Arkansas Democrat Gazette Wildcats

Austin had his first t-ball game of the season on Friday. He was so excited! We had to be there a little early so that they could get their uniforms. Of course, when we bought his white pants (a mother's worst nightmare, right?) they were out of black belts and we waited until the last minute to try and find one. We went to three stores on the way to the game and finally found one at the 3rd store. Brian said his son was NOT going to play in a game with a non-matching belt.

Anyway, Austin got his uniform (shirt, hat and socks) when we got there and they all looked so good! Austin LOVES his hat...in his words, "it has holes all over it!" Very cool!

I originally had Colten in the stroller. He didn't last long in it. He played at the fence for a while, watching the older boys and shaking the fence. He walked around a bit as well, but never walked too far away from where I was.

Austin's team was in the outfield first. You can tell exactly what these kids want to do more than anything. They all looked so BORED out there! They couldn't wait to get their turn to bat! Most were looking all over the place, playing in the dirt, putting their gloves on their head and all kinds of other things instead of watching what was happening in the game. I didn't have my zoom lens, so I didn't get very good pictures of the outfield play. Austin watched pretty well, but looked a little jealous that he wasn't hitting. LOL

Finally, it was the Wildcats' turn to bat! In this league, every player gets to bat before the inning is over. In case you noticed, Austin bats left-handed. No, he doesn't throw left-handed. No, he doesn't write left-handed. He does some things left handed and some right. He is starting to switch hit a bit, but is still better at left than right. We'll see how he develops over the years.

He really keeps his eye on that ball! Brian said he's a little flat footed, but he hit pretty well the first time around.

Here he is on third base.

Meanwhile, Colten took to climbing the bleachers. I think he's trying to say, "Don't mess with me, woman!" He was doing his own thing and when he got to a certain level, I would put him back on the ground and then he would climb back to that level. He thought it was a fun game, and I didn't have to chase him, so it was a win-win situation!

Brian coming over to say hi when the teams were getting ready for the 2nd inning.

In the top of the 2nd inning, Austin was at 2nd base. He did really well. There were a few plays where he it was like he instinctively knew what to do, but they hadn't gone over that in practice, so he was a little cautious about it. He was correct though and it was neat to see it. Brian and I talked about it after the game on the way home and we are both impressed.

His second at-bat wasn't as good as his first. He hit the tee a bit more and although the ball looks like it didn't go very far, he made it to first base just fine.

While the rest of the team hit, there were a few boys sitting in the dugout and they figured out that if they pushed the fence out enough, they had a space to use as a door. I guess the coach telling them who was up next wasn't paying much attention, so they had fun "escaping" the dugout.

After the game, I went out to take some pictures of the two teams saying "good game" to each other. Colten went and got Austin's bat and this shot looked as if he was "on deck." Coach, put him in, he's ready to play! :-)

The boys being good sports. I love this part. It's so neat to see them give the other team fives after the game. Austin is number 10; giving the other team's coach five.

Austin will only be able to play 2 more games in this league. I thought I had searched high and low for a league in North Carolina and didn't find one that started later than what the ones here do. We asked Austin if he wanted to play even if he couldn't finish the season and that's what he wanted to do. He was still bummed about it though and I saw something online about a YMCA league that starts right when we move to N.C.

I called them the other day and got him on a team. I have to send in the registration and payment, but he'll be able to play more when we get there! This league is a little different where it's a combination of t-ball and coach pitch for his age. I think he'll do great as he's hitting balls from his pitching machine (thanks Aunt Nancy for that and his batting gloves!) really well. I think he hits better from that than he does off the tee. Anyway, he's really excited to be able to play more and we can't wait to see what his new team will be like.

Oh, and by the way, I got his white pants, the ones that had grass stains, dirt and who knows what else all over them, COMPLETELY CLEAN! :-) We'll see if it stays that way over the course of the next 2 months.