Yesterday, Noah had the immense pleasure of walking around the field at Busch Stadium.  It was Affton Athletics Day at the stadium and all the teams go to parade around the field.  Noah was so excited to get to be on the field and everyone waving to them and giving them high fives as they came around–What boy wouldn’t just eat that up?

Noah loves sports.  He loves competition and he loves getting better at something.  He likes to practice (I know right–I rarely have to encourage or remind him to practice).  He loved sharing this moment with his team and his dad.

Baseball (it’s really t-ball, but don’t call it that to an overly competitive 6-year-old) has been great for Noah.  He has grown so much since he started playing in May.  He works really hard at practice and is learning to be part of a team.  He is learning that not everyone is good and that’s okay.  He has learned that isn’t the best, but that he is good and that with work and practice he can be better. Sports are so good for that and I am excited that he really likes sports and activities and being part of something.

When asked what his favorite part was, he said–“Looking up and seeing you waving at me Mom.”

I have to say that was my favorite part too, because the smile on his face was so authentic and so happy–I’ll never forget it. A true baseball fan was born in that exact moment.

As if walking on the field wasn’t enough.  He got a shirt with one of his favorite players name on the back (Go Yadi!); he got to sit and watch the game with some of his teammates; he got to run the bases after the game.  It was an amazing day and my kids again surprised me–we left our house at 11 am and didn’t get home until a little after 6.  They lasted the entire baseball game and the ridiculously long line to run the bases.

Noah was certainly not the only Finley kid bitten by the baseball bug.  Zoë has proclaimed that she is playing baseball next year and was happy to run the bases–even in her frilly skirt.

She was also more than happy to pose.  Any time I tell her she looks cute–her first question is “Do you want to take pictures?”

Please ignore me on this video.  The kids sat down to put on a concert for me the other night–it was pretty funny.  In case you weren’t sure who the performer was in our house, this clarifies it.

So we got the kids report cards on Wednesday.  Zoë’s is pretty inconsequential–she’s in pre-school.  But we do get a pretty detailed report of where she is developmentally and what she could work on at home, etc.

Noah’s is much more detailed this year than in previous years; now that he is in Kindergarten and all.  He is doing really well.  He should spend more time at home writing with functional spelling than he does and he needs a little more practice with “working it out” with words.  His teachers suggested he practice at home with his sister and as I read it aloud–he said “how do they know I’m mean to my sister and don’t always use my words?”  Ah the power those teachers wield now.  If only….

I put the report cards down after we went through all of it.  Noah wanted to know exactly what he got checks in and check pluses etc.  He had some disagreements with his teachers, but that’s to be expected from the kids who challenges everything.  EVERYTHING.

Bill picked it up and said…”look at this–Absent 1, Tardy 3 times.”  He said the “tardy 3 times” loudly as he look accusingly at me.  ME.  ME?

He’s pretty certain that I am the cause of the 3 tardy blemish on our son’s record.  I disagreed on principal, but have to agree that he is probably right.  What would you expect from the person who was late to school nearly everyday her senior year of high school.  My license plate in high school was “ILLBL8.”

So, as I make my husband question the culprit in the tardy scandal, I freely admit my culpability here.  But shhhhhhh.

Even though it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet.  Why does Christmas start earlier and earlier every year?

The kids were more than happy to see Santa and tell them the one thing on their Christmas list–they both want Nintendo 3ds and Zoë wants a unicorn pillow pet to go with her lady bug pillow pet.

That’s it.  One thing on the list.  Santa likes it when things are easy.