Happiness is-

Seeing pure joy on the face of someone you love...




knowing how far they've come....



and thinking about what may be on the horizon.


(besides braces)

Hope you're having a great week!

tough lessons, big heart

Life hands us lessons to learn and make us stronger, better humans.
Sometimes those lessons are tough....

Today Coop hit a home run.
It was his first hit all season long (we're 9 games into a 13 game season).
We've talked to him, bribed him, tried to build his confidence, and have even (sadly) been disappointed in him....nothing mattered.

He's been watching that ball and waiting for his pitch. He's let beautiful pitches come right across the plate and hasn't moved a muscle...he's swung and missed....he's had some bad calls here and there, but at the end of the day he either strikes out or gets walked.

Until today.

Today he connected with the ball.
Today that kid hit a to the fence drive that was beautiful!

He ran to 1st base....rounded to 2nd....



ran through 3rd.....





and was waved on by the 3rd base coach because of an overthrow....
and when he got to home....



he was called out by the ump.

Was it a bad call? I think so.
Did he take it hard? Absolutely. Harder than I ever expected.

It was horrendous.
Everyone was SO excited for him, the crowd went wild, the coaches were jumping up and down, I was screaming at the top of my lungs and he experienced about 2 minutes of complete and total elation.

Until reality set it and so did devastation.

This is about 20 minutes later....after the game ended and he was chosen to "break it down for the team"...after everyone there congratulated him and told him what an amazing hit it was....after his shoulders stopped heaving and the tears stopped falling.



A tender moment with his coach telling him that he KNEW he could do it, and that it didn't matter the call, what mattered was that he hit the ball and did what the coaches told him to do. Was he out? Sure, but that's not the point.

The point was that he did it. He accomplished something that he'd been working towards for months. He did it and he did it well. And nobody can take that away- ever.

How to handle disappointment and anger with grace....important life lessons that we'll need to perfect in the coming years.

Congrats on an awesome hit little kid....that and Life 101.

Mets Win!

Baseball is in full swing and games in this league seem to be a little more intense than they've been in the past.

One reason may be that they use different rules... another may be that people here take their baseball seriously. His coach is one of those people. He's great with the kids and balances his serious coaching with a bit of funny.



Regardless, Cooper is a fan because more intense evidently means better uniforms.



I wish it meant that he was knocking it out of the park...but hitting is giving us some trouble this year. Getting walked however is becoming an art.




At the end of the day, all that really matters is that he's having fun and learning skills- not just baseball skills- life skills.



I think we're meeting the goal....

AND....we won!!!

Baseball Begins!

It's that time again.

Spring flowers, warmer weather and now...baseball is back.

We signed Cooper up to play in our new town. Instead of over 300 10 and under kids in the league, there are 16. Instead of never knowing where the game will be, there is one field. It's small town baseball and it's a big deal.

It's different, but the same.
Cooper is having a blast.

Saturday was Opening Day.
They announce each player by name, sign the National Anthem and an Opening Day pitch is thrown.



It's very official.
Also official? The uniforms.
Cooper told me that they're just like the major leagues....especially the pants.
I must have checked the wrong box on the order form....his are an adult small. He can barely keep them up but he LOVES THEM!



He had a great game......the kid is playing 1st base again this year and is about the cutest 1st baseman around.



The weather was perfect for a baseball game and for a crazy mom taking pictures like a mad woman.




They won! I just love his happy face.



1 down, 14 to go.
Go Mets!

My Favorite Pitcher

Fall Ball is historically less intense and more instructional.
I'm not sure either is entirely true, at least for me.

1st- Cooper is now playing kid pitch vs. machine pitch and while that may be exciting for him, it completely freaks me out. Kids are getting hit with rogue pitches at least once an inning.

2nd- Today Cooper was one of those pitchers! Thankfully he didn't hit anyone....AND he struck 2 kids out.....but who's keeping track?

3rd- I have zero ability to remain calm and collected during a baseball game featuring my child as a player. I just get SO excited!



A wad of bubble gum really makes the pitcher more authentic- don't you agree?







At the end of the game, guess who got handed the Game Ball?



Yup- my favorite powerade drinking, gum chewing pitcher!



Way to Go, Coop!

Game On-

These are the legs of a kid who stole home in the 1st game of the season.



And that's the coach who gave him the signal to GO!



He was itching for the chance.....



But ask him about it- and he's all business.
Stealing home is serious!




This year, the game is serious....he moved up to kid-pitch and it's game on. Let's just say that pitching at the 9 year old level isn't an exact science. Every batter had to duck or move to avoid being hit by a renegade pitch.

I was a wreck. Jon didn't seem to see the potential disaster waiting to happen.

