Santa Ana Zoo

I love taking Kyle on "field trips" when we have a free day. Sometimes we invite friends along, but other times it's fun to do things just the two of us. Last week, we checked out the Santa Ana Zoo. I had heard that it was a smaller zoo, so we knew going into it that there wouldn't be a huge variety of animals, but it turned out to be the perfect size for a 2 year old.

One of my favorite things about my schedule is that my "free day" is usually a Tuesday or Thursday, so when we go on these types of field trips we usually don't have to fight the crowds. This particular day was a Thursday, and aside from the bus of middle schoolers enjoying their actual field trip, there weren't too many people around. We saw tons of monkeys swinging around, which made Kyle laugh, an anteater, camels and an ostrich. But the highlight of Kyle's day was probably discovering that there is a CHOO CHOO at the ZOO! He was in heaven.

We took a lunch break and then I let Kyle play around on the playground for a while (by the way, he asks that I stay down now so that he can play by himself - what the heck!) and climb in the jeep, which was probably his second favorite part since he loves playing in daddy's real Jeep at home.

When Brian comes home from work in the evening, Kyle and I love to tell him about our day. When I asked him to tell daddy what we did that day, I expected him to say "ride choo choo," but the first thing he said was "see monkeys!" So cute.

Overall, we had a great day and I'm sure we'll be back again. Parking is easy and free and the zoo is right off the 5 freeway. Kids under 3 are free and adults are only $10, so it's a pretty affordable and fun outing for mommies with young kids. 

Welcome 2015

Happy New Year! I think 2015 is going to be amazing, and I can't wait to get started. We'll be celebrating Kyle's 2nd birthday next month and it's just about time to start planning his party. I haven't decided on exactly what the theme will be, but I'm looking forward to having all of his little friends over for some fun. 

Even though I'm not great at keeping resolutions, I think the new year is a great excuse to take a look at your life and make some improvements! Here's what I'm thinking about & working on for 2015:

• Stop procrastinating! I do a lot of work from home, and there's nothing worse than when I have to stay up until 3 a.m. after a long day to meet a deadline, and then wake up early with Kyle. My new routine will be to do a little work every night, even if the deadline is days away. I know it will be worth it because there's nothing worse than a zombie mommy. And I really need to be on my A game this year because I will have even more on my plate when I start teaching a class at the end of January!
• Start a mommy journal. I wish I would have done this sooner, but better late than never, right? I want to buy a beautiful journal and take a little time now and then to handwrite some thoughts and memories about raising Kyle. Maybe I'll give it to him when he grows up, or maybe I'll just keep it to myself. But there are so many tiny moments happening every day that burst my heart open and I need a place to keep them.
• Read more. I am ashamed to admit that I did not read any books in 2014. Not one single book! This is not acceptable. I love to read and need to make more time for it. This can be really hard when I'm trying to cram what seems to be too many tasks into the small windows of free time I have. When Kyle is asleep during the day I typically clean, do laundry, do work or sometimes just sit still for a minute. Then when Kyle goes to sleep at night I try and spend time with Brian, finish cleaning and finish my work. Sounds like a lot of cleaning but are the dishes ever done? NO! However, I do have some down time and if I make it a priority I know I can do it! Any book recommendations?
• Don't overreact. I think I'm usually pretty good at keeping my cool, but there are times when I have no excuse and I overreact like a crazy person. For example: just seconds after the picture above was taken by Brian, Kyle turned around and threw that hat into the duck pond. I actually cursed at Kyle and could not get over it for at least an hour. Over a stupid hat! I had my reasons, but none of them were valid. I need to learn to let those kinds of things go - every time. It's just not worth it.

Those are my big ones. I also need to lose a few pounds, exercise more, wash my hair more, make more of an effort to include family in my everyday life... the list goes on and on. But for now I'll focus on these few things and try to remember to enjoy the little things every day.

Is it Friday yet?

