woods of Fricke Park to get to his Saturday AM baseball practice. We got a late start, but I thought the trip through the forest would only take about 20 minutes. It was cool and damp in the woods. Lush green ferns lined the path, and we could hear water running from multiples streams. There were giant boulders, and a thick tree canopy that blocked out the sky.

We wound our way through trails, went up hills and down them, and it started to seem like the map I had printed out from home was not up to the task. I started to ask runners when I saw them: "Where's Braddock field?" Finally we arrived for Jacob's 8:00 AM practice at...8:50 AM!

"Uh oh, Jacob, I think we're pretty late."

"That's OK mom. That was a nice walk."

"It was nice, wasn't it? Better than taking the surface roads."

"Yeah, it was life-ier. More oxygen, from all the trees and stuff."

"Life-ier! Yes, it was."

So now "life-ier" is my favorite new word!

Pomp and Circumstance Baby!

Two Kats On Tour in the Strip District

Gramma's here!

Jacob has a Wii. If you know anything about Wii, then you know that you can make avatars to represent anyone you please. Over Christmas, we even made an avatar to represent Barak Obama! Once you make an avatar that avatar can appear as a minor character in your sports story, or you can compete against that avatar directly.

Over Christmas break Jacob created an avatar for his Nana and Papa Panush (on their wii), and for his Gramma Gregson and his Papa Gregson (on his wii)! Here's Gramma Gregson's avatar!

We're happy that this week Gramma Gregson is here in real life! And as for you, Papa Gregson, if you would be so kind as to comment on Jacob's blog, maybe we'll post your avatar! Hint hint! We miss you! Thanks for lending us your lovely Kat!

Jacob Newman Express

Last weekend our family journeyed to State College to visit friends from Josh's graduate program and, also, Rich, Amy, Jackson and Violet. Though the weekend was a bit cloudy and rainy, the gang still got in a number of front yard games of baseball. As we were packing up Amy urged me to find a little league team for Jacob. She thought it would be good for his focus, and, also, "that kid can hit!"

So this week I used some online resources and some friends to help me find the 14th Ward, a wonderful little league program for younger kids that has practices and games about 1.5 miles from our house. When I finally reached one of the league organizers via email he explained that they were two weeks into their "season" but that they still had a spot for Jacob.

"Just come by the field tonight," Jeff emailed. "There should be a spot on one of the teams."

Jacob and I made it to the field early. We found a dad with his six year old son and a toddler boy in a stroller. He told us to practice with them for awhile. He lent Jacob a glove. His son was really cool---he helped Jacob learn how to snap the ball in his glove like an alligator.

As the teams started to assemble we were told there was a spot on a team called the "Express." We ran over to meet our new team. We met "Coach Robert" and a few of the other dads. I mostly sat on the sidelines while Jacob got a quickie lesson in batting stance and the basics of fielding.

Jacob had a blast. At the end of the practice he literally started counting the days until he could play again. Which was yesterday. At the end of Saturday's practice, while munching on the Dunkin Donut holes brought by one of the moms, Jacob said: "This is the best day of my life."

Thanks, Amy, for pushing us to do this! Not only is it fun for Jacob, but it's fun for me too! And thanks to Papa Larry and the 1996 Mariners I love watching the kids play and I know a surprising amount about the game!

Go Jake, Go!

The other night Jacob and I were reading one of the many short books that Jacob gets from school. He's supposed to read them over and over until he can read them "fluently." Reading education has definitely evolved from "Dick and Jane," but the book we were reading this particular night was still a bit dull. Stuff like "Ned and Lil can plan. Ted and Ben can play." Etc.

I had a copy of Go Dogs, Go on the nightstand because Casey had picked it out for her bedtime reading. Jacob has been read versions of Go Dogs, Go since he was a baby. I had a condensed board book version of it that I bought for a plane trip that Jacob and I took when he was one years old; I also had a pop-up version of the book that I got at Costco one year. When Casey was a baby I finally got the whole book, which is 64 pages long. At the same time, many of the words are short and fairly easy. Also, many of them correspond to the pictures. It occurred to me that Jacob might be ready to read it.

So Wednesday night I put Go Dogs, Go in Jacob's hands.

"Hey, why don't you try reading Go Dogs, Go? I'll stay right here and help you."

When Jacob started it was about 8:15. When he finished it was almost 9:00 PM! At one point Jacob took a break, during which he counted to 100! But at the end of the night Jacob had read his first "real" book. He was exhausted, but so proud. Here's a 60 second excerpt of his journey!

And So It Begins

One of my most important kindergarten memories involves a boy and a coat closet and kissing. I can't remember the name of the boy, or what he looked like, but I know I liked him, and I know I was the one who chased him into the coat closet, trying to land my first smooch. Later I remember getting into fist fights with boys I liked; I also remember plans to marry Allen, my next door neighbor, and, then, later still, in 5th grade, I remember plotting my happily-ever-after with Steve, who wore shiny nylon shirts with photo prints on them. (After all, it was 1977.)

So I shouldn't have been surprised when Jacob brought home his first love note from a little girl in his class. Here's how the conversation about the love note went:

"Hey, what's this?"

"Oh, I got that from Elizabeth."

"Who's Elizabeth?"

"A girl in my class."

"What's she like?"

"I don't know."

"I guess she likes you, huh? Do you think she really likes you? Like does she want to marry you?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess she does. Yeah, I think she really likes me."

"How do you feel about her?"

Jacob shrugs his shoulders and looks up at the ceiling.

"Ah, I see."

As I put away the love note in my special folder, I felt sad for little Elizabeth; here she is 5 or 6 years old and she's already putting her heart out there! I don't blame her for liking Jacob---he's very likable! But I hope she isn't too crushed by the fact that he doesn't return the sentiment.