It Ain't Braggin' If You Done It

I am posting this for my father. He was disappointed that I didn't write anything about Bennett's baseball game Wednesday night. Bennett played really great. He made an amazing catch at first base and knew to immediately tag the base because the base runner took off for second, thinking the ball wouldn't be caught. (Apparently, he wasn't familiar with Bennett Smallie. He is now). At tonight's game (he has three this week), he caught two pop flies, threw a few batters out, and went 3 for 4 at the plate. That's right, he made an out. The pitcher caught one of his hits. This is only the second out Bennett has ever made. EVER. In four years of baseball, two outs. As they say in Texas, "it ain't braggin' if you done it" and Bennett "done it". He has a really great team and they're a lot of fun to watch.

Luke, Hunter, Bennett, and Aaron

Cate loves stealing the boys hats off the bench when they're batting. She always wears at least two!

Throwing the batter out at 1st

He loves playing catcher. Makes me very nervous because I'm afraid he'll get hit by a bat.

Brady gets dirtier than anyone on the team. He loves running the bases after the game.

SAFE!

A Magical Day.....

Well, not really, but we did make it to the Magic House on Monday. After waking up to yet another rainy day, Scott decided we were not staying home all day. I thought since the kids have never been to the Magic House, it was a good time to check it out. We waited til afternoon to go, thinking it would be less crowded. The ticket lady assured me it was less crowded than that morning, I just don't see how that was possible. Jam-packed is how I would describe it. Loud, crazy, kids everywhere. We were happy that at least our crew wouldn't stand out.

"Why would you think I was drinking the water?"

Um, because it's dripping off your chin!!

Brady helping Cate in the "Once Upon A Time" room

Carter drawing Ben's silhouette

Bennett having his profile drawn

Ta-da! It's Bennett

Posing to have their shadows freeze on the wall

How could you go to the Magic House and not have your picture taken with the Electrostatic Generator??

Out of the zillion exhibits, this was Cate's favorite. Two stairs. She could have played on them all day.

Sign read "Rule 1. Feet First"

Rule-breakers

Lots of Catie Bugs

Jack and the Beanstalk climber

Braggin' Rights

I need to do a little bragging on Bennett. During his baseball game Saturday morning, he hit a walk-off double to win the game in extra innings. Yeah, they play extra innings in pee-wee baseball. Ridiculous, I know. But, anyway, back to my point...Bennett came up to bat with two guys on base and cracked one to the outfield. His buddy, Braden, scored from second...game over. YAY!!! That makes our team UNDEFEATED at 5-0.

*WAY TO GO BENNETT!!!*

*Notice the blurred background in the picture. I'm trying to figure out photoshop. Did you know they don't put instructions in with that stupid program?

Cate Goes to the Doctor

Today was Cate's 15 month Dr's appt...well-check visit. We actually got to sit on the "well child" side for the first time in a long time :) She turned 16 months on Tuesday, so we are a month behind...screw it. Anyhoo, her appt was at 1pm. That means, first appt. following office lunch hour. Full, rejuvenated, happy nurses and doctor. Brilliant, I know. We sat in the waiting room for a full 30 seconds before being called back. Happy Nurse took Cate's temperature (98.1), measured her head...I have no idea what the number was. Height...again, I can't remember. Something in the high 20's. The scale showed a whopping 21 pounds. Porker. Puts her in the 15-20% for height and weight. Dr. W came in and checked ears, nose, mouth...poked around a bit and declared her perfect. She went through her list of tricks for him...all of her words, clapping, peek-a-boo, "how big is Cate?", "where's your nose, belly, feet, etc."...just like a good little circus animal. They even paraded her through the nurses station to show everyone how well she jumps. This is her new trick. One she is praised for by her brothers. She screams "WATCH", they all do, and then she jumps. It could go on for hours and often does. Spoiled? Um, yes. We were both blindsided by her having to get one shot today. I should really keep up on knowing these things, but, well...screw it. So, after her exam was over, I got her fully dressed, loaded everything up, nurse walked in, gave her the shot, and I immediately picked her up and we walked out the door. No time to realize what was going on = NO TEARS. Brilliant..again. Next appointment is at 18 months (which really means 19 months for me). After that, no more shots til kindergarten!!!!!

Thankfully, she didn't show Dr. W this favorite "trick"

She has started covering only her mouth when playing "Where's Cate?" I assume it's because she's nosey and doesn't want to miss anything that's going on.

