"There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

On Saturday Tucker had his first TBall game. We signed him up for a local Inclusive League, so there were kids of all abilities from age 4-14 out there to play. Tucker was definitely one of the smallest kids out there, and he ran all over the place! Chris bought him a glove, and Tucker loved it:) He took it from Chris and put his hand right into it, Chris said that was all he needed; he was happy! We didn't really expect much of Tucker during the first game, since we hadn't ever taught him anything. We wanted him to learn about waiting for his turn to bat and being part of a team. He was so excited to play "bae-ball", he has learned many sports names from his speech therapy and Adaptive PE classes, so he knows what a baseball is. Once we got there, we got his uniform and put it on, between the big shirt and his glove, it looked like he didn't have an arm! I would say Tucker spent about 10% of the time on the field or in the dugout! He much preferred running into the parking lot to see the trucks, and of course sitting on the sidelines demanding his Sissy (Mrs. Mia) bounce him. I guess he's more of a spectator, haha! He did bat twice, and he fielded one ball. The first time I helped him bat, and we actually missed the ball on the tee! I was so embarassed, my family got a kick out of that. Then we hit the ball and ran to first base. He loved running, but did not like waiting for the next batter to hit for him to run some more. The second time he batted, Chris went with him, and he seemed to really get the point. It was the first of four games, so we'll see how he progresses. We are not expecting All Star quality, by any means, we are just hoping he has some fun. The weather was much better than it could have been, but we were still pretty hot! After running around for an hour, trying to make Tucker stay on the field, I wondered exactly why we had signed him up.....my mom told me to go home and check the pictures, then I'd see why. So she was right! Looking at the above picture just amazed me. The fact that Tucker has come through so much, and still has so much ahead of him, but he just embraces everything in life and has a blast....that is just miraculous to me. Chris and I (and our families) are trying to give Tucker as many memories and fun as possible, while also conserving his energy for his future battles. We choose certain activities for him, and schedule plenty of rest time, and he seems to do okay. We are just so happy that he can participate in TBall this year. To see him running around with other kids, and so happy to see his family watching him....it's great. Tucker has been showing us many other great things; we dog sat for Meagan and Chris's dog Izzy, and Tucker kept trying to take her out of her pen and calling her "Jace." Jace is Alexis's dog, and we had no idea that he even knew his name! I kept moving the kennel around trying to keep Tucker away from the poor dog, and Tucker kept chasing me saying "Jace, Jace." On Saturday night I put Izzy in her kennel for the night and covered the kennel with a blanket. She cried to get out, so Tucker walked up to the kennel, put his finger on his mouth and said "Shhhh." We cracked up. Yesterday we ran a few wedding errands, and Tucker was very well-behaved. He sat fairly still and quiet while Chris got fitted for his tux, and he even sat with me and looked at Bride Magazine. I showed him the brides in the big fancy dresses and said "princess." I am trying to teach him about princesses to get him ready to meet all of them at Disney World, I'm not sure that he'll care to meet anyone other than Mickey! Next we went look for shoes; I needed shoes for my bridesmaid's dress so that I can take it in to get hemmed. Luckily I found some on sale at the very first store; Tucker was okay in his stroller for about 5 minutes, then he started crying to "go, go." We took him upstairs to the carousel, and he rode it twice. He had the biggest grin on his face, he loves the carousel! I also have to share Tucker's latest night-time routine. He has a Toddler Bible, and he usually says "Bey-bah, Bey-bah" and flips through it. Well lately he lays down, puts his hands behind his head and says, "Read the Bey-bah." I was amazed the first time I heard it! I choose different stories and read them; I think sometimes he just likes hearing my voice. His favorite story is the story of Jesus's birth, he loves looking at the baby, haha! Then right after it is the story of Jesus getting lost and then his parents finding him in the temple. Well in Tucker's Bible, the story has a page with a picture of Jesus playing soccer with his friends. Tucker calls it "baketball" (basketball) and also loves looking at Jesus playing sports! He cracks me up! When he is ready to actually fall asleep, he takes my hand, puts it on his chest, and demands "sing." I sing several songs, including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Hush Little Baby....if I stop for a second to take a breath or because I think he is asleep, he takes my hand again and demands "sing." He is so bossy!! But so stinkin' cute, so I oblige. By night time I am so exhausted that I sometimes would just love to skip the whole routine and just go to sleep! Then Tucker says something crazy or asks me to rock, and I am amazed yet again.