Sa-wing batta!

Team sport experience number two is under way in the Krinke family. Caitlin has started her first year of baseball. I orrigionally tried to register her for girls softball but failed to meet the deadline. Little League registration is open nearly three months longer than softball and several of Caity's friends are playing this year so we figured we'd give it a try.

Caitlin is one of two girls on her team and has been the only girl at the last 3 practices. So it's definitely a new experience. While talking to one of the other moms I asked, "which one is your son?" to which she replied, "Oh, he's the one hitting himself in the head repeatedly with the bat." I looked over to see her boy "testing" his helmet with a goofy grin on his face. Ah, to have a son.

But being on an all boys team has its advantages. Since none of the boys are interested in doing cartwheels, holding hands, having their hair done or chatting about their day, Caitlin is actually paying attention to her coaches and participating in the game. Much more than what can be said for our soccer experience. And I do happen to think that a little girl in braids and head-to-toe pink surrounded by a bunch of goofy boys enhances the cuteness factor immensely for our little princess.


Caity's coach is a real "Man's Man" so its been interesting watching her do jumping jacks and push ups in warm up. Or having to "drop for 5" (push-ups) for a bad throw.



All in all this is working out to be a fun experience for everyone. Brad is thrilled to have Caitlin in a sport he can actually participate and help with. Amber thinks hanging out with all the boys little brothers is fabulous and Caitlin is actually enjoying herself and learning how to play.

I still think I'll be more diligent about making the softball registration next year. Cups are not required for little boys in T-ball. Considering the need of all the little boys to test the integrity of their helmets I don't think we'll want to be around the year they discover the other variety of protection.

Progress

Ah, the rollers and paint brushes have finally been put to rest in the baby's room. I have yet to hang wall decorations or put the other nick-knacks in place, but progress is progress.




We have gone with a beach theme in his room. So we have worked in a few palm trees and will have several other beach-style accessories.



I am painting most of them myself as it is hard to find anything I like that is baby boy friendly. I will post again with the finished product, hopefully soon.

Road trip... again?

Thursday morning I got a call from my Mom, "We're going to Utah tomorrow, are you going to come?" My grandmother lives in Utah near my Aunt in a care facility called a beehive home. We had visited with her in October on our trip to Utah's national parks. Everyone loves Great Grandma. Her joyful spirit is a blessing to be around. She just had her 96th birthday in February. But a week or two ago she began having trouble with her health and seems to be declining. So it was decided Dad should go out for a visit. I was not going to let this opportunity pass me by. In another month or two a 12 hour drive will not be possible (or even remotely enjoyable as I will be a giant prego-blimp by then) and once our little guy is here we won't be going any where for a while either. So I replied without hesitation, "We're going."

The girls and I were snuggling in bed in our pajamas when we got the call so when I hung up the phone I asked what they thought of going to Utah tomorrow. You'd have thought they had won the lottery. They immediately started jumping on the bed like little monkeys and throwing their sleepy time pals in the air screaming, "Utah, Utah, Utah!" It was good to have their enthusiasm near by as I started to realize what I had just committed to. All the preparations fortunately fell into place and we were on our way the next morning.

Saturday we visited Grandma first thing. She enjoyed having the little girls around. I was so glad to have them there with us to lighten the mood. Grandma can no longer see but continued to ask, "Who's the baby?" as Amber would scurry through the room and talk in her tiny little voice. We were all able to sit and talk a bit with Grandma.

The girls kept themselves busy by redecorating the dry erase board in Grandma's room. I hope the caregivers don't mind the permanent marks that made it to areas other than the white board.

After our visit we had the opportunity to visit the Draper Temple open house. The girls were very excited to be able to go inside the temple. Caitlin was very reverent and interested in the various rooms. Amber kept asking, "Mama, where's Jesus?" So I would point to all of the paintings portraying Jesus in each room and hallway. But she continued to ask again and again until I realized she has learned the temple is "The house of the Lord" and we talk about it being Heavenly Father's house. She believed we were going to see Jesus that day at his house. Melts my heart.

