CYLB Season 1: The Lead up to Game 1

It has been a long time coming.  According to the blog, since April 17, 2015, Braylen has had an interest in baseball.  I have received countless comments through the years from his preschool teachers about his amazing throwing arm, mom friends about his hand-eye coordination when batting, and neighbor dads wishing their boy could play like Braylen.  It was time to get our talked about son on the ball field and see where he matches up!

He's been watching Daddio play for year
Sept 2015

Never too cold to practice baseball
2016

Once again, Jason got roped into coaching.  I'm seeing that childcare workers and coaches will ALWAYS be in high demand.  Lucky for me, I have little athletic skill, so you won't see me out there coaching.  Jason, well, we know from who Braylen gets his athletic gene.  We should just rename him Coach Jason.  haha.

Braylen is playing in the Catonsville Youth League Baseball.  We've been holding out until he was 5 to be in this league because Braylen was not keen on playing tee ball, this kid wants you to pitch to him.  His gear has definitely improved since his days with the soft bat and ball

Hand-me-down batting gloves

A REAL bat and ball

Using his new baseball bag.
First practice!!!

Braylen is on the A's this year.  His team is 5 and 6 year olds.  He is definitely hanging in there with the older boys.  There has been a clear shift from orange everything to green everything.  I'm surprised he hasn't asked for us to repaint his room yet!  

Looking like a real little leaguer!

He practices on Tuesday and Saturday for now, which will change to Saturday games in another week.  This kid cannot contain his excitement about REAL baseball practice.  It doesn't matter that it was 40 degrees and windy for one practice; he's ready to go!

"Opening day" is April 28th.  We are all so excited for his first game!  

Elev8 Season 1

Way back in July we signed Braylen up for Elev8 basketball.  It's been a long wait for him, but basketball season finally arrived in January.  Braylen loved putting on his jersey and having a "real" game.  He asked daily how many sleeps until the next basketball practice.  I pray he always has this kind of enthusiasm for sports.

Elev8 is a basketball program that teaches basketball along with Christian principles for being a team player.  I was hoping Braylen would have some of his Sunday School friends or MOPS friends on his team.  We enjoyed meeting up with friends from our time at CPC; those were the only familiar faces on his team though.  It was still a fun Saturday morning hang out at Crossroads seeing friends from our church shopping days :)

Braylen was on the "mini" team consisting of 4 and 5 year olds.  It was a fun first taste of "real" basketball for him.

Adding his own flair to passing

Braylen had no problem cheering for baskets made

Let's be honest, 4 and 5 year olds playing basketball is like herding sheep.  I liked that they got jerseys like the big kids; that made Braylen's winter.  I also thought it was so special that they announced the minis just like they do with the big kids before games.

Shockingly, all Saturday practices/games happened this winter; no snow closings!  Evie and I used some of our Saturday mornings to spend time without the boys.  We are learning what is means to be a family and go to each other's events..... some are happier than others about attending...

The closing ceremony was a fun morning of skits, awards, and more corralling of sheep.  Braylen is always happy to get a metal for his collection.

He is already counting down the months until next season!  

Little Kickers

The kids selected soccer as their winter sport.  This was Braylen's second experience with Soccer Shots, Evie's first.  We put them in the same class expecting the worst, hoping for the best.  There were only 4 kids at their time slot (after some begging of mama on facebook to get more friends).  

Orange shirts, a dream come true for Bray

Braylen improved his soccer skills as well as his emotions regarding scoring goals and being told time was up.  I'm not sure why parents push their children to do sport earlier than 5 or 6.  I'm realizing we all THINK we have to get our kids into sports to socialize them, teach them about teamwork, or get them started early so they can be on the traveling allstar, Olympic team at 12.  They can't handle an organized sports at 3 or 4!  I am realizing this with my children as I see the tears and frustrations on mom and dad's part get less and less as they get older.  This session was better for Braylen, but I think it was still a tad early for him.  Backyard soccer is still best at 4.

 Evie had a difficult time focusing with her brother and best buddy, Tyler, from preschool there.  Since every kids has to do soccer, check, she did it.  This mama is NOT a soccer fan.  I would be happy to have them doing something other than soccer.  Sorry all the soccer fans in my life; it's just not my thing.

Hollencamp vs Hollencamp

Cheers to the end of soccer (hopefully for good... hehe)

Boy 2 Man

Braylen got his first shaving kit for Christmas.  Just about everything is worthless except the plastic mock razor (it's 5 Below... what did we expect?)  

Daddio's shaving cream made the experience much more fun

 He must be watching Daddio shave because he was a pro

He was so focused and careful

Now Evie wants a razor too.  I'm scared to see what she decides to shave ;)

Celebrating Braylen Turning FOUR

This 6lb, 15 oz boy...

Is now this 33 pound superhero

I love this kid so much.  He continues to have a zest for life that makes us smile and laugh.  He is the little brother that entertains family and friends with his silliness.  He uses his cuteness to his advantage.  That little voice at my bedside every night that asks for snuggles... I am a sucker for this snuggle bug.  Braylen can focus on a task for a long period of time; he has taken to puzzles in the last few months.  He studies the pieces and can reason where they should go.  He likes to play with planes and cars.  He loves to be outside playing baseball, riding his scooter, or simply running and falling down all over the yard.  