Cate did not start laughing out loud until just recently. No belly laughs when she was a baby...nothing. And we tried everything. However, all of a sudden, she finds everything hysterical. She laughs all of the time. Her sweet laugh was worth the wait!!

Yet Another Trip to the Zoo

I know...we're crazy. Seems like we spend more time at the zoo than at home (which is very similar to a zoo). Anyway, on Sunday, Uncle Josh took Bennett to the Cardinals game for his birthday present. We let Brady choose what he wanted to do. We hinted (big time) that the City Museum would be a great choice, but he didn't agree and insisted on going to the zoo. Great. Carter was with his dad, so it was just the four of us. Weird, very weird. Scott and I kept commenting on how strange it was to only have two kids and how different (and calm) life would be. Two kids...come on...that's too easy...where's the challenge in that?!?! Ha! Anyway, I promise I won't post every time we go to the zoo, but I did capture a few great moments.

I love this picture. Brady is the best big brother. He is always so patient with Cate and really takes care of her. She loves him so much!

This picture is SO Brady! He really didn't want to touch the lizard, but he worked up the courage to tap it with that one little finger!

Playing in the Park

Bennett pushing Cate on the swing...her laughter is contagious!

Brady rebelling against my "you must wear socks" rule

Playing on a gym that's just her size

"Look Mom, Dad's high" ....... um, what?

Ben, Cate, and Scott enjoying the fountains

Fun Friday Night

Tonight we headed to Highland to enjoy a lazy evening with our friends Alex and Lisa. They and their son Harrison, recently bought a home and 30 acres of land in Highland. Behind their house, there is a stocked pond and the boys were ready to fish. Harrison is three months older than Cate, and they wandered the yard, played with the dogs, and watched the boys fish. The weather was perfect and we had a really great time.

Alex, Bennett, Carter, Brady, and Scott fishing

Harrison admiring Brady and Bennett's fish'. Everyone caught at least ten fish...they were even catching them without bait on the hooks!

Cate trying to get her hands on the fishing gear

Bennett and one of the labs

Lisa helping Carter get the fish off the hook. He was a bit freaked out about the larger fish and getting stung or whatever fish do when they're pissed about being caught by a hook through their mouth.

Alex taking the boys for a ride on the Rhino....their favorite part of the night!

Following her brothers up a rock wall...she made it too. No fear.

This place was made for Brady....ponds, lots of land, barns, cool tractors...he was in heaven!

Cate being ornery and trying to keep Harrison out of his wagon. She finally relented and we went for a nice walk
But, of course, like any high maintenance girl, she had to keep stopping to adjust everything...put the seats up, then back down, switch places, etc. I'm surprised he didn't just throw her over.

Their second ride...or maybe the third..or fourth...or fifth You get the idea.

That is one tired baby.

Funky Hair

Cate's hair is growing...yay! And it is blonde...really really blonde. Go figure, I know. Her boys think it's hilarious when she's on the trampoline and her hair sticks up and of course she loves the attention!

Her new word is "watch". She barks it all the time.

Looking at Murphy

Cate's new "thing" is to wear (or wrap) everything around her neck...bath towels, pool towels, my sweater (shown here), blankets, etc.

Put Me In Coach, I'm Ready To Play...NOT!

Monday night, Brady had his first official t-ball game. He was dressed and ready to go by 8:45 AM! All of the stars magically aligned and everyone in our family was able to attend. And I mean everybody....17 family members to be exact. When we arrived at the field, Brady warmed up with Scott and everything was going great. Our team was up to bat first, and the kids were to line up on the bench. That's when I saw the tears. Uh-oh. Huge tears. Hysterical cries. This boy clearly did not want to play. I couldn't believe it. He has been waiting for this his entire life! I let him sit on my lap and cry while the kids started to bat. He was last on the line-up and I waited until it was his turn before I walked him to the bench, grabbed his helmet, and walked him to the tee. I knew if we let him sit out the first game, he'd never go back. Poor guy...he looked so sad! However, years of practice had prepared him for that moment, and he rocketed a line drive past the infield. Brady cleared the bases with a huge smile on his face and giant cheers from "his crowd". When his team took the field, he was still unsure about all of it. He played catch with his brothers for a bit and then joined the team. After the first full inning, Brady was happy as can be. When we got home that night, he made me wash his uniform and was back in it first thing Tuesday morning. I think he's asked me "how many more days til my next game?" a zillion times!

Hiding behind his daddy. His sad little face breaks my heart!

Walking to the tee

What a hit!!!

Playing catch with Bennett and Carter

Brady's biggest fan.

A Blog Makeover

Don't ya just love it?!