Tommy's First Baseball Game

Our new soccer team friends invited us to join the baseball team that most of the same kids played on last year. I believe last year involved a tee but since we missed that, we went straight to the pitching machine.  Yikes! Also, the first practice AND game were when we were in Chicago.  So missed out on that.  Then the second practice was cancelled due to rain.  So the following pictures are Tommy's very first baseball experience ever besides playing in the yard.

His first at bat, he got a hit! He ran all the way to third even though he should have stopped at first.  I told him once he hit the ball, it's basically like tag.  So he just kept running! Overthrow rules made him go back to first though. :)

His best friend's dad is a coach and was helping him out with the rules.  #36 on first! He was ready!

 His second time at bat, he got a hit again!

He got to score this time.  It was so cute! It's a really casual set up and the kids have lots of fun.  The pitching machine isn't scary either.  But I think I was the only one that was actually scared of it.  :) He had no fear.

Here's a video of him running the bases.

He took the "tag" part of the advice to heart.  He ran so far out and around the other players.  He didn't want to get tagged!! :) Too funny.  Good strategy! ;-)  More games to come!

Chicago Weekend

 Andrew had to spend the week in Chicago for work so we decided to join him for the weekend prior.

We started the weekend by going to the Brookfield Zoo.  I hadn't been there since I was in elementary school.  Turns out, they have dinosaurs there now.  How did they pull that off? ;-)

 We brought the stroller.  We needed it.  They never would have walked all that way.

 First stop, CATS.  Big ones! You can kind of see him in the far back left of the picture.

 Then we HAD to visit the Dinosaur exhibit.  First we learned about lizards and dragons.  Plus a lego statue of a dragon was there so that was cool.

 Then we got to see all the life size dinosaurs too.  Tommy was elated.  Charlotte was scared. :)

 They had a dragon or two from folklore along with the dinosaurs.  Interesting.

 We saw the primates in exhibit.  That was pretty cool.  Actually no, it was SUPER HOT.  The family next to us was hot too.  They were getting short with each other and the mom was saying, "Zephen, move so your brother Zaniel can see."  Yes that happened.  Hmm...

 Had to snap a pic in the water exhibit!

 We pushed the stroller all the back over to the dolphin show and got there just in time.

 Yay dolphin show! The dolphins were no stranger to getting the audience wet. We sat up high and we almost got wet.  It was amazing.

 We got to do Charlotte's favorite thing- the carousel!

 Photobombed by an ostrich!!

 We went to Rain Forest Cafe for dinner.  The kids got these overpriced souvenir cups.  Neither of them drank hardly any of their drink.  But look how cool the cup is!! It came with a removable bottom cup that holds snacks.  It came with a tiny frog in the snack cup part.  So cool!

 You can see Charlotte's elephant that was in her snack cup.  So cute! Worth the overpriced price. :)
 

 After dinner, we dragged the kids to Whole Foods for dessert.  DELISH!! I had chocolate cake and Tommy had vegan chocolate cake. YUM!

 We put the kids to bed but had a hard time sleeping since the people next door were partying for a wedding.  We finally called the front desk and they sent security to bang on their door.  We were THOSE people. :) Oops.  We asked to be moved the next day because that was just rehearsal dinner night! Yikes!  We didn't sleep well but luckily the kids slept right through it.

 Our new room was probably the most private and secluded room in the entire hotel.  It was AWESOME.  This was our door and this was down a weird hallway away from all the other rooms.  Too funny.

 The next day, we decided to head downtown.

 We went to the Watertower Mall.  Charlotte, the Cubs first basewoman, got photobombed by Tommy.

 We walked down to Navy Pier but not without stopping for a selfie.

 We took a shoreline boat ride.  It was fun!

 The kids were a little bored of hearing about Chicago architecture but we enjoyed it.

 Photocred goes to Dada for this one.

 Dada took Charlotte to Build A Bear.  He didn't not realize what he was getting into with that until he got the bill.  YIKES. Lesson learned. But WOW, Charlotte loves that Princess Unicorn.

