Astros Game 5

Tuesday evening Bobby's team, the Astros played the Diamonbacks at 6:00. Bobby and I arrived just as the teams were preparing to start because Bobby has Religious Ed class until 5:30.

Mimaw and Pipaw were aready there and had been watching the teams warm up. Mimaw said that the other teams had very good batting and fielding practice starting early and she was worried because they could catch, throw, and hit very well. Our guys didn't get much more than a warmup.

The Astros won 13-1!

The boys played well and some younger players came through with outs and hits.

Bobby flied out twice and was thrown out twice. Although, he made his share of good plays as usual.

I think the other team was worn out from their warmup

Astros - Game 4

This game got off to a good start. The boys scored 5 runs in their first inning and they made some good defensive plays and held the other team either 0 or 2 runs. The other team had some very good players who could hit hard, catch superbly, throw straight, and were well coached. But our boys made the plays in the clutch and played a better game. Today they stepped it up a notch and got their first win!!

Bobby played first base all game again. He made several catches and several outs. He didn't make a single mistake that cost an out. The second baseman, Luke made several catches and threw them to Bobby for outs. Bobby got several grounders hit to him that he caught and stepped on the bag. On one play Bobby caught a pop fly and then ran to first because the runner on first forgot to tag up and started running to second. Bobby dropped the ball but had the presence of mind to chase it down and get back to first for a double play. Bobby also made the last out of the game.

Bobby hit the ball every time up to bat and on one he hit the last pitch. He got on base every time except on one fly ball where the shortstop ran past second to snag it on an unbelievable catch. But the next time he hit the ball harder and over their heads to the outfield. On one hit Bobby got to second and the other players over threw the ball so Bobby kept running and made it all the way home on a very close play for a home run.

We were all ecstatic over how the boys played and are now optimistic that they can win some games.

Astros - Game 2

The Astros played their second game of the season on a Thursday night. Bobby got to play first base for the entire game. Bobby had a great game and we were all proud of him.

The first time he came up to bat he got down 5 pitches to his last pitch, then he hit the ball to the outfield. He hit well all night and got several doubles.

Bobby's fielding was the best part of his game, he caught his first ever pop fly and he made several outs at first.

The highlight of the game was when Bobby caught a grounder to first, tagged out the runner and stepped on first for a double play.

Bobby made a few bobbles and other mistakes but overall it was his best game ever.

I was very proud of him but infortunately I was not there to see it as i had a work event that I had to attend. Everyone gave me a great report and I was very proud of him.

Spring Baseball '09

This year Bobby returned to the Astros little league baseball team. Only one team member from last year returned but a whole team moved from another league and formed the Astros. Most of the players are very young but they follow directions well and play together as a team.

This year Bobby has grown in skills and ability and in the first game he got to play in the infield at first and second base. It was a cold and extemely windy morning but Bobby hit the ball every time at bat and even had a home run. He made a couple of outs and was a good contributor to the game. We didn't win but I was proud of the team's effort.

I looke forward to this season and seeing Bobby grow as a leader on his team.

Bionicles

One of Bobby's favorite interests is Bionicles. He has a large collection of parts and assembles intricate and cool looking bots and ships.

He got his first Bionicle when he was 4, it's name was Kongu. He has very many since then and the most recent were this Christmas when he received Tarix and Skrall and Toa Kongu underwater.

Bobby also goes to the Bionicle website and he watches their videos and plays their games.

Bobby is very thankful to his Mommy, Uncle David, Aunt Jan, Aunt Tobie, Mimaw and Pipaw for the Bionicles he has received as gifts.

Fall Baseball '08

This fall Bobby played baseball on the Dodgers. Our coach was a great teacher of the fundamentals of the game and Bobby's skills continued to improve.

Bob Sr. pitched for the team and had to develop form and consistency. He really enjoyed the experience of playing on the field with the boys and being part of the team.

Bobby's friend Cooper was on the team also and the two boys combined for some outs in the last few games.

Bobby hit the ball at every at bat and stuck with it and hit the ball on the last pitch on two occassions. He fielded ok and stopped the ball on most times when it was hit to him.

Bobby's base running improved a lot but he still needs to learn to use his high gear, the one that he

uses to run to the concession stand after the game.

