Baseball again!

Haven't talked much about Jack's fall baseball season. It has been kind of strange,,with an erratic schedule, Jack being sick or otherwise missing last weekend's games, and the overall quality of play being shaky.

And Jack struggled at the plate the first few games, and I'm not coaching, so it is all a different vibe from the summer.

But it was an awesome weekend. Yesterday, things started to turn around for him at the plate. We had been practicing some, swing and stance and stuff, and he was looking a little more comfortable at the plate. Had a good at bat which resulted in a hard groundout to the right side, moving the tying runner over in the final inning in a game we won 3-2. Today, with only nine guys available, Jack played the whole game, made a couple of fielding plays and a throw home.... And in his first at bat, lined a double down the right field line, the best hit - and first double - of his career. Reached base each of his next three at bats, too, with a liner to center and a pair of grounders. 3 hits. A bust out game! Said a friend, and it's true.

After the game, I told Jack how great he played, how proud I was, and got a big grin. Then he went off to a birthday party, baseball probably largely forgotten. (Funny, because yesterday, walking home, same thing happened...Emily was praising him for moving the runner over, Jack smiled, then spotted a squirrel and started chasing it. Already moving on.)

Funny thing is, I mean, I'm proud of Jack anyway, all the time. Every time he's at the plate, in the field, being nice to Kate, helping around the house. Guess it's easier to get excited about a hit in baseball or something in public, but it's not a new feeling. Maybe baseball just reminds me of it.

Weather was nice this weekend. Sunny, warmer than you would expect, clear. Great weekend for baseball.

No noise

The last couple of days, maybe longer, I have been feeling like there is a little too much noise around me. It's noise I create, either the radio, or the visual noise of something like my cellphone. Just spending too much time immersed in it. I realize this is not a unique or new discovery on my part.

Today when the kids got home from school, reacting with joy to the Halloween doormat I'd put out, because it is NOT too early, I spent my time listening to and watching them. I gave them the Halloween window decorations I'd bought this morning, and watched them put them up in their rooms. "I'm making art this year," said Jack, as he carefully created a scene in his windows using the decorations. And he was, it was kind of cool.

With Kate, I had to move her radiator cover, help her stick the decorations on the window, move everything back into place. Her creations were more literal. "I'm going to make this cat about to eat this rat. And this bigger rat will be about to eat the cat. You know a baby rat is a mouse? Here's the owl on the roof of the house. And THIS big owl is its Mommy."

I walked Kate over to Daisy scouts at 5. We held hands, and she sang. I dropped her off, made sure she found a friend and a place to sit in the circle, waved goodbye.

I drove Jack to swim team tryouts in Rye. We always have the car radio on, but I left it off this time. We talked about baseball playoffs, school, recess, the upcoming comic convention. We had a few minutes to wait at the Rye Y, so we played foosball. He had his tryouts, and afterward said, "I think it was the best freestyle I've ever done. Sometimes I get tired, but I didn't get tired at all."

We drove home, again without the radio. Just chatting. He observes random things, the kind of stuff I do. Like: "That store....Arnold's Signs. It had this old wooden, dusty sign with a pole sticking out of the bottom. Like something in a Western movie or something. Couldn't a sign store have a nice, new sign?"

We picked up a pizza, and Jack said hi to the turtles. I told him the sign observation was funny, and he went off on it for another two minutes.

We got home and ate. Took a brief break from our no electronic devices to play a silly pinata game on Google.com. That was funny. Kids had showers, we read books, and went to bed.

Electronic devices are OK sometimes. Last night we danced in the kitchen to a couple of great songs, saw a funny music video with all different kinds of dancing.

But sometimes enough is enough. Turned off my phone a while ago, and now I'll turn off the computer and go look at the window decorations the kids put up. Right n

Great team

A rare slow afternoon at the Richardson household. But there was sun in the midst of rain, and so I cajoled Kate into going out for a bike ride. Brought along a wrench, because this was the day we were going to learn to ride without the training wheels.

We went to Rec Park, a small, lightly attended park within walking distance that had a huge tennis court. Jack learned to ride his bike there two years ago, probably about this time actually.

Kate and I had tried it without training wheels a couple of times earlier this summer. Hadn't really gone well. She would put her feet down immediately when I let go of the seat, or thought I was going to. I was encouraging and all, but she didn't really seem close.