For Braylen's birthday we kept the celebrations to a minimum.  I ask Braylen who he plays with at school, which he replies "no one.  I play with Evie if I see her outside"  Melts and breaks my heart all at once.  Evie is favorite playmate.  He is already talking about how much he will miss her next year when she goes to Kindergarten.  It's hard for Braylen to make friends when Evie is around; he would rather play with her than anyone else.  My friend and I are trying to orchestrate friendships between our kids since they are the same ages and genders.  All of this to say, Braylen didn't ask for a whole bunch of friends at his party.  Another year I avoided the big friend party :)

We celebrated Braylen two different times already.  On Saturday, we had the Stefany clan over for pizza and cake.  Daddio took a year off of cake making last year due to the move; he was back at it this year though!  Braylen requested an Orioles Party... shocker.

The birthday boy helps make the cake

Borrowed hat mold from a friend.  We love shortcuts!

Another nicely decorated cake by Daddio

Everyone got Braylen gifts that perfectly fit his likes.  Mommy might have had some influence on them ;)

Pitching machine

This year Evie and I went to Five Below to pick out gifts for Braylen from Evie.  She took a few dollars of her own money.  She was really proud of the 3 gifts she bought him.  She probably knows what Braylen likes even better than me!

Lots of ORANGE this year
A new scooter from Pops and protective
arm and knee gear from the Thomas family.

Braylen smiled on demand with his adorable smile for cake

Auntie Laura can remember what she wore at various events like they were yesterday.  She remembered what she wore the first time she met Braylen and 4 years later, she needed to wear that same orange sweater to his ORANGE Orioles party.

Since today is his actual birthday, we had to do something fun!  Evie and I saved two gifts for him to open today (the batman costume and sword above).  We went into the city to have lunch at the "Camden Yards place" with Daddio.  After Braylen opened his batman costume, it was not coming off, so we had  lunch with a superhero and princess

Best friends

The waitress brough him a birthday treat
(for all of us to share)

While Evie had gymnastics, Lisa stayed with the girls and I took the boys to Rainbow Swingset (this is the friendship we are trying to orchestrate...)

"Batman" and "Batman too"

To keep some separation between Braylen's birthday and Christmas, we didn't decorate the tree until tonight.  Outside lights and other decorations are up, but the Christmas tree will wait until his birthday night, or after the party, whichever comes last.  After a busy day, both kids were pretty tired, but we mustered through getting the ornaments up.

The phrases "where did the time go?!  what happened to my baby?  Time slow down!" are pet peeves of mine.  I have been with Braylen for just about every day the last 4 years, most of those days 18-24 hours of it.  Time goes very slowly some days as a SAHM, there has been nothing fast about the last four years.  The baby days seem like forever ago to me.  I have been through every milestone and struggle with my kids.  I love the stage we are in now; I can sit down and do a difficult puzzle with Braylen, I can play baseball with him in the backyard and he hits it back, we can go on family bike rides with everyone on a bike, we can go places without a stroller and a diaper bag.  The list goes on.  I love seeing my kids become independent and learning their personalities.  The baby and toddler years are behind us.  The potty seats, sippy cups, bright colored musical toys can be sold.  Sure these preschool years are not all rainbows and flowers, but gosh they are easier for me than having two babies/toddlers.  I welcome the preschool era with open arms!

I pray that I can be the mother Braylen needs me to be.  I hope I can foster his spirit and help him to be a light in this evil world.  May four be a fabulous year for my boy.  xo

Operation Quit Thumb Sucking: Attempt 2

So it's been a while since "Attempt 1", which has failed miserably.

We finally came the realization our children will not stop sucking their thumbs by us simply screaming reminding them to stop sucking them.  And before we went to publicly humiliating them with the "thumb guard", we tried the bitter nail stuff.

Off I go to the pharmacy and pick up a $5 bottle of "Thum".  Tried that for a few days to find them still sucking their thumbs.  Clearly the bitterness is not enough of a deterrent in this one.

After a few more months of laziness and me getting absolutely sick of Jason correcting the kids for the 10,000th time, I spent the big bucks, $14, on a small bottle of "Mavala Stop" off Amazon.  This is do or die at this point.

Well, Friends.  The $9 was worth it.

Before:

Car rides = lots of thumb sucking, especially to sleep

Just waking up and needing some snuggles.. and thumb

Bored
(Please ignore the fact that Braylen's car seat
is not buckled in correctly.  No one was
injured as a result)

There has been ZERO thumb sucking when this stuff is painted on nails.  We only take it off, with nail polish remover, at bedtime.  Braylen learned quickly how to nap without his thumb, which quickly translated to not needing it for bed either.  Evie, on the other hand, has that thumb in the second we take it off at night.

