Catchin' Up with Xander

Savannah is not the only one who has kept busy the past few months. David has been spending a good portion of his life these past few months preparing for the Stake Youth Trek. One of the preparations he has been making is determining what dutch oven meals they should do while out on the trail. Xander was only too happy to help out, especially when it came to making a yummy peach cobbler.

Xander also put his green thumb to good use - he received some plants at school, came right home and planted them, and has done a great job watering and taking care of them. His sunflower plant has done exceptionally well!

Look at the growth!

Scouts has definitely kept Xander busy as he worked really hard to earn his Wolf by May 31st. Here is one of the projects he had to complete - a birdhouse.

At the May pack meeting Xander led the flag ceremony.

And he did it! Xander earned his wolf by the date he had set for himself.

Pinning mom. Great job, Xander!

Our Tuesday and Thursday evenings were spent watching Savannah and Xander play baseball and softball; David and I just took turns going to each of their games. Xander absolutely LOVED playing baseball. He got much better as the season went along and by the end was hitting the ball quite regularly. And the kid can hit! Most of his hits were to the outfield and had quite some heat to them.

He played second or third base at least one inning per game but the rest of the time he was in the outfield which is where he preferred to be. His favorite Orioles player, Adam Jones, plays outfield as well and Xander tries to be just like him. He even incorporated a little batting routine that is quite similar to Adam's. Xander's highlight moment of the season came on a night that his Grandma and Grandpa Pierce were there to cheer him on.  He was playing right field and with 2 outs the other team's best hitter came to the plate.  This kid popped one into outfield, right in Xander's direction.  Normally at this age if a ball is hit to the outfield the hitter gets to second or third base because most of the kids can't catch all that well.  Xander, however, backed up a bit, stuck his glove high in the air, and lo and behold, that ball landed right in his glove!  It was awesome!  I think Xander was more surprised than anyone when he looked at his glove and saw the ball in there.  All his teammates went running to him, cheering for him and giving him high fives.  His coaches were whooping and hollering and the parents were yelling and clapping.  I hope Xander remembers that moment for a long time because it was pretty dang amazing!  He was all smiles as he came to the bench and two of his coaches did the ESPN highlight reel theme music for him.  Fun times at the baseball field!

Xander's head coach Simeon decided to have a team party at his house where the kids could come eat and hang out together in a setting outside of baseball. And guess what they did all night...played baseball.

Coach Simeon had a few nice words for all the boys as he handed out trophies.  When it was Xander's turn he mentioned all the nicknames the coaches had had for Xander throughout the season - the Stretcher, Professor X, X-man, the X-Factor, and a few others - and his coaches all agreed that Xander was the most coachable kid on the team, always positive, willing to listen, and working hard. We have been so lucky to have had such great coaches who work well with the kids, teach them the game, and want them to have fun.

One last cheer for the A's! What a great season!

A few days before school ended was the 2nd grade picnic celebration. I took Xander and myself some lunch and we enjoyed sitting outside together in the beautiful warm sunshine.
  Xander with his best bud Maleek.

Xander and his buddies decided to play a little football.

Xander was voted the Class Bookworm which he totally is. Every morning he is up by 6:00 and heads downstairs where he reads until it's time to get ready for school. He has been working his way through the Harry Potter series and is a third of the way through Book 5.