There's No Crying In...?

In just the past 6 months or so, Dylan has become a sports enthusiast.  Scratch that.  He has become a sports FANATIC!  He wants to try every sport out there, and he wants to excel at every sport out there.  He is ultra competitive.  He does not like losing.  Losing, or even less than great performance, results in whining, tears, and rolling around on the ground.  He is really hard on himself!  If he doesn't play well, bats are thrown, racquets are scraped along the ground, etc.  (Right now, Jim's mom is laughing and saying "Uh huh!  He's Jim's kid all right!)  Being a perfectionist is apparently hereditary?!

We were playing baseball out in the backyard, with him facing the house, from the back of the yard.  Bad idea.  Much to my surprise, he hit the ball so hard, it almost broke our neighbors window!  Then, he hit the ball so hard, this happened...

WHY didn't I sign him up for T-ball?! (kicking self)

Last Sunday, we took him to the park to ride his bike.  While we were there, he saw some people playing tennis.  He announced that he wanted to learn to play.  "We don't have any racquets, Dylan!"  "Well, let's go home and get them, and then come back!"  "Uh... no".  I figured he would forget about it by the next day.  Nope.  It was the first thing out of his mouth Monday morning.  He kept at it until I finally succumbed Monday afternoon.  We played for an hour, until I finally had to make him stop!  I was exhausted.  Not Dylan, though.  He could have kept playing for another hour.

Guess what we did for another hour on Tuesday?!

If he ever gets over the losing tantrums he'll be a coaches dream!  He plays with passion!  He ran after the ball at top speed, dove for the ball, and then screamed, "I'M OKAY!", before popping back up to run around some more.  Meanwhile, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to lift my arm the next morning to comb my hair.  I'm gonna need to get in better shape to keep up with this kid.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Dear Dylan,

Yesterday we took you to your first baseball game!  We were a little worried about how it would go.  You don't exactly like to sit still, you know.  As a matter of fact, when we would tell people we were going, they would say, "Oh?!  Really?!  Are you sure?!"  But, hey, the tickets were free, so we figured we didn't have anything to lose.

I'm happy to report that we stayed for the whole game!  You looked so cute in your Pirates shirt, and you were so excited to go.  We had to set things straight when we found out you thought you were going to play IN the game!  Then, on the way there, you saw some kids with gloves, and got confused all over again.  "But, they have gloves... to play!"

We took you to the baseball field near our house to play the day before, and you were a riot.  When it was your turn to play outfield you were determined to stop the ball before it reached the grass.  You thought that meant it was a home run.  You would really hustle to stop the ball, but if you didn't, you would roll around on the ground crying.  Man, are you competitive lately, and you play games with PASSION.  You want to win, and if you don't, you take it really hard.  I had to hide the checker set, because for some reason losing checkers, (more so than any other game), made you fall to pieces.  It was ridiculous!

You were very interested in learning all about baseball - how many balls = a walk, how many strikes = an out, how many outs do they need?  You were following along, and asking a lot of questions!  I loved it when you sat on my lap, and talked to me about the game.  You won't fit in my lap much longer, so I am relishing those moments so much lately.

By the sixth inning, you were losing interest.  I was too, to be honest!  Baseball is a really fun game to play, but not a really fun game to watch, in my opinion.  Luckily, I brought an activity book and some gel pens in my purse, so that kept you occupied until the 8th inning.  Then, we had to go get in the RIDICULOUSLY LONG line to run the bases.  Wow, I thought you and your daddy were going to lose your minds in that line, but I had a another secret weapon in my purse - Skittles!  You ran the bases and posed for pictures.  (Thanks for humoring me, buddy!  I know I take a LOT of pictures of you!)

I love experiencing "firsts" with you, sweet boy.  Your joy and enthusiasm for life is infectious.
I love you,
Mommy