My week as a "single mom" did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped. I tackled sleepless nights, meltdowns and even a trip to the ER alone (croup strikes again). I feel pretty good about the way I handled things, but I am soooo looking forward to having daddy home tomorrow! Especially excited to enjoy a glass of wine while he handles bath time for the next few days :)

the bad day

I wasn't dreading the hub's 5-day business trip too much. Yes, I would miss him and yes, being a "single mom" for 5 days isn't the easiest. However, I took some time off work and I just needed to get through Monday to have 4 full days in a row at home with my boy.

Day 1 just happened to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad f*ck*** day.

It all started with a very early 5 a.m. wake-up (for the 2nd day in a row). Brian had to leave the house at 6 and still hadn't packed. He didn't mean to wake me up, but he did. And I didn't mean to fall back asleep just 10 minutes before Kyle got up for the day (at 6:30). But it happened.

Then, I realized we were out of coffee. We could just stop there, but I'll go on.

I had to work at 10-5 and I'm not sure how this happened, but I forgot to make myself a coffee when I got there. By noon, I had a throbbing caffeine withdrawal headache that I knew nothing would fix. I was past the point of no return.

Work was work, and was especially fun when my last table of the day left me a $0 tip on a $120 bill. F THEM!

Kyle wouldn't let me rest at all when we got home, which I never really mind except for the fact that my headache was so bad that I was seeing spots and having trouble keeping my eyes open. In just 3 short hours, it would be bedtime.

Let me tell you, 3 hours is a long time when you are exhausted, have a migraine and just need rest, but have a 20 month old who just needs YOU. I tried so, so hard to have patience and keep my head up. But after Kyle fought me during dinner and wouldn't eat, fought me during bath and wouldn't let me put him in his jammies, fought me at bedtime... I was done.

I rocked Kyle to sleep because I desperately needed sleep for myself. I must have fallen asleep 8 times in the rocking chair and kept waking up suddenly, realizing I was holding Kyle. I'd look down, and there he was with his eyes open looking right at me. This kid fights sleep like nobody's business.

FINALLY at 9:20, he was out and I could put him down in his crib and close my eyes. Except Penny needed to pee and there were about 88 dishes in the sink with food on them. After a quick walk and a half-ass rinse of the plates, it was time to zonk out.

At 10:10 p.m. I woke up in a panic. Kyle was in my bed! He's not breathing! His face is buried in the huge pile of laundry that I was too tired to fold and pushed to Brian's side of the bed! Oh wait, that's just laundry, not a body, and I'm freaking out in my sleep. It took me about 5 minutes to have the smarts to look at the monitor and realize that Kyle was out like a light, peacefully sleeping in his crib.

At 1 a.m. I woke up again in a panic. Except this time Kyle really was in my bed, lying next to me and tapping my head. I told him it was time to sleep and he needed to go back in his bed. I laid him down, got him comfy and went back to my bed and fell asleep. 5 minutes later, there he is again. This happened about 5 times until he finally was able to go back to sleep at 3:30 a.m. Thank goodness we both slept till 9 a.m. and when I woke up, my headache and the bad day were gone.

Today is a new day and I'm going to do everything in my power to make the next 4 days home with my boy happy, loving and fun. I feel terrible when my bad days transfer to him. I know it's inevitable that there will be many more shitty days in my future, but I sure hope the next one isn't any time soon.

This morning, I let Kyle walk the entire park with his little wagon full of stuff. We just walked the park like this for a full hour, and I think it was just what we needed after our crappy night :)

Let's hope we can both sleep through the night tonight without any weird dreams or teething pains!

on spoiling

Sometimes, I just feel like spoiling my boy (and myself). I try to keep to the rules most of the time, but then other days I just feel like making him (and me) happy and taking a day off from what we're "supposed" to do.

It all started early this morning when Kyle climbed into bed with me at 5 a.m. I tried to put him back down in his crib like we planned, but when he came climbing back to me the third time I figured maybe we both just needed some snuggles. Once he settled in, we both passed out and didn't even open our eyes once until 9:45 a.m. WHAT A TREAT FOR MOM! A nice change from our daily 6:30 a.m. wake up.

