John's very good week

You know that children's book "Arthur and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Day?" What a fantastic children's story. I couldn't help but think of this book (though in the opposite way) when I thought about the good, wonderful, very good week that John had last week. 

First of all, John was the male recipient of the Positive Panther award for his class last term! We are so proud of him! The Positive Panther award is given to one boy and one girl in each class at the elementary school each quarter. The recipient is selected by his/her teacher for showing positive character traits and setting a good example for others.

Good job, John! John has matured since kindergarten (when we received a phone call from the school principal one evening for some not very good behavior), which is a good thing. As parents we were spoiled by Amelia's good behavior, as she received the award nearly every year that she was a student at the elementary school. So having John receive the award for the first time in 2nd grade is especially sweet. He even got to go on the morning video announcements for the first time.

The other big component to John's very good week was his successful hitting during his team's first baseball game of the season. The Yankees were lucky to play their first game at a very nice little league facility downtown. This was a good experience for the kids as they were able to play in a realistic stadium complete with dugouts, scoreboard, and full-length-sized distances between the bases. Coach Don has the team playing up a division this season, so we have a team comprised of second-graders playing in a third-grade league. 

View of part of the downtown skyline from behind the stadium.

Do young buys in baseball uniforms get any cuter than this? I know I am biased because he is my son, but I love this style for John much more than his beloved punk Miami Heat basketball style. 

John's big moment came his second time at bat. The game was very competitive and the atmosphere in this special stadium for the first game of the season was intense. It was the second inning, and the game was tied 3-3 with one runner on base. John made contact with the ball and…it was a HOME RUN!

If you look closely in the photo below you can see the opposing team's player in the red jersey out in center field retrieving the ball that John hit. John hit the ball past the infield and it rolled nicely to the outfield towards the outer wall.

John's teammates congratulating him after he rounded home! John barely made it home safely though, as he had to dodge around the catcher (who had the ball in his glove!) at the plate. Good thing John is fast!

This was John's first home run (!), and it was even more special because it happened on opening day in this special stadium. John also did well with his other two turns at bat that evening - one single and one double. The whole team played really well, and the Yankees ended up winning 12-7.

I am glad it is baseball season! Nothing beats a clear spring evening or weekend morning watching this Yankees team play some good baseball.