Pre-Spring training

Today, Benjamin had baseball tryouts. It consisted of him fielding the ball and throwing it back to the coach. Twice.

Well, we got Ben's mitt Friday night, so we didn't have too much time to prepare. We practiced the drill in the house before he had to get ready for bed.

This morning (Saturday), we all hopped on bikes to cheer Benjamin on at his tryout. His sisters were very supportive, hanging with him in the dugout. When he got his turn to show his skills, people oh'd in the audience because he threw the ball so well after fielding it.

After being congratulated by the coach, Ben came back into the dugout beaming. It made everyone in the family happy to see him feeling so satisfied with his performance.

He'll be starting little league soon, playing for the Cardinals.

Facing her fears

Collette is our cautious child. She doesn't like roller coaster rides. She just can't look if her siblings are doing something that even appears worrisome.

One of those things was getting her ears pierced. Abigail got the piercing a few months ago. Collette wouldn't do it, because she was afraid it would hurt too much. To be clear, as her Dad, I had absolutely no problem that she didn't want earrings. In fact, Abigail said something like, "don't you want to look pretty? Then, you need to get earrings."

Collette, in her usual way of independence, responded that of course she didn't need anything to be beautiful. I love that about Collette.

We were a little surprised when she can home from school and said she wanted to get her ears pierced! It turns out that some friends at school were getting their ears pierced, so she wanted to take the leap too. How should we feel about this. Honestly, Laura and I were a bit conflicted that Collette is doing something as a result of peer pressure. Though we were happy she was doing something that made her face her fears. So, in the end, we were supportive.

We are proud of Collette and her ability to face her fear, cope with anxiety, and take a leap when she was first afraid.

I'll have to get over the fact my daughters are already starting to become young ladies!