Happy Birthday Grandma Jan!

Hope you like your presents above!

For those of you who don't know, Grandma Jan holds these skills in high regard.  Also, Nico's video doesn't demonstrate his ability to swim 4 feet without floaties (yay!).  It does, however, demonstrate the darlingness of a little boy with big floaties jumping off the diving board.  It's like puffed sleeves!

We love you Grandma!  Hope it was a great day.

For those who are curious, Benjamin is 15 months and these are his first steps.  We are elated.  And yes, we reeeally wanted him to "stand up please" in that second video.  (Excuse the general debris and jumble of cords in the background.  The house is for another post.  Ooooh yes.)

Oh, and we're still working on the dive.  Soooo close.

I'm sorry that this is crude

But Jacob filled out a purposefully losing NCAA bracket for Nicholas yesterday morning.  For example, he chose West Virginia after they had already lost.  What a nice brother.

He did it all by himself.



Oh, what phonics hath wrought!

Virginia, Jacob, Virginia!!!! 

Dear Chicago Sports Fest,

I love you. I only wish I'd known about you earlier.

Love,
Robyn

The Sports Fest is held at the McCormick convention center, which is probably the largest indoor space I have ever been in (this picture shows about a third of the room).













Seriously, this was amazing. Perfect for my little men. If you know my kids at all, you know this is right up their alley. Behold!

Soccer and bouncy balls





































Inflatables


















40 yard dash with sensors that record your speed





























































Nicholas requested that Matt carry him...





































More inflatables

























Still more





































Balloon tennis

























Remote control cars













Bowling

























Golf





































Big wheels!





































Hula hoops













And what did Benjamin do while they laughed, jumped, kicked and hit? He sat and endured.













Thank you my sweet baby. Someday I'll find you something cool to do and make the big boys sit around bored while you do it.

Truly a great morning.

A Home Run for Team Hutch

Tonight we had a lazy summer evening. We got dinner at Arctic Circle (blessed fry sauce!) and then broke out the sidewalk chalk. Dad drew the boys a real fifties kid hopscotch board and even gave them a demo. Did you know that the name for the thing you throw in hopscotch is a "tah"? Dad brought some chairs out so the grown ups and Benjamin could relax while the big boys played.

All that alone made for a delightful evening.

Then Mom and Dad's neighbors Vern and Vanita Law came by to chat. Vern Law was a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was on the 1960 World Series Team (pitching and winning two full games in that Series) and won the Cy Young award that same year. Very impressive credentials. Matt and I visited his home a few years ago to see his memorabilia and Matt was allowed to hold his World Series Ring. When he touched it there was a palpable pulse of excitement in the room. Like an emotional sonic boom.

The Laws have lived across the street from my parents for years, but none of his accomplishments resonated at all with me until I married Matt. Now I truly love baseball and I appreciate the significance of his career. I felt star struck around him myself.

The boys have a book about Roberto Clemente who was a teammate of Vern Law's. I brought Jacob over and introduced him and told him that Brother Law played with Roberto Clemente. Jacob's face lit up with genuine excitement. It was a special moment for me to see him meet such a great man and appreciate who he was.

Brother Law was gracious enough to pose for pictures with the boys.

And he even signed their baseballs.

A very cool night indeed.

March Madness

All day. Every day. In my living room.































I'm so happy that he's loving playing basketball so much. Hearing the ball slam into the goal over and over again and flinching as the ball flies over my head are not things I'm loving, but he's getting exercise and enjoying himself thoroughly.

We have watched a lot of the NCAA tournament over the last few weeks. A few interesting things have come out of this.

1. He is obsessed with who everyone in the room is "pulling for". He usually picks the team that's winning at the moment we turn it on as his team. He sticks with them to the end, and hell hath no fury like Jacob when "his team" loses.

2. He's also familiarizing himself with different teams that progress in the tournament. Yesterday we turned on a game and before any announcer said the names he asked, "Mom, who are you pulling for, Butler or Kansas?"

3. Watching college basketball has also informed his own bball playing. He typically plays against his "brothers". He is either BYU or Alabama and his "brothers" are usually Florida. He really wants to know who I pull for in these matches. Incidentally, his brothers never win!

4. He is learning terminology like fouls and rebounds. He is always so proud of himself for getting the rebound after he misses a shot, but when he's playing by himself I can't help but wonder why he's so proud.

5. He is still learning how to dribble, so he just holds the ball as he puts his moves on his imaginary opponents.

6. My favorite basketball phrase: "Nothin' but air!"

I think I am pretty close to developing a nervous tick from all of this basketball. Again, ALL DAY LONG. I am just hoping he'll get really good and pay for his own dang college education.