How About Another Comparison?

It's been a while since I've done one of these. Then the moment just presented itself. Fodder for my boys' future therapy sessions.

YMCA Tee-Ball

Evan wrapped up the tee-ball season this past weekend. Dan co-coached the Y team again this year. I'm not sure what it is, but this league is far more fun than the Little League program. Maybe it's because there's much more balance between the sports / athleticism training and character building. Not surprisingly, because it's more fun, Evan plays better in this league.



Evan called himself "the helper coach."





Coach pitching a group of 6 and 7 year olds is not without some risk. Occasionally a ball hits a player, and occasionally a coach gets pelted. Brian took more than his fair share. At least he's laughing about it.



And the kids laugh too.



The post-game snack fun faces!



Sometimes his wild swing works.





And sometimes you need a pep talk from Coach Dad.



What a fun group! But I'm so not ready for summer break to be over!

So We Went to Disney...

Last month we went to Disney World with Dan's mom, stepdad, sister, brother in law, and a slew of nieces and nephews. I didn't take my "big" camera to the parks at all because I just wanted to enjoy being there with my kids. So all of these are iPhone photos. We had a GREAT time!















I love Allie's expression...



Better!











Pretty much ended every day like this...



Looking forward to going back one day when CJ is older!

Nine Months

So now that Connor is ten months old, it's probably about time I post last month's update. I'm determined not to give my second child the short end of the stick, but it's not easy! Even though Evan is much more self-sufficient than having a toddler would be, finding time to do all the things I did with Evan as a baby is hard. Especially now that he is very, very mobile. When he's awake and active, he doesn't want to sit with mommy now. He wants to be on the floor exploring! His crawl is unique. One foot in front, one behind, and he can scoot scrawl from one end of the house to the other in no time. It's starting to emerge in this video, but he quickly gave up on the traditional crawl and developed his own method. And yes, that's Evan enticing him by dragging an area rug ("carpet") that Connor is chasing.



He also started standing this month, but he's still more interested in crawling most of the time. I love the mischievous look he gave me though as he peeked over his shoulder in this photo. As if to say, oh mommy, you have no idea what I have planned.



As far as I'm concerned, the biggest news for nine months is that he started saying mama! That, and baba, which Evan says means "brother." Connor gets a huge kick out of his growing vocal abilities. He does this little "huh" chuckle whenever he does something new and it amuses him. One of many things I need to work to get on video.



Nine month stats:
19.5 lbs
28.25 in.

Father's Day

I got my act together and re-did the Father's Day D-A-D photos I took in 2012, this time with the addition of Connor!



Evan wanted to present it to him while wearing his police costume. Why not?

Kindergarten Graduation / Last Day of School / Spring Concert

I'm a little out of order in posting these, but trying to catch up on two months of life. Summer is in full swing and we are busy!

It's hard to believe my baby will be going to 1st Grade in the fall. Well, not fall, but three weeks! The new balanced schedule our school corp adopted means the kids' summer breaks are much shorter (and other breaks are longer).

His school held Kindergarten graduation. I posted on Facebook about how difficult it was to enjoy it because of the sea of iPhones, cameras, and yes, even full size iPads, that parents now hold up in order to capture every moment rather than just enjoy it. It took me a while to just let it go, but I had to. I do plan on voicing my opinion as a PTA member to make these things device free for future classes.

I took this one from the side, when parents were called forward to take photos.



And afterwards caught this photo with his teacher, Mrs. McKinney.



For comparison, here's a side-by-side of his first day and last day of school.



I don't think the differences here are too obvious. Three teeth (now four) lost. Confidence gained. That confidence came shining through in the children's spring music concert at our church. He had a speaking role, singing, and my personal favorite, his flair for percussion.