Lil' Sluggers

Zachary finished another session of his baseball class. He had a lot of fun practicing throwing, hitting and base running. At the second to last class, the coach told the players that the parents were going to come on the field for the last class. Zachary talked about how great that was going to be the entire week. The parents took turns fielding and hitting with the kids.

Coach Curtis advanced Zachary to the next level, which is for 4 1/2 - 5 year olds!

Way to go Zachary!  Of course the silly boy wouldn't smile...

Tummy Time

Madelyn has a very strong neck. Even the nurses at the hospital were amazed at her head control. Here she is at 10 days showing off some of her skills. And studying the periodic table of course.

Backyard Fun

Alex and Zachary had fun with Gma and Grandpa in the backyard.
They turned water into slime.

Played some baseball.

And played a game Gma invented called balloon ball.

My First Week

Thank you for all the well wishes as I begin my journey!  Here is a review of my first week...shown mostly through photos.
My big brothers and Gma and Grandpa F. came to visit me in the hospital.  From my room, I was able to track their progress.

Alex and Zachary brought me flowers!

Zachary was a natural at holding me, while Alex wasn't too sure he enjoyed my squirminess!

We went for a little walk around the hospital hallways.

If you look very closely, you can see the San Francisco skyline in the distance. The view from my room was amazing! You'd be surprised at how much traffic there is on the Bay Bridge at 3:30am!

Finally it was time to go to my new home. Mommy, Daddy and I thought it would be fun to surprise my brothers so we planned to arrive home while they were away at t-ball practice. I didn't really enjoy the car ride.

I was waiting for everyone when they got back from practice. Alex and Zachary were happy that I was home and were excited to show me their favorite toys and costumes!

My new room is so pretty.  Grandpa made my awesome bed and Gma gave me more flowers!

I sure felt tiny that first night!

On Sunday, I watched Alex play t-ball. There he is, playing short-stop!

 Later that evening, I viewed my first solar eclipse.

As a special gift to my big brothers, I asked Mommy and Daddy if we could make special Build-A-Bear friends. I picked out a frog for Zachary, a puma for Alex and an elephant for me. Alex and Zachary had a lot of fun building their animal friends and they helped me make mine too!

Mommy washed my hair for me, and let me keep my hair curly.

I've been working on my "duck-face". What do you think?

Here's the family at the end of my first, very busy week!

Madelyn Emma

Happy birthday Madelyn! 

Today at 7:52 pm, we welcomed Madelyn Emma into our family.  She weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long.

Madelyn showed off her strong lungs right away and continued to voice her disapproval while having her first bath.

Once they gave her a fancy hat, she settled in and rested up.  (Turned out she had a big night planned.)

Madelyn has already wrapped Daddy around her tiny fingers.

The Before Shot

We almost forgot to get a before picture!

I clearly need to work on my baby bump pose if I want to make it in Hollywood.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, our t-ball coach arranged a change of venue so that our team and opponent could enjoy a post game bar-b-que.   Before the game, all of the moms lined up along the baseline and the players gave us roses.  It is an Alameda Little League tradition and you can tell that it makes the kids feel very proud and happy to give their moms a special flower.
Alex's skills have really improved and he is making some great plays!

And running the bases with more purpose.

During the game, Gma and Grandpa arrived in town and came to the park to surprise the boys. Alex and Zachary were excited to see them.

Swim Party

One of the families in our play group belongs to the Alameda Pool Association and invited us all to go swimming today!  This pool starts out at 2 feet and only goes up to 3 feet, so it is perfect for the kids.  Zachary was a  bit hesitant to get into the pool, but once he did, he had a ton of fun.  Alex got right in, but didn't want to swim for a while either.

The boys are already hoping to be invited again, and have decided that next time they will just start swimming right away!
(We did get invited to go swimming again on June 1st.  And Alex and Zachary did start swimming right away!  Alex practiced his straight line quite a bit.  Zachary did his straight line too, even though he had trouble getting his legs straight out behind him!)
We sure are lucky to have such great friends!

Crab Cove

Today was the preschool field trip to Crab Cove.  We explored the tidal flats and found a jelly fish, clam shells, and some kind of eggs on a piece of seaweed.  One of our friend's boots got stuck in the muck, and when they pulled him out, he unearthed a ghost shrimp!  Teacher Susan told the class that ghost shrimp are not often seen, so it was a special treat.

 After the tidal flats became "too muddy" (preschoolers who don't like the mud?) we searched for crabs among the rocks.  Back on dry land, we saw this momma duck and her many babies.  They had a long waddle back to the duck pond.