Baseball Highlights

Jaden and Cody's baseball season consisted of 10 games. It was remarkable to see their growth from the beginning to the end of the season. They both learned so much about the finer rules of the game and greatly improved their hitting, throwing, and catching techniques. We were so very pleased with their team coach (a knowledgeable yet gentle dad who said he purposely scaled back his competitive nature so that he could focus on correct technique with all the players). Jaden and Cody both seemed to enjoy their teammates and the games, and we loved cheering on our little Red Sox players! It was a wonderful first exposure to Little League. 

Boys from top: Easton, William, Jaden, Coach Putnam
Team Mom Miss Jessica, One of the regular dad helpers (not sure of his name)
Hunter, Lane, Ricardo, Braxton, Ben, Wyatt
Cody, Ryland, Bentley

Here are some specifics for each of our boys:

JADEN

Jaden started out the season as a powerful hitter, lost some momentum during the middle (likely due to his tendency to overthink his technique!), but then ended the season hitting confidently again. Jaden was a fun defensive player to watch, as he'd make many great decisions on the field about where to throw the ball and how/when to tag players out. He was a very focused player, and you could almost see the wheels in his head turning during the game! After the first couple games, Jaden consistently asked to wear his uniform with his pants hiked up so that his red socks would be clearly showing. Jaden said that his favorite part about baseball was playing in the outfield and thinking about where to throw the ball. His favorite position to play was first base.

As any good first-time baseball mom, I took WAAAY too many pictures throughout the season! Here are some of my favorites of Jaden.

Our awesome team mom captured the following sequence of pictures during one of the games. Unfortunately, Jaden didn't get the opposing player out, but you can tell that it was a close call!

CODY

Our team mom told us that Cody always had such a happy, eager attitude in the dugout and was ready for anything. Cody was a very consistent hitter throughout the season and often hit the ball off the coach's first pitch by the last few games. He was a fast little runner after hitting the ball, too. He loved going around the bases and scoring runs. Cody's signature stance was standing on base with his hands on his hips. I loved how Cody would look over at us in the stands with a lopsided little grin and a thumbs-up if he ever heard us cheering him on. Cody made so much progress during the season with throwing the ball longer distances and accurately to his teammates. Cody's favorite part about baseball was "hitting the ball really far," and his favorite position to play was pitcher. Here are some shots of Cody in action:

Both Boys

Here are a few pics of both boys on the field together-- standing in their "baseball ready" position,

both on base (Cody at 1st and Jaden at 3rd),

and playing at their favorite positions (Jaden on 1st and Cody as pitcher). We loved watching them throwing the ball to one another at these spots.

The Fans

Jaden and Cody's #1 fan this year was their sister Adley who never missed a game! This active little girl kept us busy, busy during the games. We often spent much of the game following after her as she walked around the field. She also enjoyed playing with various push toys, eating snacks (always!), climbing off and on camp chairs, and clapping whenever we would clap.

It was also such a joy to have some of our extended family cheer on Jaden and Cody. Grammy and Papa attended over half of the boys' games-- what a treat!

On one busy family weekend, we brought cousin Abby along with us to a baseball game. Abby asked a lot of questions about the game and did a great job of entertaining Adley. She also listened very carefully to Uncle Jason and often immediately repeated whatever phrase he called out to cheer on the boys. 

Our biggest fan crew came to one of the last (and hottest!) season games. Cody and Jaden were so thrilled to see so many of their cousins, Aunt Kim, Aunt Chelsea, and Uncle Jon supporting them. Cody even started chatting with his cousins from the infield when he saw them arrive. :) Thanks so much, family, for all of your support and encouragement!

 

Finally, here are a few videos of Cody (the first two videos) and Jaden (the final two) in action.

Don't worry, nobody was injured in the following play. :) Thankfully, the boys' coach said that Jaden's ball hit him right on the edge of his shoe (even though it looks like he got nailed in the knee!). Unfortunately, (as you can tell from the outcome in the video) the ball bounced directly to the first baseman after hitting the coach. Jaden's hit was sure a strong one, though!

The boys seemed to thoroughly enjoy their season on the Red Sox, and both of them seem interested in playing again. We were thankful for all that our boys learned this season and look forward to cheering them on again in the future.

April Happenings

Our Little Picasso

Lately Adley has really, really been into coloring pictures. She sees her big brothers drawing all the time, so it's only natural that she wants to pick up a marker and join in. I usually hold Adley while she draws so that I can control where the marker tip goes! (So far, her wayward works of art have only gone on the table, the tile floor, and a chair... thankfully all easy to clean up.) This girl has quite a long attention span when she's drawing. Also, she is already showing a definite preference for her right hand. What a big girl she seems to be in these pics! (Cody gets the photo credit for the pic of Adley with Mommy.)

Muddy Trails Run

At the beginning of April, this crew of family members (Andrew, Sarah, Kim, Chelsea and I) participated in a local 5K/10K trail run. Kim was the only one who ran the 10K (the rest of us took the easy way out!). It was another cooler day for Houston-- temps in the low 50s with a cold wind. Remarkable! I much prefer running in cold weather compared with hot, though, so I enjoyed it (for the race at least). After our run, we enjoyed a free meal and a variety of snacks. We were so grateful for all the family members who watched kiddos so that the rest of us could participate in this run.

Children's Museum

A few days before this 5K, we had to pick up our race packets at a community center located fairly close to the Children's Museum. So, after collecting our packets, Kim, Sarah, and I met for a morning at the museum with our kiddos. This was Adley's first visit to the museum since she's been walking, so she enjoyed it more than she ever has before. It was so fun to watch what she would choose to do. She probably spent the most time in the little house playing with food, although she loved the large Lite Brite too. We enjoyed our time with cousins Nathan and Ben. 

Piano Recital

In the middle of the month, I hosted a piano recital for my piano students. I currently teach 15 kids between my at-home lessons and my one day a week at school. Two of my students were unable to make the recital, but a couple of my mom's students (including my nephew Ian) joined us. So, we still had a total of 15 performers. I was so proud of each of the kids and am thankful for the great bunch of families that I work with.

Party Animals

At the end of the month, we attended our neighbor Luke's 1-year-old birthday party. I enjoy walking with Luke's mom Rachel and meeting her occasionally at our neighborhood playground, so Adley has had a few opportunities to play with this cute little guy. This picture shows about the full extent of their interaction at the party. :)