Go Mudcats!

Not really sure why they ordered size small shirts for 3 and 4 year old kids, but they did. Superstar Ty shown here with his shirt tucked into his baseball pants so that at least part of logo shows.

The season has started and we have played a few games. Most end up as a tie of either 10-10 or 15-15 depending on if the kids get 2 or 3 innings in (there is a 5 run max per inning). But Ty is having a blast and has slugged the ball every time he's up.

More action shots coming soon. Big game tomorrow morning as Ty should have the largest cheering section ever in the history of 4U Tball.


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Now playing: Billy Joel - Everybody Loves You Now
via FoxyTunes

Happy Birthday Ty!

Today is Ty's 4th birthday. We are celebrating this weekend with a big party for all his friends. Tomorrow my parents (Gram and Gpop) fly down to visit and celebrate too.

If you would like to leave a birthday greeting or wishes for Ty, please click on the comments box below and leave a note.



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Now playing: Alicia Keys - If I Aint Got You
via FoxyTunes

Tramp and the Sharks

Ty normally is camera shy (bet you couldn't tell that from the last 100+ posts) but yes it usually takes a little pleading and negotiating to get him to pose and look at the camera. To my surprise one evening we were playing in the living room before bed and Ty asked me to take his picture with one of his favorite stuffed animals "Tramp". Cute factor is HIGH.

Morning T-Ball Practice

Fall. The pennant races (Go Yankees!) and time for the little ones to start a new season of sports. This year I signed Ty up for the 4U t-ball league here in our town. I have lots to say about that in future posts, but it's a blast. One Sunday morning we headed up to the sport courts in our community to do our own practicing. Basically I roll grounders to him and he throws it back. Here is his "alligator" pose which is how the Coach described to them the way to snag the ball in their glove.

TY on Flickr

Sort of a random entry here. I have started uploading some other pictures to my Flickr account. I was at the ACL festival this past weekend and posted some of the cool art guitars on display. I also created a set of photos of signs that I have been shooting for another project. During two recent trips to NYC I looked for signs that contained the letters "TY" in them. I then cropped the photos later on the computer and have uploaded the ones I have so far. The reason for this seems obvious in context here with my posts about my son. Eventually I hope to have a few dozen of these and make some sort of photo collage poster print to frame and put in his room. You will find a new Flickr badge along the side of this page which will take you over to see the other images.

Housekeeping

Hello fans of Ty and random blog wanderers. Dad here with just a quick update on some changes to the site. Longtime readers will notice a new look with a custom banner and some layout changes. Hope you like it because I think it makes things much easier to read.

I have also added some "blog flair" as it is known across the web. I have been out surfing myself and come across many other Dad's like myself who spend hours typing and uploading pictures of their kids. I have shared some links to a few that I have come across that I find funny or interesting. We all have a lot in common. I discovered some of these folks on some of the blogging portals including mybloglog, technorati, wink and facebook. I have placed my own links back to a few of those sites now too for anyone to cross-reference me.

For my family members who are not as technically savvy as others, rest assured that too much personal information is not being shared into cyberspace. As always comments are welcome and enjoy the photos and stories.

Dino Days

Only in America. Remember when Pee Wee is headed cross country in his "Big Adventure" and one of the stops is at this roadside park/motel that has a giant dinosaur? Well that was in California, but here in Texas we have something similar, however you need a GPS to find this place. Head South from Austin towards Bastrop on Highway 71 and hidden in the trees behind a trailer park is The Dinosaur Park!

Looking for something new and interesting for a Saturday, Ty and I drove down there to check it out. They had a little museum and gift shop and then a trail with about a dozen dinosaurs hidden among the trees. It was pretty cool and Ty had fun on the scavenger hunt they include while you are walking around. It was their 2nd anniversary party so they had some cookies for the kids and a real live giant tortoise was roaming around the grounds.

Rockin River

A beautiful hot summer day was recently spent out at Old Settler's Park here in Round Rock where the town built us our own little water park. They call it Rock'N River which is cool because there is a lazy river you can tube on along with several water slides and sprinklers for the kids. In the background you can see the two giant water slides which Ty is not ready for. However Dad decided to be cool and show off for Ty so I went down the one which is enclosed (imagine going down a 3 story slide with your eyes closed). When I emerged with a gasp and a smile for Ty I also realized I had gashed my elbow on the way down pretty badly. The price Dad's must pay sometimes for looking cool.

Stoned Cows

Another stop on the continuing saga of sharing those things uniquely Austin with our blog viewers... is a series of cow sculptures made of stone at the Arboretum. After years of weather and thousands of people climbing on them for play and for photos they are quite smooth (and slippery if you aren't careful). We scooted up the back of one and Ty happened to strike this classic pose on his own without any coaching from Dad.

Photo detail note: If you do happen to click on the image and it blows up to a large size you may see a tattoo on Ty's arm of Lightning McQueen. He got that after his first ever trip to the dentist a few days earlier.

Twin Palms

Here's Ty standing between 2 palm trees out next to the restaurant Hula Hut which is right on Lake Austin. If you ever have visited our city, this is a required stop for Tex Mex with a Hawaiian twist (see their website for what that could possibly mean). Of course Ty is too young to appreciate the many fruity beverages they serve, but he likes to watch the ducks and the boats.

Click! Take a Pic

"Hold still Dad. You are being clicked into Diego's animal rescue center." If you zoom in on the photo you will actually see Ty's eye through the opening in the camera (how cool is that?)

Trivia info: You ever what happened to Rosie Perez? Well she now does the voice of click the camera on Go Diego Go!

Magnet Man

Our refrigerator has almost reached maximum magnet capacity. Between me bringing home some souvenirs from the places I visit and us grabbing cartoon sets ( The Simpsons, Sponge Bob, and others) at the toy stores, we are running out of room. Ty often will spend a few minutes rearranging the ones within his reach or asking me to get some down from the top. It's the simple things that can give us the most enjoyment sometimes.

Seeing Red

Out for a spin around the block on our trike. As you can see we are all color coordinated with shirt, shoes and tricycle. Mr. Mizrahi do you approve?

By the way we are getting a bit too big for the bike. Note to grandparents: Ty's birthday is coming up soon.

Blue Man Group Tryouts?

On first glance this could be Ty showing off his tube skills for the Blue Man Group auditions class of 2020. However this is actually a setup of PVC pipes at the Austin Children's Museum that are color coded and allow the kids to whack out songs using Styrofoam paddles. Ty did his best renditions of Happy Birthday and The Eyes of Texas. The audience cheered.