That either meant that he was looking particularly adorable and sweet — which he is — or that he busted out one of the many faces that he is known for. If you’ve met him, you’ve seen one. He’s full of them. Lots of them. He’s got a face for every possible emotion. And usually he has multiple faces per emotion. He’s a very heart-on-his-sleeve kinda kid. Or, you know, his face as the case might be!

So, I took a look at BigBrother’s picture… and laughed out loud.

I wish I could approach all of the issues in my life with such blatant confidence. He’s all, “T-ball? Imma smash you into next week. You can’t handle this!”

LittleBrother, on the other hand, is considerably less… uh… high-strung than his brother. He approaches t-ball with a very relaxed attitude. If he wants to be on the field, he kind of saunters out there, slowly yet surely. When he’s done because it’s hotter than Hades, he slowly meanders off the field. When he hits the ball, he slowly runs but mostly walks to first base. He is his own person and we love him just the same.

So different, but so awesome.

Since it’s t-ball and absolutely everyone who swings a bat gets to run the bases and cross home plate, the “going well” is less about winning and more about awesome brother moments. LittleBrother continues to warm up to the idea of playing on a team, listening to a coach and paying attention to the task at hand. BigBrother is all about sports, all the time, so he’s stoked in general.

But the moment above is just one of the many moments that warm my heart. BigBrother was helping LittleBrother crouch down for his turn to field the ball. And I caught LittleBrother looking up at him like he was awesome. Later, as LittleBrother’s attention span started to float away with dandelion puffs at the end of an inning, BigBrother picked up his glove and helped him off the field. I was about to prompt him to do it, mouth hanging open as I sat in my chair about to yell to them on the field; he did it without being asked.

Heart-warming moments aside, there are also total moments of hilarious win like this attempt at a high five after LittleBrother batted in his first t-ball game ever.

[The last photo is best viewed larger. Go ahead. I'll wait.]

Oh man. Have you ever seen such a complete fail be such a complete win? For me, at least. I laughed out loud. When I was clicking through pictures to select ones to share in this post, the stop-motion-action of those three photos is hilarious. Okay, enough making fun of my kids.

But, really, t-ball has been great so far this season. I was hoping the game would be canceled this evening as I’m not feeling well and FireDad is working, but the forecast changed and it looks like we have a storm-free evening. I’ll just pull myself up by the bootstraps and hope for another gem of a moment like the one above.

Which moment above? You decide.

I was the older sister… the much older sister. By the time my younger brother was doing stuff, I was sooooo over it. I had been there, done that. He followed me everywhere and I thought he was annoying. In fact, he’s still kinda annoying, but that’s another story.

I’ve watched you watch your brother for three years now. At first, you thought the sun rose and set on his head. You would stare and smile and coo and nom on his face. You rolled early to get to him. You talked early to talk with him. You walked and ran early to keep up with him. And you haven’t stopped trying ever since.

You’ve sat on the sidelines for two years of t-ball games, watching your brother hit the ball, run the bases, throw the ball and laugh with his teammates. You’ve run out onto the field, desperately wanting to play. You’ve stood on the sidelines with your glove on your hand. And on your head. I’ve watched you be patient about it. I’ve watched you be impatient about it, throwing spectacular tantrums to voice your displeasure at riding the bench of brotherhood.

That changed today.

Your first t-ball practice was uneventful, really. You guys didn’t even get to bat. Your coach recognized the young team and thought it would benefit everyone if we spent an hour working on throwing the ball. We’ve been working on that with you, of course, learning that — once again — you are like your Daddy: You throw right-handed and you bat left-handed. That’s pretty cool.

You kept up today, with minor encouragement from me. You stood next to your brother on the line and threw to your coach. You came to me a few times, but you always went back. Even when the ball freaked you out a little bit.

And then you got to run the bases. For the first time ever. We practiced the song. You knew where to go. And you went.

The joy on your face was something I want to remember forever. I wish I could approach new things in life with the same joy that you were exuding as you ran from first to second base. It was a pure joy. You didn’t care what other people thought of your open-mouthed grin as you ran your little legs. You didn’t care. And man, that was fantastic.

I wish that for you always. Whether you’re doing something just to keep up with your brother or doing something new just because you want to do it. I hope you run at it with your mouth hanging open and your laughter floating on the spring breeze. I hope you embrace it fully, even when you’re scared it’s going to hit you in the face. I hope you know that you have our support as much as your older brother does and that we’ll love you even when you throw yourself on the ground at the end of that something new because you simply don’t want to leave, for it to be over.

