Aggie up!

Yes, our lives are ruled by baseball these days and so much the better. I will continue to try and encapsulate the season in future posts, but there is something about its epic-ness that will forever elude description. Connor has had a blast doing T-ball. He particularly excels at running around the bases. Sometimes he even touches them; other times he can't be troubled. His interest has definitely increased as the season has gone on and I think part of it has to do with going to a lot of Jamie's practices and seeing all the things the big boys do. For his part, I think going to Connor's practices has helped Jamie in turn, because he likes to feel more advanced. Typically for Jamie this manifests itself not in superiority but in wanting to help. He likes to fetch balls for the coach, and the other day he started telling the kids to "get baseball ready!!" when they were in the field. He can be very encouraging as well, saying "Great job bunny!"

Connor has become sort of the team mascot for Jamie's group, the Aggies, and it's been wonderful how this team has accepted him as a part of the family. He is an expected, if sometimes chaotic, presence in the dugout. During breaks in the practice I often send him out to run the bases and it's great hearing the kids and parents yelling for him to go faster. If we win, the kids are usually rewarded by playing kick ball at the next practice, and Connor absolutely adores this because he gets to play. Everyone is very understanding of "Connor rules," by which he basically gets to keep running whether he is "out" or not. Also that they should NOT bean him in the head with the ball like they do to each other.

It's evident too that Connor sort of idolizes the boys (Jamie included of course). The other day at a game one of them walked by and Connor turned to Sarah with wonder in his eyes and said reverently "Look Mom! There's Stevie!" It was about how one would expect somebody to act if Derek Jeter walked by. I'm certain that if Connor had known to he would have asked for an autograph. So no surprise that Connor has asked us to get him an Aggies hat so his fan-dom would be even more official.

The idolization has also affected behavior. At the end of a big Aggies win on Saturday one of the kids took a ball right in the eye. Even as it began swelling quite shockingly, he tried desperately to stay in the game, but eventually we pulled him. The next day we were playing baseball in the front yard and Connor was running while I hit the ball and Jamie tried to get him out. As he was digging hard to "first" Connor wiped out on the driveway. I could tell instantly there would be scraped knees and forearms. Now, generally, Connor falls apart at a time like this, especially at the sight of a little blood. But before I could even get there, the little guy was pulling himself up and, even as he was crying, saying "I'm OK!!! I can still play!!!" and getting in running position! Even Jamie was impressed. "Just like Ben" he said reverently, referring to his brave Aggies teammate.

Why sometimes children should be heard but not seen

The boys fight constantly of course. I understand this is a fact of life and will be the case until they go to college at which point they can unite in discussing how strange their parents are. But they also play more and more these days and the moments of genuine, unaffected fun between them are heaven. Yesterday, we turned the sprinklers on in the back yard and let them run around in them since it hasn't rained in Houston in months (I'm actually not exaggerating). It was great sitting inside listening to them scream with delight. Connor also has this wonderful rippling laugh which I started to hear a lot of, so I came over to look out the window in eager anticipation of a moment of fraternal accord. What I saw, however, was Jamie sticking a plastic ball into the sprinkler then putting his lips on the ball and spluttering the liquid at Connor's face, as they both laughed riotously. Kind of wished I'd just been left with the sound of laughter.

Know thy brother, know thyself

We were at a pizza restaurant last night and Connor, as usual, was charming the waitress with his cute little, cherubic face, winning smile and silliness. She asked if he was tired (we were out later the usual after a baseball game - I'll have posts about baseball soon). He said no, and she said "Really? It's very late, you must be." Connor insisted that he was not at all tired. When she turned to Jamie he said, matter of factly, "You can't trust Connor." I'm afraid he's right. Jamie is incapable of any kind of sustained dishonesty or subterfuge. He doesn't even manage to stay hidden for long in hide and seek because he feels compelled to come clean about his location. I think he's bothered when someone else stays hidden because it must feel dishonest to him. Connor, on the other hand, loves nothing more than effectively hiding and would stay there forever, particularly if he had some forbidden treat to work on.

Jamie is also getting a sense of himself. He said to me the other day "I thought I was really fast and really strong, but -------- H. (kid in his class) is much stronger and faster." I was able to point out that said child was held back a year and is almost 9, but Jamie wasn't distressed, just found it curious.