A Baseball Weekend

When you first find out you're having a baby - or even when you first talk about starting a family - there are certain experiences every parent yearns to share with their child. For Nate - it's sporting events. We told some of our closest friends and family that we were pregnant with Ryan at a Phillies game and when Ryan was just 4 months old, he made it to his first Eagle's match-up. Since then, he's been to minor league baseball games and even made it into Beaver Stadium.

Lindsey hasn't been as seasoned, but that all changed this weekend when she got a double dose of baseball. Friday night we went to see the Blue Rocks - a minor league baseball team in our area. It was her second game, Ryan's third. We allowed them to indulge in the full baseball experience - including ice cream from a baseball hat and electric blue cotton candy - and they managed to stick it out long enough to enjoy a fireworks show after the game (I'm sure the copious amounts of sugar aided in that effort).

Notice which child was loving the fireworks and which one would have been just as happy beating the post-game crowd?

Saturday, after we recovered from our late night, we headed up to PA for the Phillies game with the Williams crew. This was a first for Ryan and Lindsey. Neither had been to a professional baseball game before. I'll admit, we were a little nervous going into the evening. Though Friday night was a great test-run for how'd they do staying up late, Frawley stadium is a much different atmosphere from Citizen's Bank Park. We were in the "close to Jesus" seats and we weren't sure how well they'd do for game 2.

But of course, they were champs. Nate had to do a few laps around the park with Lindsey, but other than that - they were so enthralled with the experience, they actually stayed put. Food helped too. Between crab fries, popcorn, soft pretzels, more ice cream and a few other goodies there was plenty to keep them occupied and distracted when they started getting rambunctious.

A little pre-game tailgating

That's my beer - not his. Just sayin'.