There's no crying in baseball!

Fútbol might be the beautiful game, but I still prefer béisbol. As do the boys in Casa Samuel. Yesterday and today we played baseball after homework time (which still consists of counting repeatedly to 11 and doing addition problems that all add up to 11...which they haven't realized yet). Four of the little boys love to play baseball, and now that they know that I like it too it's all we do. I may not be qualified to correct their grammar, convince them to go to bed, or put them in time out, but I certainly intend to improve their batting stances by the end of the summer! Yesterday I taught them how to make applause noises after they cross home plate, but we are still working on hitting all the bases on the way around...they seem to think 3rd is optional at best. Each of them are so funny and they all have their own little quirks that come out when they bat. Their pictures are below their descriptions.

This sweet little boy is the least coordinated. He directly faces the pitcher while batting and holds the bat in front of his face, which doesn't improve his ability to hit the ball much. We have a lot of "otra vez" (the Spanish equivalent of do-overs). He eventually hits it and then we have to worry about reminding him to run...but on the upside it's improving my ability to roll my rr's significantly because I spend a couple hours everyday yelling ¡Corre, corre! Whether or not he hits it hard, he's always up for a celebration at home plate.

This one is a little stinker. He and another boy fight a lot and I try to make them apologize before we continue the game, but usually another boy ends up apologizing for him to expedite the process. He sticks his tongue out every time he comes to the plate and gives me a look that says, "Watch, I'm going to crush it!" He's very athletic and he knows it. He is always full of energy, loves to run, and is very competitive. He too loves a good home plate celebratory break.

But the one that I find most endearing (I know, I'm supposed to find them all equally cute...) is this little boy. He absolutely cracks me up. He's short and stocky, but very athletic, and he is a goofball. I think the reason I like him so much is that he reminds me a lot of my brother, Philip. He is outgoing, confident, and as Philip would say, has "swag." He's probably the most athletic of the boys in the house, and he never misses an opportunity to show off his skills with his special big bat. He consistently crushes the ball beyond the pitcher's reach, circles the bases in a self-assured, borderline cocky way, and then stops the game to have himself one large party at the plate. He has his own victory dance that he does every time he scores, and he always looks at me and says, "Emily, quieres sacar una foto, ¿sí?" (Emily, you want to take a picture, don't you?) He likes me a lot and seeks my approval. Today he made me sit by him while he did his homework. He had to copy the sentence "El pavo es mio papa" (The turkey is mine papa) 9 times, which may as well have been 900 times. After every letter he turned to me to see if it was good, and I had to repeatedly assure him that his writing was acceptable. He is a mess, he knows he's the cool one, but I find him entirely adorable.

And, just because they are so cute...more pictures of my favorite little siblings:)