Cody's Second Practice

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Cody's second practice of the season was tonight and it was perfect weather! They have such a nice field to play on and it is obvious that they take great care of it. The team had a crew of coaches who had an incredible amount of patience with all the children. Cody befriended a guy coach whom he charmed into sharing his water bottle and sitting in his lap. Cody is a charmer for sure! He practiced throwing with Mr. Coach and batted with his head Coach Jen. Their first game is scheduled Sunday, however, it will get rained out. His next game is scheduled for Thursday.

Cody enjoyed playing in the dirt more than anything! LOL! It seems that he is improving with each practice. We hope most importantly, that he enjoys it.

Fun with friends

Carleigh enjoyed playing with her classmate. I talked with M's mom tonight and M is 4 years old and has another year of preschool before Kindergarten. They had fun playing with the ball and just giggling like girls do.

In the outfield

Batting

The last thing before the team huddle was batting. Cody did a great job! He had to be reminded on where to go afterward, but I see big improvement. Apparently he is doing more than the first practice. (With Cody, he has to get used to things and then he'll start doing what the others are doing.)

Ice Cream of course!

Ice cream was a must after the practice. We were planning on going grocery shopping, but practice ran a a little longer so we decided that it could be done tomorrow since rain is on tap for the rest of the weekend...ugh! Carleigh really perked up when I mentioned ice cream! She ate her ice cream and finished Cody's as well.

Don't rain on our game!

We were spoiled with the wonderful temps in March and early April. Then last week, the normal April showers came with gloom and puddles. This REALLY is a downer in my family because my two would prefer to be outside exploring nature than sitting in the house. Of course I am glad that they would prefer playing outside than watching boring video games or tv, but when it rains ENDLESSLY we have a problem! Then, we buy the swing set and now Carleigh is DYING for us to put it together. It's hard for her little 5 year old mind to understand why we can't put it together.

We are hoping that the rain will go away and we can install the swing set on Saturday and have Cody's game on Sunday. I think the latter event is more likely to happen much to Carleigh's disappointment. However, Carleigh has talked about her classmate M ALL week since she was able to play with her at Cody's baseball practice. She is hoping M goes to practice on Friday night as well. That night, she said that she wants M to come home with us so M could see her room!! This is HUGE progress in the friend department (she has difficulty playing with friends appropriately)! I guess I might have to get to know this family better!

Bring on the sunshine please!

Cody's First Practice

We received a call from Cody's coach at 5pm wondering if we were coming to the practice tonight. Really? What practice? Apparently she does not have my correct email address and we are lacking in communication. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't see or help in the first practice as I had my awesome Beth Moore Bible study of the book of Esther tonight. I can't get enough of this study. God places the right message I need to hear EVERY week.

According to Matt, there were just a handful of kids there. Luckily for Carleigh, J was there and his little sister M (whose in Carleigh's preschool class). So Carleigh and M played during the practice. Carleigh was thrilled and so was everyone else! The pitchers actually threw pitches for the kids to hit (not off a tee) and all the kids had chances to field and hit. Rain has really thrown off the schedule as it was supposed to be held last Friday. They have another practice this Friday if it doesn't get rained out. Hopefully this rainy period will end so we can have practices and Cody's opening game this Sunday. AND....Carleigh is bugging us to get this swing set put together. She can't wrap her mind around the fact that it cannot be assembled in the pouring rain!!

Summer's going to be great NOW!

I have been looking at swing sets for the past 2 months now. I almost bought another swing set and found this one on sale at Toys R Us today. It has a rock climbing wall, sandbox, and a chalkboard in the upstairs clubhouse. I checked out the reviews and comments from other shoppers and although it sounds complicated to put together (and what swing set ISN'T?!!) I think it is the best investment we could make for the kids.

This will be my life saver this summer and I won't have to worry about going to a park by myself and losing Cody.

Now, we need all of this rain to stop so we can get it assembled sometime before summer starts. Oh, and if you are interested in becoming apart of the construction crew, just let me know. We need ALL the help we can get on this project!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.....

Super girl! Yep, Carleigh is donning her fashionable cape crafted especially for her in her preschool Wednesday night Caravan class. She loves to wear it around the house and outside. I guess it gives her lots of extra "powers." She is really growing up these days. We have such interesting conversations and I cannot believe that she is 5 and going to Kindergarten in August. Where have my babies gone?

National Infertility Awareness Week

April 24–May 1 is National Infertility Awareness Week. Please pray for our sisters who so desperately desire children, but are unable to conceive. Pray that their hearts will be filled with God's grace, goodness, and compassion. And pray that our actions and words will bring healing and not guilt or more pain and sadness.

