A Georgia Girl in Germany

With how much Benjamin enjoys “sliding” around the house as if he were a baseball player sliding into home plate, I really wanted to get him playing t-ball. Our schedules didn’t work out last year (and almost didn’t this year), but fortunately things worked out this year. A few hours before I left short-notice for Poland, the Youth Center called to let me know that Benjamin was taken off the wait list and placed on a t-ball team. Since I wouldn’t be able to pay the registration fee, attend the parents meeting or get Benjamin to his first practice and game, Nana and Papa stepped up (thankfully they were visiting!) and took care of getting Benjamin started.









Every day, when Benjamin got home from school, he’d grab his bat, ball and glove, and head to the backyard to practice with Papa. He wouldn’t even stop for a snack! All the practice seemed to pay off, and Benjamin picked up how to throw and hit rather well. I loved watching him during his games -- the expressions on his face and his antics on the field.



He would stick out his tongue quite often during the games -- usually when chasing down the ball or concentrating on throwing, but sometimes just because he felt like it.

Other times, he wouldn’t be paying attention like he should, but instead was moving to his own beat -- literally!

He definitely knew how to chase down the ball when it was hit near him.

And he was pretty good at throwing the ball toward first base.

He even had a few antics when he was waiting his turn to bat -- sometimes checking to see if I was watching, but other times hiding from me when he saw my camera pointed his way.

More tongue action.





He enjoyed batting, especially when he was last in the lineup since the last person batting in t-ball always gets a homerun! It didn’t take him long to figure that out.





He wanted to make sure no one was in his way as he ran from second base to third base. The other player seemed more concerned with throwing the ball, so neither were concerned about getting him out!

He enjoyed being silly with his helmet low over his eyes -- making faces, running to third base and waiting to run home.





One of his other nuances was to lift up the tee so he could actually step on home plate. After a few times doing so (and a few other players doing likewise), the coaches learned to move the tee for every player running home.



His best antic was messing with his hat and flirting with the girls while he was playing third base. He’d pull his hat down over his eyes, then tap the girl on the shoulder to show her how silly he could be. Player #7 provided the best interaction since she’d fix his hat for him.

He’d pull his hat bill down again, just so she’d fix it again. They must have gone back and forth four or five times.



After a while, she punched his bill up to get it to stay!

Next visitor to third base: Player #1.

This time, instead of knocking his hat, Player #1 tried to look Benjamin in the face. That only prompted Benjamin to tuck his chin into his chest, and her to try harder to look at his face. The family sitting in front of me enjoyed watching Benjamin flirt with the girls, and was amazed at how well it was “working for him.” We’ll have to see how well acting silly catches girls’ attention in another ten years or so!



More faces, even when he didn’t realize anyone was watching him.

A great hit as he ran to first base.





Taking his time running home ... because he knew he had to pick up the tee before he could step on home plate (the coaches hadn’t figured out that nuance yet).



The entire team would get tickled when they’d turn around and congratulate themselves on a good game. I love how he wore his hat so it would push his ears down!

Labels: Benjamin