Austen has something to smile about these days. His braces finally came off last week after 2.5 years and he can eat corn on the cob without having to cut it off the cob!
He definitely was counting down the months and then the days until getting them off and was noticing all the other people who got their braces off this year and had really nice teeth. His was a longer road than probably most as he was missing a tooth and instead of doing an implant needed to push some teeth forward and do some reshaping. Peyton has the same issue but will need an implant (because girls' face shape are not as forgiving for a canine substitution). She will actually be going to a different ortho for her braces as we consulted four until we were happy with a suitable plan for a teenager until she can get her implant in her 20s.
Anyway, Austen was happy. His teeth look good. One down, two more kids in braces to go!
My girl who doubts herself and her abilities always, and then somehow seems to flourish made her first regional time cut in her first swim meet for long course last week.
She just started the long course season which runs through July, and has them swimming greater lengths in a longer pool so they don't get to use the wall as much for turns which is helpful if your strength is not flip turns and being explosive off the wall. Maybe long course is her strength because in her first meet she secures a regional time in the 100M breast stroke. She was so surprised and so proud of herself and so was I. Peyton constantly compares herself to other swimmers and is deathly afraid of ever getting last in a heat even though I continually remind her that she's racing against herself and her own time. She's learning. She's better preparing her body for meets and has learned to fuel herself in between races when she's there all day. Nerves get the best of her so she doesn't want to eat but realizes when you're swimming 3-4 events a day plus warm ups and you don't eat, you don't have any gas to make your body go.
So while she has just one regional time so far, she's excited about trying to secure a few more regional times before the end of the long course season so she can go to the regional meet (location TBD but she says it's going to be nowhere cool like the places that Austen goes for soccer).
I'm just happy that she loves what she's doing and she's made some really great friends who are her teammates there. I see her on deck goofing around with them, cheering them on and just being a normal 12 year old girl and that makes me happy.
And, just like that, he's 15 and playing in his last baseball game (ever). Unless he's like Michael Jordan or Tom Brady and says he's "retiring" but changes his mind.
It wasn't that long ago that Austen was playing in the Humboldt Park baseball league in the city when he was just 4 years old and running down those poor kids who hit a weak grounder to him at the pitcher's mound. Instead of just throwing to the first baseman whom he knew couldn't catch, he would run and tag them out. It was awesome at first and then embarrassing after a few of those that none of the kids actually got to play. Little did we know that that was his strength. Fielding. Not perfect but he was good. Always.
This season as a high school freshman, he had many double plays mostly from short stop but at the end he also played a little outfield and made at least two double plays from there. His hitting - well he grew as a hitter. When he was younger - he was a great hitter and then came kid pitch. Austen was deathly afraid of getting hit by a pitch so he wouldn't swing at all. He would wait for the walk. He had many games/seasons where he was trying to figure out his hitting. As he got older and worked on it more, he got better. He worried less about getting hit and worried more about striking out. The last two to three years though his hitting steadily improved. He wasn't perfect but not even the best are.
This year, he had only a few strikeouts but he made contact with almost every single pitch. My kid who used to wait for the walk was aggressive at the bat. Maybe sometimes too aggressive as he wanted to hit everything but you don't want to curb that since that's important in baseball - being aggressive at the plate. He had many singles, a few doubles but the home run eluded him as he hit the fence at least twice. He struggled sometimes with the pop ups but a short video of him hitting and some YouTube videos were good for him to figure out what he was doing wrong. In fact, during his last game, he adjusted and hit no high pop ups, hitting a double and a single before hitting a great hit between the right fielder and center fielder who made a great catch and then he got out on a grounder (that I missed because I had to take Peyton to swim). He made a few double plays and some key outs in the field too.
I'd say he ended on a high note with a great coach surrounded by some great friends. He said he was sad thinking he wouldn't ever play again but it was hard for him. There were many nights where he was exhausted and went to bed late because he had soccer practice right after and homework still to do or a test to study for. He was tired and digging deep to hang on (to performing in baseball, doing his best in soccer and continuing to maintain his A average in school). It was a struggle for him and I knew it. I'm not sure he'd be able to continue at this pace next year as both sports and school are only going to become harder. So while I'm sad to see him retire his bat and glove, I know that he worked hard this spring to be able to do all three - baseball, soccer and school. It took a lot out of him, and it took a lot out of us too (going from one game or practice to the next). But I'm proud of him for the discipline he showed in trying to do all three well. It wasn't easy. But he did it. So I bid adieu to Austen's baseball career with his last three at bats (minus one that Tom failed to capture while I was running carpool).