I wish this for you always. I wish this joy for your life.

Indoor soccer is over.

On the one foot, I’m glad. Our Sundays are our own again. I can stop being frustrated with the crazy awful lighting in that particular gymnasium (perhaps the worst I’ve ever shot). Kids can stop hacking and coughing on my kids one less day per week.

On the other foot, they had a good time.

LittleBrother learned a lot… not exactly about soccer, but about being a part of something, listening to a coach and not always getting to be the star (or, ever kicking the ball…). BigBrother learned to work better with teammates and really looked out for his brother. And they had a lot of fun.

Plus, LittleBrother finally got to do something BigBrother did. And he got his very own trophy… which he kinda loves, if you couldn’t tell.

We only have a couple weeks off before t-ball starts. At least it will be outdoors!

Before I start in with the cute kids, this is me on the field of the Steelers vs. Jets playoff game in January 2005. Pre-boys (barely) me was awfully excited to be on the field for the news station I worked for at the time. We won, but lost in the next round to the Patriots.

The very first picture I have of BigBrother in Steelers gear is this one, one week and four days after he was born. It was taken during a game on November 28, 2005 — which, thanks to Google, was against the Colts. We lost. Badly. 26-7. But BigBrother didn’t mind. He spent most of the game like this:

The rest of the 2005-2006 season was kind of dreamy, wasn’t it? Considering we won the Super Bowl and all. A collage of various BigBrother pics works best. The top two photos and the left and right side are from the Super Bowl — which was a good, good day for us.

By the time football season rolled back around in 2006, we were living in our house, BigBrother was mobile and life was feeling pretty good. The season was, uh, not as great, but BigBrother enjoyed another football season all by himself.

The 2007-2008 season was a bit better…ish… and at least we made it to the playoffs. BigBrother started off the season alone. And I was on bedrest. And then along came LittleBrother! There are not many pictures from this football season with the whole Level III bedrest followed by the newborn phase.

Along came the 2008-2009 season and, man, did we have a great year with those boys of ours. And the football team. You know, what with winning the Super Bowl again.

In fact, that year brought my most popular photo on flickr ever, which gets shared on its own here.

That was Grandpa’s last Steelers Super Bowl with us, and I know he’ll be waving his Terrible Towel from Heaven with us on Sunday.

Picture by BigBrother with his camera.

Along came the 2009-2010 season. It should be noted that while I have been to Steelers games before, FireDad had not. So I ponied up some money and took him. He was pleased.

And while the season wasn’t all that great, the boys continued to grow and learn and change and have fun.

Which brings us to this season. I wasn’t great with picture taking this season, partially due to that thing we won’t talk about. There are… some.

But they were all taken on the same day when I recognized the issue and realized that we had just about zilch photo wise in our Steelers gear for the 2010-2011 Steelers season. So on the day of the AFC Championship, I shot a family picture. It’s a keeper. Heck, it’s a framer.

I’d love to hold off on doing another one of these retrospectives for another five years. I wonder how many Super Bowl rings we’ll have on our fingers by then? (And imagine how the boys will look! OMG!)

Happy Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl Weekend, my friends. Be safe — select a Designated Driver or offer to be one. Wave those Terrible Towels with pride. Take lots of pictures. Eat lots of food. AND CHEER FOR THE BLACK AND GOLD! HERE WE GO, STEELERS! HERE WE GO! (Yes, I’m pumped now.)

Instead, I thought I’d share what we’re taking to the game food wise, kid wise and other great Steelers links as you prepare for your Steelers Super Bowl.

Food for the Super Bowl

• First off, we’re hosting a Soup Swap, an idea we got from BlogHer last month. I am still working on my soup idea. We have no where to be on Saturday, so I’m cooking soup then. I keep looking at the what freezes well and what doesn’t list and I keep coming up empty. Help? (Edit: Going with my Texas Soup recipe from my Super Bowl 2009 post. Great recipe for large groups if you’re still looking for something to serve at your party.)
• I’m taking my favorite thing ever, Buffalo Chicken Dip. Dee made it for me last summer when I visited, and I’ve been kind of making it for every other event since that time. My mouth waters when I think about it. I’m also taking along a veggie tray, some guacamole and some chips.
• I over-purchased white chocolate and almond bark at Christmas time, so I thought I’d use up some of that and make something sweet as well. I think I’m going with these brownie truffle bites at Sweet Pea Patisserie, which would be awesome if I could find black and gold to top them with, no?
• FireDad and I haven’t decided who gets to drink yet. As we don’t ever drink and drive, it’s only ever one of us. If it’s me, I’m taking my favorite wine — Moscato, which will taste lovely with the truffle bites. If I’m being our Designated Driver, I may splurge and allow myself some pop. But something like Ginger Ale. I can’t handle colas anymore; they hurt my teeth!

