Spring Showers Bring May Flowers (week 212)

The evolution of my baby brother Christopher was clearly evident this week as he moved from barbarian--eating with his hands--to civilized man--refusing to eat unless he was given a fork. As the pictures clearly show, he took a major step forward in his development and gave me great hope that he would soon be throwing my batting practice and catching for me when I need to practice my pitching. Although he continues to follow me around and get in the way when I am trying to shoot hoops (typically standing right underneath the basket and taking the rebounds with his head), I am hopeful that this is a sign of growth.

Our baseball team--the Dodgers--also took a few steps forward. We played a Reds team that was struggling with many of the same challenges that we have been. This was evident in the first inning when two of their players began punching each other in an attempt to field the ball near the pitcher's mound. We have been struggling with the same sort of gang tackling whenever there is a play on the ball. In fact, one of our younger players who was waiting on Second Base took-off after a ball that we hit into center field...and outraced the entire team of Reds who were also in pursuit of the ground ball. He was very proud of himself when he emerged from the pile. The only problem was that we were on offense. I am not sure that this particular scenario has ever occurred since Alexander Joy Cartwright (1820-1892) of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845.

This week was also marked by tragedy as Long Beach lost five fathers in a fiery crash at the airport. One remaining father--a member of our church--is still struggling in critical condition, but appears to be strengthening. It had a big impact on me because daddy and I went to the Vigil on Friday night at the beach. I still have a lot of concerns and ask about why the men died daily. I have also expressed my wish that they didn't die and that they could come back. These are tough questions for a four-year-old...and in someways even tougher for a father to explain. This has also been a tough week as our entire family struggles with the events that are occurring in Japan and whether or not mommy and daddy are going to go to uncle Devin's wedding given the news and the fallout there.

Meantime, I continue to draw Times Square, cut-out pictures of the Times Square Ball, and talk about the new baseball tee and bases that daddy and I bought Friday night at Big 5. Christopher, at 16 months went to Urgent Care for the second time in a month after getting hit in the eye by a baseball. He continues to try to drink perfume, open the garage door and get into the laundry machine, and eats as much change (particularly dimes) as possible. At some point, we will also need to get him into an art class as he has shown great passion and a relentless drive for drawing murals on the dining room wall.