But Cooper?
He loved it and is counting the days until Game #2.

BOS 3 CLE 2

Remember when I said that I didn't like baseball?
And how I changed my mind a little bit when Cooper started to play?

Well, things have changed a little more.



And so, while we were planning our vacation we decided that it would be fun to take in a game.




Yup, it's official.
I'm a baseball fan!

But really, how could you not catch baseball fever when you're in "America's Most Beloved Ballpark"





It was really an awesome experience. I loved Cooper's face when he walked into the park-


It had been raining, so when we arrived (as soon as the gates opened) the field was all covered-



I did catch a glimpse of #33 though...



My friend Teresa is a HUGE fan of his and gave me plenty of inside info before our trip.

We had no trouble finding our seats


Once the rain stopped (95 minutes later), they uncovered the field- which was something to watch all by itself.







Finally, it was time to PLAY BALL!



And by the end of the night, our good seats turned into great seats!


We were right next to the Indian dug out....


Perfect seating to see the head-first slide into home that won the game for the Sox!





So exciting...
So much fun...



Such a night to remember!!

Nail Biter-

This is the aftermath of a nail biting game that occurred just hours ago. They're so giddy (well, except for my ever so calm #18)!!

Since Jon had to miss the game, I texted him so he'd feel like he was there (there's a teeny bit of sarcasm there....as you can see, his responses don't necessarily match the emotion of mine). Shocking.

7:57pm- Me to Jon (at the end of the 1st inning)
5-3 them. Coop grounded out at 1st. He's not happy.

7:58- Jon's response
Keep the dream alive

8:21- Me to Jon
Coop hit a triple, brought in 2 runs- wait, he just scored too. 11-9 still them.

8:27- Jon's response
Awesome

8:57- Me to Jon
OMG! game tied, Coop hit another triple. the crowd is going wild 13-13

8:58- Jon's response
Go Mets!

9:19pm- Me to Jon
Still tied- top of Mets line up. Coop batting clean up. I'm a wreck. 15-15

No response from Jon

9:25- Me to Jon
The won!!! Game called because of time- 1st run in wins it! Final 16-15

No response from Jon.

WHAT IN THE WORLD???
Evidently he was at dinner and didn't hear the texts. Rats.

Cooper called him as soon as we were in the car.

You know, I never thought I'd get so sentimental over hearing my child relay the play by play of an Little League game to his dad. But I did.

So much pride.....on both ends of the phone.

Final game of the season tomorrow.....I'm counting the minutes.

the promised homer

Cooper is incredibly serious about baseball.
He is intense from start to finish and replays each game over and over again after its finished. He's also very aware of the mistakes made during the game- both his and those of every other player on the team.

It's a little bit of a problem, but we're working on it.



He had a night game under the lights on Friday. The counselors from his after school care have been telling him that they're going to come see him play- and on Friday night, they did.

Cooper was thrilled!
He also struck out...
But made a come back with a double and had some impressive defensive work.
They lost the game but he was proud of himself, which is always the goal.

Saturday brought another game but I wasn't able to go. That news didn't go over too well.

So I kissed his little head, told him to hit a home run for me and went to Sarah's Bridal Shower.

About an hour later I got this text message from Jon.

Mets down 0-6 in the 1st. Coop just hit a homer to try and bring them back!


When I tucked him into bed I asked him about it....and he said, "Well, Momma. I promised that I would, so I did."

Like I said,
Cooper is incredibly serious about baseball.

homerun (x2)

when something makes your child happy, you have no choice....it makes you happy too.
for cooper, it's baseball.
and he's over the moon about it.

therefore, i am too.



he's so serious and so determined....



and he gives it 100%- every single time.

and on saturday, his hard work paid off.
twice!

early in the game he hit a beautiful homerun- jon and i were incredibly excited for him.



and our kid was excited too.
the game could have ended there and we wouldn't have stopped smiling for days.

but it kept going...for 6 innings- and the score was tied.
and the other team was at the top of their batting order....and their coach wanted to win. so he asked for an extra inning.

rats.
but our scrappy little team played fabulous defense and they didn't let then score one run.

and then we were at bat.
and the 1st kid struck out
and the second kid hit a single
and the third kid hit a single
and the fourth kid was cooper.

and his first pitch was a strike
and his second was a foul
and his third was an out of the park bullet!!

and the crowd went wild!!!
(i'm pretty sure the crowd went wild....because certainly I did!)



and the game was won 7-4.
but it wasn't about winning (well, maybe a little bit)
it was about the feeling that runs through your head and heart when something exciting and unexpected happens.
the feeling of success and of pride.

it's what every parent wants for their child-
dreams realized, hard work paying off and knowing that he matters.



i love happy endings.