Two weeks in, I think we have broken Braylen's habit.  We are so proud of him for kicking the habit; he was an almost constant thumb sucker when his hands weren't being used for play.  And since "winning trophies" and being better than his/her sibling is the game our kids like to play, we praise Braylen constantly for winning the thumb trophy.  We'll get there with Evie... once we go for broke and keep it on all night too.  We will fight one battle at the time... the extra crying and tantrums are enough stress on all parties for right now.

Trophy winner

Now who can create a thumb trophy for this guy?  :)

School Bells are Ringing

After a fun summer of vacations and carefree days, I am ready to get back to the fall routine.  Both kids are back at Mother's Day Out of Westchester (MDOW) this school year.   The kids have been talking for weeks about moving up to the older classroom and wondering if they will have lunch or rest time together.

Evie is a pre-k repeater this year.  She is in the Jungle Room, which is a different room from last year's Pre-K.  She is going two full days this year, with an added afternoon on another day to build her stamina for next year.  Evie is so excited to be on the "other side" of the hallway.  She already knows the Jungle room eats and naps at the different time than the other rooms.  

Feeling confident!

Braylen will be in the Bear room, which is where Evie was last year.  He is not in Pre-K yet, but has the same teachers as Evie.  He's also looking forward to being in an older room.  Some of his Heart Room buddies moved to Pre-K this year; I hope he will find his new crew.

Someone is not as willing
to smile for 1st day pictures

Today will be a full day of school for both kids.  Mommy will be prepping for her first MOPS meeting later tonight as well as rejoicing in 6 hours of freedom.

Here's to a great school year!

Mother/Son Trip

The Stefany girl cousins have started an annual girls trip to G and Poppop's house every summer.  They have a blast together playing dolls, requesting new doll gear from G the seamstress, and being without their pesky brothers for a few days.  Cole Bug has earned himself his own vacation to G's as well.  Braylen hasn't been invited for his visit yet; I think G prefer kids that do not need attention throughout the night ;)

Since sister was leaving town, I booked a special trip for just me and Braylen to see his other cousins in North Carolina.  I absolutely loved my mini vacation with Braylen; traveling with one kid is enjoyable!

Bray's 2nd Plane Ride to Raleigh.
Last time he was too little to remember

A row to ourselves on the trip down.

We hit the ground running on Tuesday afternoon.  Aunt Jen picked up Luke early from daycare so the moms and boys could have a special afternoon.  Lunch, ice cream, and play area at Chick-Fil-A following by bowling.

Almost exactly 1 year apart, yet the same size.
Looking stylish in bowling shoes!

 Our previous bowling experience with Braylen was filled with tears and lack of patience.  This time, my little boy was cheering on his cousin and pleasant 100% of the time.

Winning always helps ;)

Braylen and Luke were two peas in a pod.  We played many games of "Go Fish" as well as baseball outside.  The absence of a sibling was a blessing to me; Braylen's behavior was top notch.  (It also helped that I didnt't have a house to run and could give him my full attention)

On day 2 of our trip we went to the neighborhood pool.  No pictures of this fun morning.  Now that the boys can swim better, I got some quality time to chat with my lovely sister-in-law about life.

Day 3, our final day, was a trip my favorite museum, The Museum of Life and Science in Durham.  A trip to NC is not complete without it!  Even though we have been there two other times, we still had new areas to explore.

Uncle Matt engineered 3 car seats across in Aunt Jen's Rav-4

I had to pull Braylen away from this booth
after 10 minutes of watching weather videos.
He is my son. 

This museum has awesome indoor science exhibits PLUS acres and acres of outdoor fun.  The tree house was new on our last visit.  We loved exploring it when it wasn't raining this time

I don't take enough selfies.. I don't know where to look!

Fearless

Quick break after all that climbing

The kids searched for dinosaur bones in the dig area.  A 3 year old boy with a huge shovel and endless dirt... yep, we'll take that.

Heidi was around, I promise ;)

After 3 days of no naps and hours of boy playtime, Braylen was passed out before the plane even hit 10,000 feet.  Visiting Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt is always really chill and comfortable.  We are thankful they shift beds and rooms to accommodate us.  I'm also so, so thankful my kiddos have cousins close in age; they have lifetime buddies.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Shortly after we cut the Philly cord, Braylen has been asking Daddio when they could go to an Orioles game.   He even asked with his nasally cute toddler voice paired with his hand on Daddio's arm and striking eyelashes.  How could we turn down that adorable-ness and the offer of $6 tickets to the game?  Not us!

So today was the big day.  To say Braylen was excited is an understatement.  This boy is expressive and today was no excpetion; he could not stop smiling.

Father-son date to the O's.  

Jason said Braylen smiled the entire time; he could not have been happier to be at Camden Yards.

Not quite nosebleeds, but in the sun.  But who cares, Let's go O's!

Today was about spoiling Daddio's little boy at his first baseball game.  Treats, stuffed animals, baseball for his new collection...

"The Bird"

 

There ended up being no one in the seats in front of them, so the boys moved down.  What a view!  

My knees are shaking just looking at this picture.

The boys lasted the entire game, cheering on the O's to a victory.  Awesome memories of his first baseball game.  I love my little Maryland-born boy rooting for the home team!  How long until he is asking to go again?  :)