Wyatt's Basketball Season

Wyatt has another season of Junior Basketball under his belt this year! He was such a little baller this year too! He is such a determined little guy, he really works hard until he masters something! He had the same coach Grant had during his session, so he was comfortable with him, which also helped him know about the tricks the coach liked to play. He was a very goofy guy, which obviously, the boys loved!! He had a decent mix of kids on his team, some of which had an idea about basketball and some who have probably never seen a ball before! He definitely was the best on his little group, and I think he enjoyed having the coach use him as an example quite a few times! Such a little perfectionist! He loves dribbling without looking, driving in for a layup, and shooting free throws. Jump -Stop was his favorite game! He learned how to use the backboard on layups so he enjoyed telling people about that!

I think next year, both boys will be ready for team play! I can't wait for that!!!

Forever ROYALS

For the second year in a row, the Royals made the playoffs!! Our October was pretty consumed with baseball!! The playoff games were so exciting and took up many of our afternoons and evenings! But it was a great problem to have!! While our boys aren't obsessed with the Royals or any sports team for that matter, they definitely got into the Royals spirit. They'd ask if we won, or who we were playing. They took quite a liking to the players and were always asking about who was batting, pitching, etc. And as they kept winning, our excitement kept growing!!One day, one of the playoff games started at noon. And it wasn't quite over when it was time to pick up Grant from school. So we waited til the last second, ran up there super fast, and ran across the street to Angela's house to catch the last inning. Wow, that game was EXCITING!!!!

It turned out to be a very....

Kansas City got super into the Royals too and you couldn't really go anywhere and NOT see something showing some Royals pride! About every fountain in the city was dyed blue! The boys had a sleep over at my parents house and my mom took them to the Lenexa PD fountain!! See all the blue all over town was AWESOME!

Every time the Royals scored, Levi would throw Wyatt in the air and Wyatt would do some crazy arm movements! The game we won 14-2, Levi's arms were pretty tired!!!

And, in an awesome Game 5 of the World Series, down 0-2 in the 9th inning, we somehow managed to tie the game and sent us into extra innings. After some amazing plays, the Kansas City Royals were the World Series Champions and this town erupted!!!!

The school districts decided to cancel schools the day of the parade! I picked Grant up from school on Monday when they had announced that Tuesday would be a no school day and he says, "We aren't going to that parade, are???" I knew that we would be watching it from the comfort of our own home! Grant and crowds don't mix! But we sure did like watching the parade on TV and seeing all the players up close and personal!!!

And after hearing there were about 800,000 people at the parade, I'm kind of glad we didn't go! But look at this view of people?!? Such an amazing sight to see!!!

We are already looking forward to opening day next year! 

Grant's Basketball Season

For the second year in a row, Grant played 4 weeks of Saturday basketball. And this year was soon much better than last year!! I'm amazed at how far he came in just a year! His overall body coordination is just so much stronger! I attribute a lot of it to a years worth of gymnastics! And he could actually jump stop and do a layup which was practically impossible last year! Amazing!! He loved going to basketball every Saturday!  He had the same coach as last year, so he felt very comfortable and just had a great time! To see his confidence and enthusiasm was awesome!! He's already looking forward to playing on a team next year!!!

 Wyatt was a good spectator, patiently waiting for his 4 weeks to come. He liked doing L-sits while he waited!

Gymnastics Stars

The boys just finished up their third session of gymnastics!! They have loved every second of it and have come so far!! I love watching them grow and learn!!

Grant started off in Level I gym and then when I realized I meant to sign him up for Boys Gym Level I, I switched him over to that the second session and that's where he's been ever since. He is in class with his friend, Drew, and quite a few other boys. He has two teenage boy instructors and seems to think they are the coolest guys he knows! I see him goof off with the other boys a lot and not pay attention as much as I would like him to, but I've also seen him get stronger and stronger, so I know he's working hard regardless! I told him we would do one more session this spring, and then we'd take the summer off. But he said, "No! I want to keep going! I want to be a gymnastics instructor when I grow up so I need all the practice I can get!" Well, I can't argue with that, so looks like we will be doing gymnastics year round!! Blue Valley has such a great program, I'm happy to keep him in as long as he likes it!!!

 Wyatt started off in Pre-Gym Level I in the fall. After the first session, he moved up to Level II and just finished his second session there. Although, he just graduated up to Level III and will start right after Spring Break! He's so funny- the back of his certificate has a report card that shows the skills he's been working on and is scored with either Excellent, Satisfactory, or Needs Work. As soon as his instructor gave him his certificate, he turned it over and counted how many Excellents he had. He had about half Excellents and half Satisfactory. He was bummed and a little confused on how he could graduate without all excellents. But I told him he would work on those skills in Level III too. He also proceeded to look at all his classmates certificates too and count how many excellents they had as well. He is quite the overachiever! But the apple doesn't fall far- I was the same way!

The next session starts right after Spring Break and I can't wait to see what my little gymnasts do next!