Then, we went to our weekly play workshop at the library and afterwards stopped at the bakery for a muffin, some coffee (for mom) and chocolate milk (for Kyle). He only took a couple of sips, but WHAT A TREAT FOR KYLE!

He was being such a good boy that I let him watch Curious George on my iPhone while we got gas, stopped at the bank and then drove home. We definitely don't want to get in the habit of this, but today seemed special so what the heck. Sometimes you just need to have some fun.

suckers

Kyle has entered into the "run around the house screaming all day and chase me, mom!" phase, and it's just as hilarious and tiring as you could imagine. He would be happy wrestling, jumping on the couch, running around and and being tickled all day. He doesn't like to be still for very long, but sometimes when he sits by me or Brian on the couch to watch a show, he'll intertwine his fingers with ours, and we become puddles of mush.

I Wish I'd Known...

I came across this article that talked about 4 things a mom wished she'd known about parenting toddlers the first time around. Her advice to her younger self was the following:

1. It really is this hard. You're not doing anything wrong.
2. Accept your kids' personalities now.
3. Eventually, parenting works.
4. I know, I know, I KNOW how hard it is to believe this, but this season will end.

While I understand I still need to experience these realizations on my own, it's nice to read these types of posts at night as a reminder to put things in perspective. 

I had a frustrating afternoon with Kyle after he ran away from us in the park three times during our family picnic dinner. Which probably doesn't seem so out of the ordinary for a 17 month old, except for the fact that we've been working on this and the last time we went for a walk he knew he needed to stay by me, to get mom if he wanted to go somewhere, and to stop walking when I told him to "wait." I was so proud of my boy, and then the next day he just forgot all the rules and ran away from us as fast as his little legs would carry him. I knew he heard me say "wait," and that he knew what it meant, but he didn't care.

The reminders I needed tonight are: 

• #1 - he is only 1 and sometimes my expectations for him are pretty high. 
• #2 - eventually, parenting works. I need to be consistent, but understand that some days Kyle will just want to play "Come and get me, mom! Let's see how fast you can run!" I saw the mischievous smile on his face as I chased after him, which stayed there even after I finished scolding him and carried him back to our blanket. He thought he was pretty hilarious and was so proud of how fast he could run.
• #3 - that this season will end, and I know I'll desperately miss seeing those chubby baby thighs, wobbly run and gapped tooth baby grin when they're gone.

It's so hard to remind yourself of these things when you're in the moment, when you want nothing more than for your baby to listen to you and to sit down and eat his dinner. But I'm glad I'm able to take a step back, remind myself of these simple things and start over in the morning. We'll keep working together and hopefully one day (if I'm lucky), my parenting will work.

messages from home

I love getting any kind of picture text when I'm at work, but this one really got to me. Sneaking a peek at my phone and seeing this little man's cheesy smile in the park while he played ball with Grandma made me so happy. He looks so grown up with his backwards hat, Mickey shirt and sandals, I can almost picture what he'll look like when he's 7 or 8 years old and we're going to his games on the weekends! Watching Kyle grow up feels so bittersweet, but I really am excited for the years ahead.

mommy & son dates

Brian had a work dinner tonight, so it was just me and my boy for dinner. I thought it would be fun to go to a restaurant, just the 2 of us. I got the idea in my head about half-way through my bar shift, and it was just the thought I needed to get me through the day. I couldn't wait for our date!

Restaurant trips can be hit or miss with a 17 month old, and tonight was 100% HIT. He was such a good boy for me, sitting in his high chair and playing with his crayons and grubbing on his fruit, dinner roll and chicken strips. He spent most of the time taking these crayons in and out of the box while I talked to him about my day, and we chatted with a bunch of strangers who couldn't help but stop and say hi to him as they walked by. For dessert we shared an apple pie a la mode, so both of us left happy campers.

