Not Walking Softly, but Carrying a Big Stick

Last night, I went to our neighbor boy Matthew's first baseball game of the season. James, Andrea and Michael also joined myself and the neighbors to cheer Matthew on. Michael was definitely into the spirit, and got excited when everyone started clapping at a base hit. He was, however, momentarily distracted when Matthew was at bat by an open jar of peanuts that the neighbors had brought for snacking. Then, in a presumed attempt to prevent boredom, he decided to run around to burn off his two-year-old energy, and in the process found some sticks. He tried to give one to me, but then wouldn't let go. This, of course, was a significant disadvantage for him when I didn't let go either, which, understandably, led to a tug-of-war. You could tell he was not expecting what happened next, because when the twig predictably snapped, he went flying backward and landed squarely on his bottom. Unfortunately, he found that to be quite amusing, and demanded "Again, Again!!" He was promptly told no, that was enough. He then started running around the chairs and blankets of people sitting on the grass, and this time found even bigger twigs, and made a beeline for the baseball diamond - sticks in hand - trying to evade detection as if he was leading a charge. (Who needs an army when you have a determined two-year-old??) Fortunately, he was captured by Mommy mere feet from potential destruction and physical harm. You could tell he didn't understand why all the other little boys could run around the diamond, and he wasn't allowed to, especially when it is someone he usually runs and plays around with. Michael was also very distraught when at the end of the game all the little boys (including Matthew) got juice boxes and cookies, and he didn't get any.