take me out to the ball game
what a night! daddy took olivia to her first cubs game on monday night. we only stayed 2 innings, but, boy, did we have fun.
the night started out with a ride on the el (quickly rising up the charts as one of olivia's favorite activities). when we got off at the addison stop, olivia seemed to get more and more excited as the crowd grew. "going to the cubs game wif daddy!!!" she said with enthusiasm as we reached the street. i knew then that things were going to go well.
after we got our ticket, program, and found our seat. olivia was wide-eyed. of course, one should be wide-eyed if their tickets are in the second row behind the cubs dugout for their first baseball game (handy tip: if you want a good seat at wrigley, buy 1 ticket. their are single seats available all the way up until game time). she was definitely soaking in the sights.
i tried to explain to her what was going on... pointing to the pitcher and telling her that he was going to throw the ball and the batter was going to try to hit the ball... telling her when to yell out "good eye"... explaining what a foul ball is and the importance of hustling down to first base to try to prevent the double play. i wasn't sure how much she understood, but i was sure how much fun i had explaining.
in the middle of the first inning, olivia said, "go see mommy and eve". that was the reality check. as much fun and as interesting as the experience was, i knew that the endeavor ultimately rested on her mood (i.e. no meltdown). i asked her to hang on for a little while longer. this exchange repeated a few more times, each instance ending in her pleasant aquiescence. but, i knew i could only push it so far.
so, at the end of the second inning with the score tied at 0-0, we made our exit. we stopped to get a soft pretzel because i couldn't leave a baseball game without getting my baby some ballpark food. okay, i should have gotten her a hot dog, but would you want to fight that battle with heather? me neither. (i love you, honey) being her first soft pretzel, livvy was a little wary, but she soon decided that inhaling them was the desirable method of consumption.
before we reached the left field gate, something fantastic happened. a random cubs employee walked up to us and handed a baseball... one used in the game. how cool is that!?! first game, get a ball. you couldn't ask for anything more.
then to end the night, we rode the bus home. olivia's second favorite mode of transportation. i think it's mostly because of the crazy people. on sunday, some random guy started making all kinds of wacky bird sounds to entertain her. this night, some guy on the bus was arguing and/or discussing life issues with his t-shirt. i'm not kidding either. the guy was actually talking to his shirt. i didn't get many details, but i'm pretty sure he's a fan of pro wrestling. man, i love this city!
when we arrived home, olivia rushed in to tell mommy all about her adventure. she told mommy everything including the fact that "ronny cedano threw the ball and hit the ball". yeah, she picked that up along the way. later, when daddy was putting her to bed she remembered that "john hit the ball too". referring of course to journeyman john mabry. we have since gone over the lineup, and my 22 month old child can tell you that aramis ramirez plays third base, ronny cedano plays second base, and john mabry plays first base (we're working on pronouncing cesar izturis). the kid's amazing.
anyway, thanks livvy. you made your daddy very happy. now if the cubs can find a manger or general manager as smart as you, but that's another topic entirely.
Labels: cubs
daddy daughter adventure #2
another sunday, another adventure. olivia and daddy took another trip on the el. this time, we went down to millennium park. olivia got to see the "bean", the crown fountain, and the snake bridge. we also took a walk down to grant park so liv could see buckingham fountain. she seemed to have a good time. see the pictures
here.
stay tuned because daddy's taking her to her first cubs game tomorrow night.
naps
sshhhhh... don't wake a sleeping daddy!
we try to take advantage of eve's naps whenever we can... here are some more pics.
daddy daughter adventure #1
well, sunday was another fun daddy-daughter day. i took olivia down to navy pier. we did it native style, taking the red line down from our place and then hoofing it from the stop at grand.
the tall ships are in town, so the little stage inside navy pier had some weird pirate show going on. i'm going to come right out and admit that i'm not a great judge of the arts, but i'll make the bold prediction that it's not ending up on broadway anytime soon. my daughter, on the other hand, disagreed. it apparently moved her... literally. she was dancing along in my arms. mercifully, she allowed me to skip the encore .
we moved along to a store filled with thomas the train engine where olivia got to play with the merchandise. she also did a fantastic job of sharing with the other kids that were also hovering around the table.
after that i got sucked into the make-a-bear store. they are very evil people. the position of the store makes it nearly impossible to avoid. i had to make the false promise of re-visting the store on the way out. sorry, olivia... it was for your own good.
next came the highlight of the trip. the merry-go-round. olivia picked out a horsey that went up and down, and we had a blast. so much so that i didn't even mind the $5 charge for 30 seconds of merry-go-rounding. god bless the american way!
olivia also had her eyes on the giant swings, but i had to explain to her that she was too little. i dread the day when she actually understands what that means. we also skipped the ferris wheel, but with the wary eye that olivia gave it, i don't think she was too upset about it.
after that, it was lunchtime. you'd be surprised how many restaurants don't serve any kind of fruit. but here's a handy tip. if the place has a bar, the probably have orange slices. that will do in a pinch. olivia sure enjoyed them. she also enjoyed the main course, chicken strips and french fries. complete with ketchup, of course. i must interject here to metion that watching my daughter eat french fries with ketchup is one of the cutest things in this whole world. dainty and kid-like all at the same time. love it!
although it probably doesn't seem like much, we were ready to go. walking for 5+ miles while carrying 2 bags and a stroller or 30 pound kid at varying times will tend to tire a 34 year old 200+ pound, out-of-shape, gimpy dad 9 times out of 10. fortunately, the trip home was worth every last bit of fatigue.
whether on bus (her first bus ride!) or train, olivia charmed and entertained every last person she rode with. one point as we pulled away from the addison stop (where wrigley field is for you out-of-towners), she started singing "take me out to the ballgame" at the top of her lungs. she got a little shy when she realized that everybody was staring at her, but it was priceless.
as i suspected, the show on the train was due mostly to her slap-happiness, and she conked out on the walk home about 5 minutes from our house. she made a good transition from the stroller to the crib, and both daughter and daddy took a nice nap... with smiles from a good morning.
a fun monday
just some shots from
a fun monday. angela and anya were over to play with the girls. daddy took advantage of the opportunity and got out his camera.
before we reached the left field gate, something fantastic happened. a random cubs employee walked up to us and handed a baseball... one used in the game. how cool is that!?! first game, get a ball. you couldn't ask for anything more.