The #1 thing I'm working on with Kyle while eating out, and actually in any social setting, is throwing things. This kid has an arm on him and he loves to throw. He's starting to understand that he's only allowed to throw balls, but it's still a struggle when he gets bored, feels defiant or realizes after 1 attempt how fun it is to throw forks/crayons/books/instruments/food/anything and everything. Tonight he only threw his crayons once, so I considered our trip a success.

I want to try and always do fun things with my boy when it's just us 2. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the routine, but it's fun to switch it up for no reason at all other than the fact that it's fun to spend time together!

throw your butt in the air

This is how Kyle falls asleep most days for his nap. I rock him like this for a few minutes, and then lay him down in his crib and he rolls over and puts his butt in the air. I cover him with a blanket and he'll sleep in that position for about 2 hours if I'm lucky.

He look so huge in this picture, like he's trying to fit his toddler body on my chest like he did when he was a baby. It's fun to think that he laid just like that when he was inside my tummy.

I know I will miss these snuggles when he gets even bigger and no longer fits on me, so I took a picture today to remember how much I love these moments. He's so active all day, so when I get some mellow snuggle time like this I am one happy mama.

favorite summer, con't.

I'm trying not to make Kyle say "chssss" to the camera too often, because I know eventually he'll get burned out and stop doing it. But at least once a day I ask him to do it and he happily obliges. Today I saved it for our afternoon bike ride. He cheesed for me a few times and my heart broke into a million pieces. I rode him around the neighborhood and tried to engrain the moment into my memory so the feeling I get seeing his little helmet head in front of me and his tiny hands grasping the bike handles will last a lifetime.

end of an era

Kyle is no longer nursing and I'm sad.

It's been 8 days since we stopped. Since he was around 13 months old we were nursing first thing in the morning and at night, with whole milk bottles during the day. But then we would start skipping sessions now and then, and last week we skipped even more. So I decided it was a great opportunity to wean him, since he didn't seem to mind. After I made that decision, he only asked for it one time --  and wasn't even upset when I said no.

I should consider myself lucky since we were able to nurse for nearly 16 months, and that when it was time to stop it happened naturally. But I can't help but to feel a pang of sadness when I think about the sweet times I spent nursing my little baby boy. Some of my favorite memories of him as a newborn are the days where it was just me and Kyle, home all day long. He would nurse for 45 mins or sometimes a full hour, and then sleep in my arms or on my chest for hours at a time. (Ahh, the luxuries of maternity leave with your first born!) I think I was holding on to nursing him because it was the last shred of little baby left in my big boy, who is growing so fast before my eyes.

It's a funny thing when you stop nursing, because it's not a big deal to anyone but you and it's not really something you talk about very much. It just happens, and you might mention it to people close to you, and then you move on with your life. But to me, it's turned out to be a very emotional thing and in a way I feel like I'm mourning a loss -- even though I'm so happy that my boy is growing up so healthy and strong. 

Kyle and I struggled at the beginning with latch (he used a nipple shield for 6 months!), and had a couple of rough spots: first with supply when I went back to work and missed some pumping sessions, and then when I had an extremely painful milk blister for almost 2 months... but overall, I loved our experience so much (minus washing all that pumping equipment 100 times a day, and pumping frantically in a yucky restaurant bathroom). It was our bonding time together and sadly it's over. But I know it was the right time and I am so proud of us and our experience.

mommy & Kyle - 2 months old

park days (every day)

Most days, I feel extremely lucky that we have a huge park right in our back yard. Our actual back yard doesn't have grass, so we just walk right behind our house and - voila! Lately we've been practicing our "races" when dad gets home from work. I say "on your mark... get set... GO!" and then we all run as fast slow as we can, wait for Kyle to catch up and start all over again. It's my favorite.