Sunday we attended Sacrament meeting at the beehive house with Grandma. They do a very abbreviated version which ended up being perfect for the girls. We started with a 30 minute "choir practice" before the sacrament meeting began. We sang mostly primary songs and a few hymns. Caitlin especially enjoyed that. Then the Sacrament meeting began. We had an opening song, prayer, sacrament hymn and the passing of the sacrament by a pair of young men from the local ward. And then there were two short talks, one from and "Ensign" article and one from a "Friend" article. Then the closing song and prayer. It was perfect. The spirit was there just as I have felt it on any other Sunday. It was a great experience.


The girls and I made cookies that afternoon while everyone else went off to Marlene's ward (which was during nap time). And then we all enjoyed an awesome corned beef and cabbage dinner in early celebration of St. Particks Day. Three of my cousins decided to give us a little entertainment and do a little Irish Jig for us.



Yes, we do actually have this much fun without alcohol. And yes I am willing to admit they're family. It's a shame the missing cousin (currently serving a mission in Canada) wasn't there to join in. This was right up his alley.

Monday I was able to sneak in two more visits with Grandma. And we enjoyed a fun Family Home Evening together.

Even three full days of card playing, cookie baking, F.H.E.-ing, and large family dinners just wasn't enough. But school and the responsibilities of home were calling. So back into the van we all went to drag ourselves back across the desert to our homes. It's always nice to get away. We love you Grandma!

Letting the 3 year old paint!

From the moment the ultrasound technician said, "Well if you look here you can see his..." I've been consumed with the idea of having a son! There is so much to change around here. I went into our sweet frilly nursery and realized almost everything had to go. Pink flowery border paper, pink flowery window valance, pink flowery bedding and diaper stacker. Even the decorative shelves all had flowers painted on them! The closet was still full of "retired" clothing from both the girls and even had some remnants from Amber's baby days: pink burp cloths, pink blankets, pink baby bottles. Are we sensing a theme yet?

I decided to begin with the clothing. And if I was going to do part of the job I wanted to just do the whole job. So all 15 (yes, fifteen) plastic storage bins of clothing came down from the attic and the challenge began. I now have designated boxes for every size clothing from preemie to 2T stacked in our study. I have invited all of the moms from our ward with little girls to come shopping and have whittled the count down to 7 boxes. Two of the expectant mothers are still waiting to discover their baby's gender so I'll be holding these just a few short weeks more. Then and only then can I even think about looking for the boy's wardrobe.

After the closet was clear of all things pink it was time to tackle the rest of the room. Down came the valance, shelves, decorative items and bedding. We decided at this point to involve the girls. They were so excited to be invited to work with us. Task #1 for little hands:

Remove the flowery border!

Step 2: score border glue in preparation for removal.


The following week we moved on step 3: tape and drop cloths.



And the week after that the much anticipated day of painting had finally arrived. (And not a moment too soon for "Little Bee".) Now at this point you may be wondering if I had really thought this through. As I handed each of the girls their own paint roller, I wondered the same thing. Visions of little feet stepping in the paint tray or a paint roller ending up in some one's hair suddenly flashed through my mind. But I took a few deep breaths and let them take the plunge.




Amazingly enough we made it through the entire first coat without complication. Everyone even kept their cheery attitudes. Shocking!

My hint to any of you crazy enough to give this a try: First coat application is just enough fun to keep everyone happy. Leave the success there. A few days later we applied a second coat and it was much less entertaining. The girls had a hard time distinguishing which areas they had already applied paint, so the fun quickly wore off and tempers quickly appeared in the room.

Brad and I have since applied a third coat alone and plan to sneak in one final application tonight. Apparently if you try to cover pink with brown you get pumpkin, so hopefully 4 layers will do the trick.

The next steps of our plan are to paint and hang chair railing, paint the existing shelves, and bring in the new bedding. Check back later for more progress.