John's birthday baseball game

 So it was off to the Dodgers vs. Nationals baseball game for John's 3rd birthday family celebration.  Luke and John are Dodger fans, Leah has diplomatically decided to root for the Nats while in DC and the Dodgers while in LA, I couldn't care less, and Noelle has no idea what's going on.  

We did our usual, frugal move of showing up early for the $5 tickets and bringing our own food with us - complete with the afore-blogged homemade cracker jacks.

Mmmm... hotdogs!  (How did mustard get on his forearm?) 

One of the highlights of the night was Luke spending an inordinate amount of time running around the stadium trying to find a way to get a ball for John.  Waiting to catch a homerun during the Dodgers batting practice didn't work, so a security guard told us to wait by the dugout.  Luke carried John down hoping that the "cute kid" factor would work.  But apparently the players are conditioned to ignoring anyone who yells their way, so it didn't.  As I'm watching all this from up in the stands and praying (isn't this totally the type of thing that a mother prays for?), I saw a player talking to another cute, Dodger-bedecked youngster and his parent so I motioned for Luke to head over in that direction.  Right before the player went into the tunnel, Luke got his attention, mentioned John's birthday, displayed said child, and the guy ran into the tunnel and came out tossing up a Dodger practice ball!  John was thrilled and I almost teared up.  Thank you, Lord!  And Luke!

After all the attention on John, Leah tearfully said that she felt like everybody loved him and nobody loved her.  (First born's difficulty sharing the spotlight + mother's "drama gene" = bad combo.)  So, in His grace, God literally had someone hand John another ball whom we didn't really see.  We just turned around and John was holding a ball with a stupefied look on his face and we heard a guy's voice shout from the crowd, "Hey, your son got a ball!"  (Insert "Angels in the Outfield" reference here.)  So John said right away, "Look, Leah!  A ball for you!"  And he gave it to her while patting her on the back.  SO SWEET.  

John not only loves to play sports and watch sports, but he likes to TALK sports.  Take note, ESPN.  He is a budding sportscaster.  

"Dat was a BIG hit!"

"And it went up in da air..."

"...wike a pop fwy..."

"...and he was WUNNING weally fast to catch it!"  

BTW, these are all typical day-in-the-life facial expressions for John.  He is very expressive about pretty much everything he says.  It's very entertaining.  

Of course, we had to get some ice cream in one of those baseball hat cups.  Whoever invented that $8 marketing tool is a rich genius.  

And we ended the evening with a (scary) picture with President Jefferson of HILARIOUS bobblehead President race fame.  What a way to honor the men who founded this great country.  

Noelle was so thrilled about the game that she fell asleep holding her foot.  

(Don't try this at home.)  

But she woke up just in time to show some baseball fan frenzy.  

Some of you know that I am not a huge baseball fan (games are too long and too many, all the spitting, scratching, and drug drama, can guys with beer bellies really be considered athletes?, etc.), but I actually had a really fun time.  It was such a great outing for our family and a really fun way to celebrate John.  Happy (almost) birthday, Dude!  We love you.  

Wicked cool accent

John is a unique kid with a unique voice.  It's deep and yet he sings in falsetto.  There are certain letters that he can't pronounce and it makes him sound like he's from Boston.  Not to mention, he's got a goofball sense of humor, so enjoy these quotes from our sweet John...

"Hey, Mom!  Yook at dat big pie of DIT!"  

Translation:  "Hey, Mom!  Look at that big pile of DIRT!"

"Dat side - it banned me."

Translation:  "That slide - it burned me."

"Yuts fo Yunch?"

Translation:  "What's for lunch?"

"Yuts fo bez-ZIT?"

Translation:  "What's for dessert?"

"I'm fisty fo yada."

Translation:  "I'm thirsty for water."

"In da bedinning, Dod teated da heavens and da irf.  Genesis Yun Yun."

Translation:  "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1."

"Dank you, Dod, fo mommy and fo daddy and fo me and fo Yeah and fo Baby Noyell.  Amen."

And my personal favorite is a little song he made up himself (sung in falsetto with eyebrows raised and his little neck stretched forward.)

Da Bible says, "Hosanna! Hosanna!"

Da Bible says, "Don't do dat!  Don't do dat!"

Gotta love that kid.  

Freedom of Dress

This is what John looks like when I dress him.

And this is what John looks like when he dresses himself.  

I have my share of weird mom hang-ups.  I can't do shoes on the wrong feet and despite being a non-neat nick, I can get really tense when they want to help me in the kitchen because of the potential mess.  I'm not a short order cook, so "you get what you get, you don't throw a fit and you're grateful for it" and I have a zero tolerance rule for ear piercing screams - even if you're bleeding.  

But I totally love when my kids dress themselves.  They are regularly mismatched and disheveled, but there's something about it that is really beautiful and counter-cultural.  

So dress to express, guys!