I know all to well what these ladies are experiencing. Part of me will always feel the same way as they do. Adoption has healed the majority of the pain, but the grief will always be there. I know several ladies that are going through this and will probably go through it for the rest of their lives and remain childless. Please keep all ladies in your prayers!

Cody's 1st Grade Transition Meeting

Yesterday was Cody's big meeting with the new school he will be attending for first grade. Although the meeting was long, we discussed Cody and introduced him to the intervention specialist, speech pathologist, assistant principal, physical and occupational therapists who will work with him for the next 4 years. It was a productive meeting and it was great to meet them before school starts. There will be an open house on May 18th for upcoming first graders that we will attend and I also love the fact that he is going to the newest building in the district. Cody also had a field trip to the Children's Museum with his class and the meeting was perfect because afterward, I picked Cody up in his classroom. It was so cute to see him sitting on the carpet square nicely with his classmates. I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I will have a first grader next year AND a kindergartener. *sigh*

Big Milestone in the making....

Tonight, after Bible study, Matt was saying the Cody's bottom left front tooth was REALLY lose. In fact, Cody was wiggling it with his tongue. So I played a game with him, reached in quick and pulled it out. It came fast and no blood was seen. My baby lost his first tooth! Call me sentimental but there were tears when I saw that little tooth in my hand! Cody was 10 months before a tooth came it and it was the neighbor of the one that I pulled. It wasn't the tooth I thought would be the first. So I guess his top front teeth will be the next to go VERY soon. Now that he has let me pull one tooth, I am hoping he will let me get those top two out because his adult teeth are coming in. I guess we have to start talking about the tooth fairy now. *sigh* I just wish they could stay babies forever!

Our "Angel in the Outfield"

Today, Cody got to meet his Coach whose name is Coach Jen. (Love her name!) He also got to meet his 11 teammates. He already knows one friend J who was in his preschool class for 2 years (and both of them have a sister in preschool class together). J came up and recognized Cody and started to talk to him. It was so sweet! They were both so excited to play! Team pictures went well and I was so proud of Cody sitting so well when others struggled a bit. He also did a fabulous job with his individual pictures. We can't wait to see them!

Cody will have his first practice this Friday evening and the games will begin in 2 weeks. Carleigh is a bit envy but she is content to be his helper and practice with him. We may put her in softball next year.

We can hardly wait for the fun to begin!

Practicing at home

It was a beautiful, but slightly chilly day. To get Cody excited about meeting his baseball team, we practiced hitting, fielding and running the bases. Cody had A BLAST! (So did Carleigh.) Hitting the ball was his favorite thing to do besides using the ball stand as a microphone. (The musician in him will NEVER go away!)

Opening Day

Opening Day for Cody's baseball league is Sunday, May 2, at 1pm. If you would like to come, just let me know and I will give you the specifics. Apparently the Mayor of Hamilton will be there as well as a few other important people. There will be a short program and then all the teams will be playing a game. Cody's team will team up with the Cubs (yay!) to play against the Pirates. This Saturday is Team Picture Day and he will get his picture taken with his team and receive his uniform and any other important information. We are so excited for him and hopes that he will develop a love for the sport! Of course he will have quite the cheerleaders for him!!

Visiting Kindergarten

Carleigh began her visitation with her Kindergarten teacher yesterday. Each week, she spends a half-hour, twice a week in her future Kindergarten teacher's classroom. This has been very interesting because she will have Cody's Kindergarten teacher next year. What is puzzling about this? She may be in the same classroom as Cody twice a week for the rest of the year. (Yikes!) Hopefully, it goes smoothly and Carleigh enjoys getting to know her new teacher. Can you imagine these TWO in the same classroom?!!

Fun on the Farm

Yesterday, we went to Liberty, Indiana to have some fun while enjoying the beautiful weather. We walked steep hills, played in the creek, rode on the Mule, saw beautiful Spring babies, relaxed and had our first cookout of the year. It was a blast and the kids were exhausted from all the fun they had!

Farm Scenery

This is just some of the many views we saw. If you look at one of the hills, I have been up and down that large sand hill on a dune buggy with my brother-in-law. It's amazing how high and how fast a buggy can go in a short amount of time!

Cody's Rides

Cody absolutely LOVES to ride the 4-wheeler, so cousin Brittany and Aunt Connie rocked his world when they took him on numerous rides. He kept telling them to "Go fast B.B.!!" we also took lots of rides on the Mule and he would stay so still and calm while we were out in the woods. It definitely has a calming effect on him.

Cody and his buddies

Cody absolutely LOVES dogs. He found a buddy in Sherry's dog Rusty, he also play with Rudy and Abby. No doubt that we will get a dog for him when we buy our house. He is so gentle with them and talks to them.