Intro/"My Bat-Stick"
Intro: My name is amr. Actually my initials. I don't want to give out too much info, at least not yet. Let's see if I stick to this.
I am a Twins fan, and I've been an errattic commentor at Batgirl, but I felt that the boards were getting too big, and that my silly one-liners were too often off-topic or lost in the mi(d)st of 500-comment conversations that I could no longer read in their entireties, so I'm trying to go off on my own. We'll see what happens.
"My Bat-Stick": I have a little daughter named "C", not yet 2 yrs old. Last Sunday, her mother was out of the house on some errands, and I was watching the Twins beat the Yanks on TV during C's nap. C wakes up and comes and watches the game with me. Now that's nothing new, she's watched lots of sports with me, and we have a routine. I sit on the floor and cover up with a blanket and let her play in the "bathtub" I make between my legs. I get to watch my game(s), she gets to play with me for a long period of time.
Well, on Sunday, she sits in her own chair and watches like it's one of her movies (Veggie Tales or Baby Einstein). She says either "Baseball" or "Basketball" (she gets them confused but knows football from the b-balls). Then she starts to take an interest in the game itself. "Throw the ball, man." "That man's got a black stick." (I tell her the stick is called a bat so now it's a "bat-stick".) "Catch the ball, man." "Hit the ball with the stick." "That man has a black mitten." Etc. She already knew "safe" and "out" and the appropriate gestures. Yay! She's actually getting into it.
During commercials, I switch to ESPN's coverage of the Women's College World Series. Cat Osterman and the Texas Longhorns (I immediately decide to root for them) against Arizona in a scoreless elimination game. C notices "Girls playing baseball." (Yay.) She notices the Yellow ball and I tell her the game is called Softball when it's girls and the yellow ball. Back and forth between both games and she leaves and gets toys and then comes back to the games. She sits on my lap. Fun for me, aided by Wins for the Twins and Texas.
The next day, as my wife, E, and I are doing dishes, C plays in the yard where we can see her. When we aren't looking, she dips into the garage. We quickly search for her and find her with a wicket(?) from our inherited croquet set. "My bat-stick!" She happily proclaims, and swings it awkwardly. God bless her little heart. "Hit the ball!" I get her baseball from inside and she drops the ball on the ground and takes some golfinsh hacks at it with the wicket.
"Should we get her a bat?" E asks. God bless her, and we shortly leave for Wal-Mart. We bring back a bat and tee set. Green bat, yellow and green balls. No gloves for toddlers. She still doesn't have the general shape of a swing, but she's interested, and I'm continually more and more in love with this little girl.
Related: Apparently, on Monday while I was at work, C asked E to watch the horse races. We'll surely be watching the Belmont this Saturday. (Horse races are great: combining my interest in sports and her natural interest in animals.)
See? I couldn't have put that on batgirl's comments page. I'll bring pictures of her when I figure out how.
I am a Twins fan, and I've been an errattic commentor at Batgirl, but I felt that the boards were getting too big, and that my silly one-liners were too often off-topic or lost in the mi(d)st of 500-comment conversations that I could no longer read in their entireties, so I'm trying to go off on my own. We'll see what happens.
"My Bat-Stick": I have a little daughter named "C", not yet 2 yrs old. Last Sunday, her mother was out of the house on some errands, and I was watching the Twins beat the Yanks on TV during C's nap. C wakes up and comes and watches the game with me. Now that's nothing new, she's watched lots of sports with me, and we have a routine. I sit on the floor and cover up with a blanket and let her play in the "bathtub" I make between my legs. I get to watch my game(s), she gets to play with me for a long period of time.
Well, on Sunday, she sits in her own chair and watches like it's one of her movies (Veggie Tales or Baby Einstein). She says either "Baseball" or "Basketball" (she gets them confused but knows football from the b-balls). Then she starts to take an interest in the game itself. "Throw the ball, man." "That man's got a black stick." (I tell her the stick is called a bat so now it's a "bat-stick".) "Catch the ball, man." "Hit the ball with the stick." "That man has a black mitten." Etc. She already knew "safe" and "out" and the appropriate gestures. Yay! She's actually getting into it.
During commercials, I switch to ESPN's coverage of the Women's College World Series. Cat Osterman and the Texas Longhorns (I immediately decide to root for them) against Arizona in a scoreless elimination game. C notices "Girls playing baseball." (Yay.) She notices the Yellow ball and I tell her the game is called Softball when it's girls and the yellow ball. Back and forth between both games and she leaves and gets toys and then comes back to the games. She sits on my lap. Fun for me, aided by Wins for the Twins and Texas.
The next day, as my wife, E, and I are doing dishes, C plays in the yard where we can see her. When we aren't looking, she dips into the garage. We quickly search for her and find her with a wicket(?) from our inherited croquet set. "My bat-stick!" She happily proclaims, and swings it awkwardly. God bless her little heart. "Hit the ball!" I get her baseball from inside and she drops the ball on the ground and takes some golfinsh hacks at it with the wicket.
"Should we get her a bat?" E asks. God bless her, and we shortly leave for Wal-Mart. We bring back a bat and tee set. Green bat, yellow and green balls. No gloves for toddlers. She still doesn't have the general shape of a swing, but she's interested, and I'm continually more and more in love with this little girl.
Related: Apparently, on Monday while I was at work, C asked E to watch the horse races. We'll surely be watching the Belmont this Saturday. (Horse races are great: combining my interest in sports and her natural interest in animals.)
See? I couldn't have put that on batgirl's comments page. I'll bring pictures of her when I figure out how.
posted by amr at 6/10/2005 12:00:00 PM
4 Comments:
AMR-
That's a cute story! Have you been to the BatCave yet? They're doing upgrades right now, but we have a thread going on QuickTopic. http://www.quicktopic.com/31/H/hqfF8cqXkqm
-ndtf
great story. The wickets I believe are the little hoops, the sticks are mallets:) just being helpful.
Aurora, not the hoop or the mallet, but the stake that I think designates the beginning/end of the course. Looks kindof like a Cricket Wicket, if I am thinking of the right thing.
Looked it up...
Three stumps and two bails make up a cricket wicket. A croquet wicket is the hoop. C was swinging a stake.
that's adorable AMR. you are very lucky people. i watched baseball with my mom when i was just a tot and have loved it all these 40 some years. start em young i say.
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