The Double
The Single
The Great Hit to the Outfield That Got Caught
PS. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention in his third to last game - bottom of the 7th inning (they play 7), bases are loaded, two outs and Austen's up to bat. He has two strikes on him (from foul balls) when his coach shouts to him, "Austen, pretend this is soccer - we really need this goal!" And with that, Austen hits a line drive to center field scoring the winning run and the team erupts in victory. It was a sweet moment and one that I'm glad he got before the end of his baseball career.
It was the last First Communion for our immediate family as Hailey received her third sacrament this past weekend. She had her reconciliation on Tuesday evening and was well-versed in her Act of Contrition and her sins that she was going to tell Father (hitting her sister and not listening to her parents).
But it was time to celebrate her on Saturday and receive "the snack" as she often called the host when we would go to Communion and she wasn't yet old enough to go herself. Well on Saturday she got her "snack" and deemed it pretty tasty. Papa said he thought the host was a bit crunchy but I'm sure they have different places that make the hosts hence the variety in texture and a bit in taste.
Anyway, her awesome older cousin came over early to do her hair and she put on her new white dress and shoes that we bought her since she didn't fit into Peyton's First Communion attire at all (plus, I think she wanted her own stuff which was fine - I actually liked Hailey's First Communion dress better than Peyton's anyway). She did, however, wear the same veil that Peyton wore which was nice since I think that thing cost more than the dress and shoes for both girls! Not one to dress up much, I was surprised Hailey didn't complain about the very girlie outfit. She did say it was very fluffy though.
She was ready for this special occasion and had practiced with us before even the 4-hour rehearsal/workshop so she knew just what to do when it was her turn to receive her First Holy Eucharist. She also got to bring up the gifts so that was pretty cool since our other two kids didn't get to do that.
We were at a different church than where she was baptized and where Austen and Peyton had made their First Communions since we had to switch parishes so the older ones could make their confirmation in 8th grade instead of 10th. It was a smaller group which was nice and Father Raphal made it as quick as he could. I think the homily was like 7 minutes max! We had a lot of guests too so I think Hailey was feeling pretty special.
After First Communion, we ventured over to our country club for a nice lunch. We took pictures on the patio, had some drinks, opened presents (some of which were non-holy gifts which Hailey appreciated) and then we went home to change and road trip to Indiana for an early soccer game the next morning. (Austen was not in attendance at the Communion since he had two big soccer games in Indiana that weekend.). Hey, when you are the third child, the parents kind of relax requiring everyone to be there and totally get it when people can't. You do what you can do. Still it was a special time for Hailey and next time she goes to church, she'll be happy she can get the snack!
After more than a year since stem cell, Sadie has still not been able to get up on her own. I consulted another doctor and discussed with her primary vet. Her primary vet recommended a rehab specialist that deals with neurological disorders and all other kinds of issues but she was up in Buffalo Grove. So I waited two months to get an appointment and last week Sadie and I ventured up north to try to find a solution to her situation. We made a day of it actually scheduling her annual appointment at her primary vet's new practice just 20 minutes away from the rehab place. In between, we stopped for a walk and lunch (for Sadie) and iced coffee (for me).
While at the rehab center, they did about a 45-minute evaluation of Sadie. What they said was that her Wobbler's disease was not really an issue. She's learned to live with it. The bigger issue - her knees which they said never completely healed after the stem cell. She said her squat probably improved but stem cell does not completely repair the ligament so her knees were still blown and that's why she couldn't get up. She recommended an ortho consult with their head surgeon (a very reputable and well-known guy who our vet also recommended and said he's the only one that she'd let touch Sadie). Lots of discussions to be had but our primary vet will review the rehab center's extensive findings. Preliminarily our primary vet has said that she was surprised that the rehab doctor had recommended a surgery consult for Sadie because if at all, she tries to avoid surgery if at all possible.
In the meantime, while Sadie waits for her ortho surgery consult, she has some pre-surgery rehab of acupuncture, laser and treadmill therapy to do. Then she will go for ortho consult and then depending on what they find, possibly right into surgery to repair her knees. She's back on some pain medicine and her walks have been reduced as of right now although she's really enjoying getting outside and rolling in the spring grass which aggravates her allergies (of course she has allergies too!) and makes her stuffy. Have you ever heard a dog snore or ooze green boogers from her nose? Definitely a lot of firsts with this dog. She's a lucky pup that we love her so much (or at least I do).
