Elias has loved baseball for awhile now. Probably because Nathan loves it too. Elias actually calls it “bat and ball.” So far he’s been to one MLB game, and lots of softball games in which Nathan plays on Sunday evenings. Every time Elias sees a stick he says “bat” and every time he sees something round he calls it a “ball.” It’s fun to see Nathan and Elias share something that they really love.
A few months ago, I found a plastic bat and ball set at Target in the dollar section. We brought it over to Baba and Grandma Bartle’s to play. Baba got out his old tee, but it was difficult for Elias to use. So, being the mildly spoiling grandparents that they are (hey…that’s what grandparents are for, right?)…they bought Elias a tee fit for 18 month-3 year olds. Elias loves that tee, and it came with its own slightly sturdier bat. At first, Elias kept holding the wrong end of the bat. He sort of poked at the ball rather than swinging at it. But now after some work with Daddy, and a lot of work with Baba (while I’ve been working at summer school) Elias has a pretty good swing down.
Here is Elias…the future ball player…a video for your enjoyment.
The kid’s a natural! I helped coach a t-ball team when I was young. Those kids were 5 and six and most of them hit the tee more often than the ball. Even with a big bat and a big ball Elias is very coordinated.