July 29

It was a big day today: Eli's first Cardinals game! 

Now that we have four children, attending games is a bit more of an ordeal. We still only need to buy tickets for the big two, but we are less willing to park for free and walk long distances, and we are pickier about where we sit. (Note: bleacher seats are where it's at!) Chris and I decided that this year we would only buy tickets for one game: Star Wars night. Last year, Star Wars night was magically scheduled for Caleb's birthday. This year, we had to wait a few more weeks.

The kids were already exhausted from a few late nights in a row, and Caleb and Daisy didn't take naps today, so we weren't expecting much success. Amazingly, we lasted until the 8th inning! However, Caleb was surprisingly grumpy.

He agreed to pose for pictures two different times:

Once with Princess Leia and random friends (do you see the top of Lily's head behind Chris' shoulder?),

and once with Not-R2-D2. (Some googling leads me to guess that it is R4-P17, from the battle of Coruscant?)

Anyway, after that, Caleb refused to do any more pictures with Star Wars characters. No storm troopers, no Padme, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Qui Gon, no Jawas, no Darth Maul. And definitely no Darth Sidious. (To be fair, he was terrifying.)

Later, I asked him about it, and Caleb said he was nervous. He wished he had been braver, but he was anxious around all of these people. I suppose I get it - there's a lot of pressure to be "on" for the camera, and no time to slowly approach each group and interact with them. It's a lot for my introspective, slow-to-warm little boy who needed a nap and didn't get one. Maybe next year. So for now, we talked about bravery and regret and moved on.

Another thing my grumpy boy passed on was the kiddie batting cage. Daisy was all about it, though. Can you see the grin on her face? She was so proud of herself!

Eventually we headed to our awesome bleacher seats.

The whole crew! I can't believe we all fit in the frame!

My version of the same shot; this time Chris has Eli, Eli is wearing his darling little hat, and the kids are being totally uncooperative. See Caleb's expression? That pretty much sums up most of his evening. But Chris and I had a blast!

Eli's first Cards game! I wish I had gotten a better picture of him, because he looked way cuter than this picture indicates.

Daisy had a lot of fun, too!

Tired, overwhelmed, regretful... grouchy. But so handsome!

 And then there was this girl. Lily soaked it all in, and loved the game! Every time the organist played a song that required clapping, she set down her hot dog and clapped along. She grinned, laughed, and had a great time.

Do you remember her first Cardinals game, last year?

And soon, Eli fell fast asleep. 

Gotta love babywearing! We rocked this game thanks to my DIY linen wrap in a short cross carry with ring finish, and the Ergo on Chris' back.

Right after the 7th inning stretch, the fussing began. Thankfully, we have learned to pony up for super-close parking, so we ushered the kids to the van, threw their jammies on them, and were home in twenty minutes. The kids got to bed around 10:00, and before Chris put Lily down, I gave her a kiss and asked her what her favorite part of the game was. She thought for a moment, then said, "Funny bird!"

I clarified, "Did you think Fredbird was funny?"

She immediately laughed and said, "Yes! Funny bird!"

I ran down to the basement to grab the stuffed Fredbird doll we gave Caleb for his second birthday, and Lily went to sleep with Fredbird in her arms. So begins another child's infatuation with Fredbird.