Armstrong Anecdotes: Little Slugger

I don't think the Braves have ever had a bigger fan than Adam. I don't think baseball itself has, either. Adam loves baseball so much that he calls our front yard "The Field" and asks me to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" a million times a day. He has given up playing on the playground when we go to the park--he prefers to run the bases on the baseball fields and throw fastballs off the pitcher's mound. He's got the best arm and aim of any kid I've ever seen, seriously (and he throws at the same speed no matter how near or far you are :)...). He's really good at hitting the ball, too. He'll even toss a ball in the air himself and hit it 80% of the time. It's so fun to watch. But the funniest thing about his obsession with baseball is what he what he comes up with to hit a ball with. He'll turn almost anything into a bat, from a 6-inch uncooked spaghetti noodle to my rolling pin. He's used a balloon, a fork, a tennis racket, a drumstick, his baseball glove, even a book. My favorite so far is one he came up with yesterday morning: a straw wrapper. He brought this wrapper upstairs while I was nursing Hannah and handed me a ball, saying, "Mommy, doe da baw [throw the ball]." I tossed the ball to him and he swung, and it would've been a great hit if the wrapper hadn't gotten flattened. He obviously had no idea how flimsy this bat was because he started looking around and said, "Where da bat go?" When he saw it flopped over the back of his hand, he crumpled it up in annoyance, threw it aside, and grabbed a belt that was lying on the ground, ready for another pitch. Little League is in for a big surprise next year...