 We were so tired after all that city-ing, that we came back to our private hotel room and settled in with twizzlers and popcorn and watched Despicable Me.  It was a perfect ending to our little weekend with Dada before he had to stay in Chicago for the week.

 So much fun snuggling and movie watching.  What more could you want for your weekend in Chicago? :)

 More stuffed animals maybe?

 The next day we headed home and stopped at the most fabulous gas station I've ever seen.  Not only because of the fab gas station attendant but because of this cool kid's car.  Sweet!

We stopped at Grandma's on the way home for watermelon with Uncle Adam.

The weather was beyond gorgeous.  It was a perfect weekend getaway.  Ahhh the memories. :)

Week of the Child 2017

 Every year the school celebrates the Week of the Child with fun dress up options every day.

They had mismatch day.  Notice Charlotte's socks. :)

 They had crazy hat day.

 They had dress as your favorite book character day.

 They had pajama day.

 They also had Hawaiian Day.

 Time for a Hawaiian Dance Party!

 On Friday, the parents get to come to school and have a picnic with the kids.  This is the last time I'll be able to do this with both of them at one time for awhile.  *sniff, sniff, tear*

Snapped a pic with his bestie!

It hasn't quite hit me yet that Kiddie Kollege is almost over for Tommy. He's been there since he was 10 months old.  It is hard to imagine him being anywhere else.  But he is EXCITED about going to first grade.  He can't wait!

Movie Saturday: Version Smurfs

 We didn't have anything to do on a Saturday and we decided last minute to go see Smurfs at like 8 pm.  So we took THOR...

 and Miss Fur Vest and went to Cheddars.  It was prom weekend so you can see some fancy dresses behind the kiddos.

 Mama needed a drink if she was going to get through the Smurfs situation.  This drink is limited to two per customer due to the strength of the alcohol.  I only went for one but I'm glad I did. :)

 The kids set themselves up with candy and booster seats and enjoyed the show.

We even stayed after the credits because there was still action going on on the bottom of the screen.  I have no idea why Tommy's one pant leg is up.  Too funny.

Even if I had to see Smurfs (which they were able to pull Julia Roberts in for that movie by the way, WHAT?), it was still a hilarious and fun little Saturday.

Soccer Spring 17

Tommy's best friend Bode has been on the same soccer team for awhile now and we got the chance to join it too. 

This was a great team to be on.  They had two moms as coaches and they have it down pat.  They taught the kids offense and defense. 

 Look at how they #momsohard. :) Carrying her own young child while high fiving Tommy after a good shot.  So impressive!

 Tommy learned a lot this year too.  I think most of it is maturity and just understanding the game a little better.  Plus having a best friend on the team is a great influence!

During a practice, they were playing Sharks and Minnows.  Look at how Tommy is strategizing with his shark teammates.  :-) They did awesome, of course.

 He LOVES being on defense.  I think he would request it every time if he could.  :)

 They celebrated their last game before our second to last game was officially rescheduled.  He got his medal that said "Teal Tigers" on the back.  So cute.

He got a pic with his bestie. :)

They also got a team picture too.  Well it's most of the team anyway.

 But then their game was rescheduled for a Tuesday night.  So this was officially their last game.  I had to include this picture because it looks like there's a UFO in the sky.  Creepy!

 The sun setting made for some interesting pictures.  I liked this one.  Tommy chasing after a thrown in ball.

Another thing we liked about this team is that it's all kids he will be going to school with in the fall.  This kiddo is going into first grade just like Tommy! It's nice to go into a brand new school knowing so many families now.  Helps me relax... just a tiny bit. :)

 The final huddle.  What a great season.  Tommy learned what the word "aggressive" means.  He learned offense and defense.  He made friends and had a great time.  All in all, it was an awesome season.  Go Teal Tigers!

Edited to Add: I had to include these two pictures...

 I forgot this picture taken by another parent.  It's so cute.

I also had to include the team picture.  How cute is our little hipster?