But today, she rode for a few seconds after I took my hand off the seat. And I could see she was getting a little excited about herself, because she kind of smiled, and when I said, you want to try again, she said yes. She would ride for a few seconds, I would say, you're getting it, she would smile, and we would try again.

Then she wanted to go on the playground, and she did that, and I figured, this is great progress, and we will come back next week and do it. But then I asked her, do you want to try a little more? And she thought for a moment and said, "Sure."

And this time when I let go of the bike, she kept going. And was riding. Ad it was pretty awesome.

All the way home she said, "I love riding my bike! We have to show Mommy and Jack! They will be so excited!"

I put her to bed tonight, her reading me Harry By the Sea. And she gave me a big hug, a squeezer, and said, "We're a great team!" And then, to explain, "you know, learning to ride my bike..." And I said, yep, I know.

Birthday girl

Kate turned 6 today. The day began with Jack coming into my room and telling me I had to get up, because The birthday girl wanted me to. I said, ok. Went downstairs, and as is often the case, she was sitting at the breakfast table hiding behind the cereal box. Why, where is Kate? I said. And she laughed and said, "I'm here! Daddy!"

She opened her cards and presents, properly appreciative of most everything. I know she will like the Amelia Earhart book one day. Oohed and Aahed at the big-eyed stuffed toys, and then she and Jack played with them until school. They have a ceremony where the new stuffed toys are welcomed by the older ones. Pretty cute really.

At pickup in the afternoon, she was wearing a Birthday Girl hat. We came home and played the Princess and the Pea game, then she had Daisies after that (girl scouts). We brought cupcakes. When I left she was running back and forth with the other Daisies, playing a game whose rules only little girls know.

We went to dinner at Elevation Burger, her choice. We all said what the favorite part of our day was (for three of us it was dinner, for Kate it was running around with her friends). Then Kate talked for what seemed like a good 15 minutes, telling us who was sitting at each of the different tables in her classroom. I had asked who sat at her table, and she went above and beyond. "And at the YELLOW table it's Julietta and...."

Going back home, we briefly stopped to say Hi to cousins playing in the street. I think Kate picked up leaves, sang a song of some sort. Oh, I know: "I love being six....I am very glad to. Be. Sixxxxxx!" I know that at bedtime, after we read Frog and Toad for about the hundredth time, and we turned out the lights, she sang. The song went something like, "I love school....because at school....you see your friends....and on your birthday, you get a birthday hat! I....love.....school!"

When I left, Kate gave me a squeezer, which is what she calls a big hug. They are pretty awesome. Good night, Kate.

Special Day

Kate's birthday is coming up, so we decided to take her into New York City to have lunch at the American Girl Doll store. For those unfamiliar, this is a ridiculously huge store that sells merchandise related to ... American Girl ... dolls. And has a restaurant inside!


I woke up to hear Kate moving about her room, with various thuds and drawers opening and closing. I came out to find her dressed, in a nice purple dress that I hadn't seen since her first day of school a year ago, with a band holding her hair back. She was holding her American Girl doll, also wearing a dress and hairband. Ready to go, I asked. She nodded, "Yes, I just need to brush our teeth."

In the kitchen, Kate sang "Today is a special day...a special day..."

We took the train in, Emily, me, Kate, and her American Girl doll (also called Emily). Jack was at a friend's house. On the train, all the way in, we played I Spy, and Going on a Picnic.

At the store, Kate flitted about from display to display. "Ooh, look at THIS....and THIS...." She was most intrigued by the little stuffed dogs. We ordered one of them once and it was kind of lame, so we sent it back. But one of these, at least, was nicer, so we put that in the back of our mind for Christmas.

Naturally, "Emily" got her own hairbrush, and various hair accoutrements so she could have braids, and a clothing outfit.

Lunch was a very nice affair where we got several courses, including pastries, fruit, and of course chocolate milk. Kate was a little on edge here and there, but by the time dessert came, with a candle on hers, she was happy as could be.

Heading home from the store, she was tired, and I carried her. She put her head on my shoulder, and her American Girl doll's head on my other shoulder, and sighed. She was warm, a nice warm.

On the train, she lay down with her head on Emily's lap, and "Emily's" head on her lap, and sang something. Not exactly sure what it was, but it might have been, "Today was a special day ...a special day..."