Jul 06 2011
Rangers vs. Orioles
Did you know that my boys play baseball? (Hint: if you didn’t, you’ve been living under a rock. Seriously.) Caleb’s baseball team got a special treat last night – tickets to see the Rangers play the Orioles at the Ballpark in Arlington – and families were invited to tag along. So we did.
I’ll admit, I was worried about the heat and the late night and being at a HUGE stadium with Sam. I wasn’t worried about Jacob’s or Caleb’s behavior because they’ve both been to the stadium: they know not to run off and they’re not prone to temper tantrums. Sam? Not so much. Granted, I wasn’t letting him just walk around on his own, but still. Also, in case you forgot, Sam’s attention span is pretty short, so I envisioned a night spent baby chasing and entertaining, not getting to watch baseball.
Sitting like a big boy, eating chicken!
Well, that’ll teach me, won’t it? We had a blast. We got to eat ballpark food before the game (well, just before and just as the game started). We ran into Aunt Susan, who was watching the game from the Willie Mays suite. Sam and I shared a chicken finger basket, which really means I got one hurried bite for every five of his. Man, can that kid eat! When the big boys finished eating, Bryan took them to our seats with the rest of the group. Sam finished up a few minutes later and we headed the same direction. Our seats were still partially in the sun, so Sam and I hung out on the concourse for a little bit. Sam thought the picnic tables were really cool, and ran from one bench to the next saying, “seat! seat!” (Though, admittedly, he could have been saying, “eat! eat!” or “feet! feet!” They all sound alike right now.)
Right after Sam and I took our seats.
When Sam heard the roar of the crowd on an exciting play, he pointed toward the field and said, “Ball!” (Yes, it sounds like “bah!” right now, but if you’ve been around Sam for more than 5 minutes, you know that means “ball.”) I asked if he was ready to go watch some baseball, and he danced and giggled and pointed at the field again and said, “ball, ball, ball!” So, we went to our seats. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in the upper tiers of any major sporting venue, but the stairs can be a leetle steep. I had a white-knuckled grip on the handrail as I carried Sam down to our seats (and we weren’t even in the nosebleed section!). He pretty much instantly charmed everyone around us. He sat with Daddy; he sat with Bubba; he sat with Mommy. He played peek-a-boo with the people behind us and showed them what an elephant sounds like. He danced to the players’ walk-up music and signed “more” when the music stopped. He clapped when the crowds clapped. He was, for the most part, a perfect angel (hey, he is 14 months old, so the night wouldn’t have been complete without at least one tantrum). He stayed awake the. entire. game. (and part of the way home)
Sam's drink of choice for the night
Junk food tally for the night: not as bad as I expected! Three chicken fingers and fries baskets (for J, C, S, and me), one hot dog (B), two cotton candy bags (though I think neither bag was fully eaten – J and C), one pretzel (me, with lots of help from Sam), peanuts (one bag split between lots of folks), at least 5 sodas, three bottles of water, at least 2 beers, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Maybe the biggest excitement of the night, as far as the boys are concerned, is that the cameras came to our section. That’s right, the Texas Legacy 7U baseball team got to be on the jumbo tron. They thought it was the COOLEST. THING. EVER. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to snap a picture of them up on the big screen, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. It. was. the. COOLEST. THING. EVER.
And, just for your viewing pleasure, some more pics from the night follow, including some taken by our latest resident photographer, Caleb!
J goofing off
Really, they had a good time! I promise!
Yay! One of all 5 of us!