Baseball: team effort

This is a shot of my grand-daughter Sophie playing baseball a couple years ago. Notice how many players are coming in to make the play.  (the boy on the right eventually gets the baseball glove off his head.)

Now look closely where the ball ends up... She stopped the ball, that's what counts.  If she hadn't stopped it, I am sure they would have been pile of players behind her smashing down on it.

Fantasies of Chuckie Cheese's

Our granddaughter, Sophie, slowly releases her Nanny's hand as she heads off into a world of dreams and fantasy at Chuckie Cheese's. It's a world that they love to travel to.

Born digital means not having to ask how to plug in

The Millenials, including our grandson, Slade, are born digital.  They instinctively know how to use technology.  Slade, for example, who in this picture is 11 months old, doesn't need any instructions on how to use a computer.  It has a seat, and a back -- climb on, sit down and get plugged in.

Blind kiss

Our grandkids came to visit a while back and their friend, Jenna Anderson, took them to see her FFA project -- Randy the goat.   Sophie gets in close for a kiss.   Do you close your eyes when you kiss a goat?

--steve buserTechnorati Tags: kids, children, goats, animals, kiss, FFA

The unbelievable adventures of Dr. Jones.

We ran into Indiana Jones at the mall in College Station. TX, this weekend. (Actually, he prefers to be called Dr. Jones, if you please.).

From the look on our grandson's face (I mean Dr. Jones' face) you can tell he was letting his imagination and his energy run wild in the play area. He has the whole garb -- the whip, the hat, the khakis, the Crocs (Dr. Jones does wear Crocs doesn't he?) and the case (do not call it a purse, handbag, satchel or anything like that, if you don't want to feel the crack of a deadly whip!).

This is his daily garb now. You are probably thinking that he got this as a Halloween costume. Actually, he got it before Halloween and began the daily drama immediately. When his mother went to ask him "Do you want to dress up as Indiana Jones for Halloween?" he was quick with the retort. "Mom, I AM Indiana Jones. You can't dress up for Halloween as someone you are!"

YOU probably would've known better thnt to ask that silly question. Wouldn't you? Never mind, I know you better than that.

My daughter is wondering where he got this drama streak. I was not brave enough to tell her that when she was just a little older than he is, she decided she was going to be the first kid astronaut. I decided I needed to "manage her expectations" in the parlance of today. I said very politely, "You know, Vicky, they don't have any kid astronauts."

She didn't miss a beat -- she popped a pose, arms akimbo and head bent in that "I can't believe what my dumb dad just said" way.

"Of course not, " she said "If they did, I couldn't be the first one."

Drama, it seems, runs in the family.

--steve buser