B & B

The past few weeks have been AMAZING for outdoor play!! Wyatt has taken a liking to sports, so we've been doing our fair share of Baseball and Basketball!!! Just like anything else, Wyatt tries and tries and tries again until he gets better and better and strives for perfection. Grant tries a few times and just quits if its too hard or he's not "good enough" or he just flat out gets bored. He will swing a few times, or shoot a few times, but he'd rather go off and play on the clubhouse or something! So funny to see their differences! 

Wyatt got a pitching set for Christmas and every warm-enough day since then, he's asked to go outside and try it out! He's got a great stance and a great swing! He's hit quite a few "homeruns!" I got smart and put the soccer goal behind home plate to hopefully catch the strikes! But really, he doesn't miss too often (plus the darn bunnies chewed holes in the net)!! Grant got in on the batting action as well and hit some good ones too!! I'm so happy he tried! Of course, they had to wear their baseball hats while they played baseball! Right out of The Sandlot I tell ya!!

 Watching his pop-fly

 The tongue!! That was a homerun that about took my head off!

 

We bought a basketball goal on Black Friday, but without Levi here, its still sitting in the box in the garage. Luckily, our neighbors have a goal lowered down to 8ft and Wyatt has found that he is a pretty good shot with his little bitty ball! He likes dribbling with his big ball.

 I'm so happy its Springtime so we can be spending some beautiful outdoor time with my little fellas!

Little Hoopsters

Grant's turn for basketball is here!! After watching Wyatt play for 4 weeks, this guy was excited for his turn!! I wasn't sure what he would really think of it, since he's not too fond and working on the same thing over and over again, especially if he's not too good at it. And since this isn't a game league, just a practice league, I knew there would be a lot of drills. But he was excited for his first practice!!! 

He's learned how to dribble with both hands, which he is pretty darn fantastic at!! He can dribble in circles, back and forth, and all around without looking! He's learned how to do jump stops- which was very very hard for him at first. To see him try and try made me very proud! He's worked on passing, pivoting, playing offense and defense, and rebounding! He's got all the basics about down! He still needs a little more oomph behind his shot, as he's not quite clearing the rim yet, but he hit the rim twice today, so he's almost there!! 

He's only got one more week, and I'm not sure what his sports future holds- it's really hard to tell if he truly likes it or not, but the fact that he's working hard, trying his best, and gaining strengths each week is awesome to watch!! So proud of you Grant!!

Gymnastic Graduates

We definitely found a sport both boys totally LOVE!! They just finished their first 8 week session of gymnastics! They loved their class and couldn't wait to go each week. 

 Grant completed Boys Gym Level I. He still has some things to master, so he's going to stay in that class for a while. But after the first day of class, and him telling me how everything was so hard, I never heard him say that again! He gained so much strength week after week! And for a kid who desperately needs some upper body strength, it was the perfect remedy!! What's better than an hour of running, jumping, flipping, and swinging?!?  Go Grant!!! You're going to rock Level I!!!

 Wyatt completed Pre-Gym Level I. In fact, he mastered everything that class and graduated up to Pre-Gym Level II. His instructor was very amazed by his coordination and agility. She said its almost unheard of to only take Level I one time- most kids do it three or four times. She said he has a very bright future!! So proud of you Wyatt!! Can't wait to see what awesome things you learn in Level II.

Junior Basketball

Wyatt started basketball the first Saturday in September! I knew I was going to sign Grant up, so when I asked Wyatt if he wanted to play basketball, he said, "Yeah of course!" So he's on the roster for Junior Basketball! 

He's got 8 boys on his "team." They play every Saturday morning in September. They learn the basics of basketball and work on basic techniques. The first week, they learned about the lines of the court, dribbling, and how to do a jump stop. Wyatt makes the cutest face when he dribbles- tongue out, just like Michael Jordan! So funny!! The second week, they worked on passing- chest pass, bounce pass, and overhead pass. They partnered up and he got paired up with a boy named Luke. He and Luke are definitely the most "with it" of the boys on his team. They made a great pair and did a great job with their passing! They also practiced dribbling down the court, passing to a player, then catching a pass to shoot. I helped out with his activity, so that was fun for me! The goals only go down to 8ft which is way too high for these kiddos, but they tried their mightiest! It's adorable!! 

I hope basketball becomes something he really enjoys, just like his dad and I did when we were younger. Well, we still love to play, we're just....much older than we used to be! Based on Wyatt's current stature, I  imagine he could be a pretty mighty point guard!

Little Gymnasts

The boys started gymnastics through Blue Valley Parks and Rec back in August and they have LOVED it!! Grant goes Monday evenings, and Wyatt goes Tuesday mornings. Grant goes with his friend, Drew, and had mixed feelings about it at first. It's definitely something that is physically challenging for him and he wasn't so keen on actually working hard. But after the second week, he's all about it and says that nothing is hard anymore! He can do a full cartwheel and likes to show off his push-up skills! I haven't captured a picture of him yet, since the second he walks through those doors, he's ALWAYS bouncing around! But its been a great activity to get his wiggles out and continue to work on that upper body strength he's been lacking!!

Wyatt probably enjoys his class more than I ever imagined! He can't wait til they open the doors and he runs into place. He's very by the book and listens to every detail the instructor gives. He follows the routine and is very capable and coordinated! He loves it all!! It's been a great recreational activity we may just have to continue through the winter!!!