Fall ball was a blast!

Magic Camp

This summer Bobby went to Magic Camp during the day and had a fabulous time! Aside from showing the kids how to juggle, spin plates on sticks, do card tricks and sleight of hand, this camp focuses on teaching the campers how to be leaders and build confidence.

These are pics of Bobby at his Open House on the last day of camp. Campers got to showcase some of the tricks they learned during their 2 weeks. Mimaw, myself, his siblings, Ute, and Joshua all came to see what Bobby "had up his sleeve!"

Game 1 and 2

Thursday night Bobby's team played game number one of the season against the Yankees.

They batted first and went up four to nothing. Our boys couldn't seem to make any plays fielding and their kids all seemed to be huge and big hitters.
I thought "Oh know here we go, they are going to beat bad". I sensed that the other coaches were thinking the same think. When the inning ended I felt us all take a deep breath and we talked to our kids and alll resolved to keep our chin up.

My son was the second up to bat and he struck out. In the next inning he struck out again. I watched him in the dugout to see if he was getting down and he seemed ok. I was thankful that I have encourged him to do well and have fun rather than harang him when he fails. As I coached him on the field I saw that he was tired and distracted. I realized it just wasn't his day. I encouraged him to keep his chin up.

On his next at bat I looked up momentarily and prayed taht he would get a hit. He got down two strikes. He looked nervous. On the fifth pitch he hit the ball and drove in a run. I was the first base coached so I told him "see what happens when you keep your chin up".

Our team maxed out runs in three innings and won 15 to 7.

Game 2 was on Saturday the 29th against the White Sox. It was a very exciting game with several ups and downs. The boys got off to a great start hitting the ball and scoring 4 runs. Bobby hit the ball all 6 times he came up to bat. The other team batted well also and scored 5 runs. Then we a bad inning and got behind. Then they had a so so inning and we rallied. It went back and forth like this until the end and they rallied with two outs in the final inning and came out ahead.

We met our goals for runs scored but came up short on fielding and outs. We all had a great time and the kids especially.

Bobby's Pipaw and his cousin Amanda came to the game and we all cheered him on.

Bike Riding

Last week Bobby learned to ride his bike without training wheels. We used a handle on the back to guide him. At first he was unsteady and I just worked on getting him going a few feet at a times. I would run alongside let him go and then grab the handle again to stop him.

Bobby never crashed badly he mostly just stopped on his feet or dropped the bike. After a few tries he got the hang of it and went further and further. We worked on him stopping himself a few times to prepare him to ride by himself. Finally we were reading and we made a run in which he rode and stopped by himself. We were very excited and exchanged high fives and wow's.

I was very proud to see him ride even though he is about a year late on this. It was my fault because I didn't work with him more on this. Poor Bobby gets all of Daddy and Mommy's mistake making in our parenthood training. I resolve to monitor Bobby's milestones to avoid his in the future.

When his mother came home she watched in worried amazement as Bobby made precarious loops around the circle by himeself. He wobbled his wheels a few times and sometimes went too fast and leaned to far in the turns and skidded to a halt sometimes but he only had minor crashes. We noticed that his 16" bike was too small for him.

A few days later Bobby and I went to the Bike shop to buy me a bike so I can ride with him again like last year when I was previously training him. While we were there we saw a red 20" Trek RockHopper. It matched the red Mongoose that I found for me. The guy at the bike shop let Bobby test ride it and we couldn't resist buying it.

Bobby and I have been riding every night since then.

Spring Ball

This spring Bobby's T-ball team is the Orioles. Bobby is getting better at fielding balls and throwing to the baseman. He is hitting flyballs sometimes and can catch them too. He and the rest of the team are learning where to throw to get the out when runners are on base.

Monkey Skills

Winter Blues

This winter Bobby has been practicing ball getting eady for the spring season. His hitting and catching have really improved alot. His grandfather, "Pepaw" has been a great coach to him.

Bobby did very well on his mid-year report card. His marks were up from the last period and I couldn't expect any more from a six-year old.

Bobby has also been attending religious education in spiritual formation for his first communion. Bobby can say the "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Glory Be". I am most proud of his interest during mass. His behavior isn't always the best but he is fascinated with the liturgy.