Fun for the Kiddos

The kids are going to get bored. Though with 14 of them (no, really), they should be able to keep each other busy. I’m printing out some Steelers coloring pages to take with us.

• Hines Ward by Skybacher is free.
• Heath Miller, Polamalu and Kiesel(‘s beard) all cost $1.00 each but you can print however many you want.
• This AFC Crossword will be good for older kids. Ditto the football teams word search. (NFC? Pfft.)
• Lots of team logos at ColorMeGood.

Lastly, I’m going to get my craft on with the boys on Saturday, while I’m making soup, and we’re going to make ourselves a Vince Lombardi Trophy. Oh yeah. And then we’re taking it to the Super Bowl party. And if we’re all still awake at the end of the game, we’ll hoist it over our heads and declare VICTORY! (I hope.)

In the mean time, I’ll be sitting here, tweeting things about #steelernation and watching the Twerrible Towel wave. No, really, it’s fascinating. I giggled when my name came up.

WOO!

Anyway, come back tomorrow for a complete retrospective of pictures over the past five years in Steelers gear. Exciting stuff, let me tell you!

It was warm, so people were dressed… interestingly.

And while the Penn State band was good…

The Ohio State Band? Amazing. Script Ohio? Wow.

Then the game began. And I was on national television! I don’t have a photo of it, but FireDad saw me as I was standing right on the sidelines of this page which they showed from the camera on the Penn State side. My photos aren’t all that great because they were all up in my camera grill.

But this tumble somersault they did together is fun.

In related me-on-the-field news, The Dispatch did a great panorama of the game. If you look on the Buckeyes’ side of the field, toward the student section end near the 10 yardline, I’m standing next to a dude who is kneeling. Wearing a red shirt, grey short sleeved cardigan and my backpack. Camera in hand. Obviously.

The first half of the game was awesome as a Penn State fan.

With some of this.

And some of this.

But then I went upstairs to the pressbox to email the photos to the paper. (And took this.)

And Penn State’s wheels fell off. 35 unanswered points in the second half of play. Sigh. I was back on the field for the fourth quarter. And despite some valiant attempts (with Penn State band bokeh in the background)…

The Buckeyes were the ones cheering at the end of the game.

38-14 in favor of Ohio State. Sad FireMom.

However, and I have to admit it in writing so my Ohio State friends have proof: The Ohio State football game experience was above and beyond what I expected. Kudos to those involved, including those pesky football players. And even those even peskier fans. I have a newfound respect for those Buckeyes.

But not as much as I have for this man:

There are over 250 other photos of the game on flickr if you’re listed as my friend. Let me know if you’d like special access to that album if you are not.

I did not rock the blue and white as I didn’t want to have to explain myself every third minute as to what I was doing on the field at Ohio State taking photographs for an Ohio newspaper while being a Penn State fan. I was going for inconspicuous.

Speaking of inconspicuous, do you know how hard it was for me — ME — to keep my mouth shut during that first half of play? Me! The one who yells at the TV when watching games at home! The one who doesn’t have an inside voice! ME! I did a good job. I smiled. I thought things to yell. But I kept my mouth shut.

It was much easier to keep my mouth shut in the second half. Obviously. Despite the fact that “my” team lost, I have to admit: The Ohio State football experience is really unmatched. I’ve been on the field for a Steelers playoff game as well. That was awesome and unique in its own way. This? Today?

Amazing. Inspiring. Freaking awesome. Best day of work. Ever.

I’ll upload my real photos — you know, with the fancy pants camera — tomorrow. For now, I’m finishing a much deserved glass of wine and sending myself to bed. I earned a good night of sleep. Penn State and Ohio State fans alike may want to stop by tomorrow. Photos for both sets.

Until then, WE ARE!