Nora’s First Baseball Game

Over the past month or so, Nora has gotten increasingly interested in and excited about baseball - playing baseball, watching baseball, finding pictures of baseballs, dressing up like the players, giving signals…  Jonah and Sean have gone to a few UO games together this year, and Nora said that she really wanted to go to a game with Dad.  So today, they went.  This morning, the two of them went to get Nora her very own ball glove.  Then she picked out her Phillies shirt to wear, and they were all ready to go.

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This was Nora’s view when we first got to PK Park. She immediately recognized the foul lines and the bases.

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Her choice of ball apparel got her many comments throughout the day. Some college students who were from the Philadelphia area even shared with her who their favorite Phillies players were. She told them that she liked Hunter Pence, of course.

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When the game started, Nora knew to clap at all of the right places. She was an enthusiastic Duck fan, even though she was showing her pride in the Phillies.

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Out past third base near the visiting team’s bullpen is an area of fake grass that many kids enjoy playing on during games. Jonah likes to play there, and so Nora and I went there to play some catch and run around. Nora even played as if she were “injured,” expecting the “trainer” to come and see if she was OK. A lot of the afternoon was spent here, and fun was had by all.

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Ball players need breaks to get a drink and have a rest, too.

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Following the game, the kids in the stands were invited down to “run the bases” which Nora did enthusiastically. She’s heard about Jonah getting to do this so she really wanted to give it a try.

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Nora made it to first!

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Finally, Nora made it home! She was very proud of herself to run all of the bases at PK Park.  It was a great day at the ball park with Dad and she can’t wait to go back, too.

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With no nap and much playing at the ballpark, she fell asleep within ten minutes of being in the car. This is how she looked when we arrived home:

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And here are some pictures from the backyard games that have been going on the past few days.

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Nora decided to be a catcher, so she had her hat on backwards and Jonah was showing her how to get in position.

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And, most exciting - Nora has been trying to hit Sean’s pitches (just like Jonah) instead of hitting off the tee, and she has actually made contact a few times! I was lucky enough to get one of her hits on video. She just gets so thrilled and proud of herself. :) I also got a few clips of her playing the catcher, too. Enjoy!

Grandparents Visit!

Grandma and Grandpa just came to spend some time with us this past week. We were all really happy to see them and have a chance for them to see all the fun things their grandkids are up to these days. As a bonus, the weather was pretty much perfect every day, so there was a lot of time spent enjoying fun things outside. Like Phillies baseball. (what a surprise… ;) )

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Oh no! Here comes Grandpa with the ball!

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Phew. Jonah just squeaked by. Safe!

When Nora wasn’t joining in on the game, she was working in the sandbox, alternating between construction work and making ice cream for everyone.

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And the swings, too.

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And riding bikes.

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On Monday, we headed to a rhododendron garden at a local park where there were tons of flowers in bloom, and we all enjoyed a nice walk (well, except for Jonah, who was at school). Lots of spots for good photos.

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I thought it would be nice to get a photo of me and Nora together, so I told her to do a nice smile for the picture. Her response? “How about I will just lick you on the head?” Um. Yeah. She comes up with some real ’special’ ideas. Crazy kid! :)

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Nora enjoyed being a little chef and cooking lots of funny meals for people. Jonah took some turns with this, too, and made Grandpa all kinds of unusual soups and smoothies.

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Making each other laugh…

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Getting the ‘bugs’ out of Grandpa’s beard. :)

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A bunch of Phillies.

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We all sure enjoyed the visit and wish that it were easier to see each other more often!!

More Sunny Days

We have had some beautiful days this week - pretty much perfect. And if the forecast can be believed (which it generally can’t…), we may be in for another week or so like this. Hooray!! The kids have been spending a lot of time outside. Nora has figured out how to get into her blue swing and buckled in all by herself, but she also likes being a big kid on the regular swings. Here are the two little Phillies, taking a break from ball games and bike rides.

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She gets brave with the really big swings at the park, too, asking for higher and higher pushes.

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We went to our favorite river park on Monday and stayed for the whole time Jonah was at school. What fun!

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Her new favorite “take a picture of THIS face!”

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That night, we broke out the ice cream maker for the first time in a long time and made some peach-blueberry frozen yogurt. The kids loved the treat, and Nora said it was “sooooo cold, just like Uranus.” She’s learning a lot about planets from her big brother.

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Here are a few cute ones I took while playing around with a new photo app.

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We also took advantage of the clear night to go to a hilltop in town to watch the ’supermoon’. Although it’s not a great picture, it reminds me how excited Jonah was about the whole thing.

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I made Nora a new dress out of an old maternity shirt. I made sure it would have a pocket for her rocks.

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Then today, the kids played with water for most of the afternoon. We just filled up a plastic tub and had some cups and the hose, and that kept them happy (especially Jonah!) for a very long time. He loved throwing cups of water like a pitcher, but the water would fly out and get all over his back every time. So funny.

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Nora got in on some of the pouring fun.

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Jonah kept cracking himself up jumping and then sitting in the very cold water. Funny guy!

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End of April

Last week, we discovered a snail trying to get into our lettuce! Since they’re not supposed to cross copper tape, I was very curious to see what this one would do. The kids were enthusiastic snail stalkers. At one point, they were even sitting on the step with their lunches on their laps so they wouldn’t lose track of it.

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And the snail inspired a little drawing project. (He never made it to the lettuce.)

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We celebrated Sean’s birthday. The kids were so excited to decorate his ‘birthday chair’ all by themselves!

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And Jonah couldn’t stop talking about how much Dad was going to LOVE the baseball cake. (He did.)

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The kids have been riding bikes a lot. Nora looks like such a big kid making her way around on the two-wheeler.

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Nora found the moon!

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I made this play tent out of some cheap bedsheets. It will be great for the sunny days in the summer when there’s no shade anywhere in the backyard. For now, the kids love playing with it in the living room. Lots of pretend camping…

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…and giving each other a hard time. ;)

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Here’s a proud Nora with her very tall domino tower.

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And here’s a great video of her counting all the ‘windows’.

Finally, Jonah had his first visit to the eye doctor. We were very happy to learn that at least so far, he seems to have inherited his dad’s excellent vision. Phew!

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“I’m Injured!”

With the start of baseball season comes lots of baseball reenactments. Nora’s getting in on the fun and loves to play the role of ‘injured player’ while Jonah is the ever-responsive trainer. :)