The downside to all of this is that Kyle knows there's a huge park right in his back yard, and must go out there all the time - even when mom wants to stay on the front yard and have a snack, or enjoy some coffee in the actual back yard, or do dishes, or use the restroom, or do work. The park is always more fun!

rock-a-bye baby

When Kyle was a little bit younger, around 7-10 months old, we tried to teach him to put himself to sleep at night. We read lots of books and blogs that said you should put the baby down in his crib when he's awake so he learns how to put himself back to sleep throughout the night. There was a quick period of time when this was kind of working and he would only fuss around for a few minutes before falling asleep (although I should add he wasn't sleeping through the night at this point). But when he got a little bit older - around 11 months - he would cry and cry and cry for us, sometimes for up to an hour, before he would finally fall asleep. At first we wanted to stick it out because we thought it was the best thing for him, but after a few nights without any improvement, Brian and I decided this bedtime ritual was not working for any of us. Instead, we forgot everything we read and I went in there and rocked him to sleep. We were both in heaven. 

I still rock Kyle to sleep every night, and it's one of my favorite times of my day. Some nights he falls asleep within seconds, and other nights it takes up to 30 minutes for him to be out like a light. Either way, I always hold him tight, sing him songs and rock him for a long time before I finally put him down in his crib. Last night he felt extra cozy and I sat there with him for 45 minutes before I was ready to let go! I feel like this is one of those luxuries you have with your first born; there's no one else around and it's just the 2 of you cuddling away for as long as your heart's desire. I'm taking advantage of this time when he's still small enough to fall asleep on my shoulder and still wants to snuggle with his mama.

For a while I was falling asleep in the chair every night and Brian would have to come wake me up. But now that Kyle consistently sleeps through the night and I'm getting better rest, I usually stay awake and it's just my quiet time with my boy. I won't lie - there are some nights when he just won't fall asleep, I have a deadline and need to start writing, and I'm so exhausted I fall asleep sitting up. On those nights, it's hard to wake up and get to work. But would the work be any easier if I didn't have that time with him in the rocking chair? I doubt it. I love this time with my sweet boy so much and I'm soaking it in every night.

(PS - should I even mention that some nights I stare at him and picture him as a sweaty teenager with tears streaming down my face? Or does that make me crazy?)

game changers {fridge edition}

As babies grow up, there's quite a few game changers that completely mix up your daily routine. There's the major ones, like rolling over (don't leave me on the bed anymore, mom! I will fall right off and break my head!), crawling (you have to poop mom? Cool. I'm going to crawl away from you as fast as I can and open the bathroom cupboard with the bleach!), pulling themselves up (oh hey cute frames on the shelves! I'm gonna pull you right onto my eye and poke it right out!), standing up in the crib (Oh, it's nap time you say? Well I'd rather stand up and scream for you instead! Go ahead, lay me down and see what happens next!) and walking (bye mom! I'll never sit still again!).

Then there's the less assuming game changers - some of them good and some not so great - like learning to put their own pacifier in their mouth in the middle of the night (whew!) locking a closet door when they're inside and you're putting laundry away (SOS), discovering how much fun it is to pull on the roll of TP when you look away for 5 seconds.... the list is endless.

Today's game changer may seem minor, but it was one I was waiting on for weeks now: opening the refrigerator on his own. Now every time Kyle goes in the kitchen (the place we spend the majority of our mornings and afternoons), you better believe he's opening that door to check out what's inside. He's been very interested in the contents of the fridge for months now; every time it would open his little hands would touch everything in reach and I'd have to pry him away to close the door.

How does this change my daily routine you may ask? I now have to teach him the appropriate times to open the fridge with my permission, or utilize the baby-proof mechanism, which means that every. single. time. I open it, I must first unclasp a latch. Game frickin' changer.

#kyleandpenny

About 2 months ago I had a terrible day with this wagon. Kyle refused to sit down in it, my back was hurting and I couldn't lift/carry him, so we spent 20 minutes fighting each other and both crying as we tried to make the 10 foot walk home. After that day I put the wagon away and knew we needed some space.

Now that Kyle has grown up a bit and (kind of) understands the rules that he needs to SIT at all times, the wagon is fun again! The past couple of days we've taken it to the park and ran around on the grass. We took it to a birthday party, the corner market and we also ride in style to gym class. This wagon was the present Brian & I gave Kyle on his 1st birthday in the hopes that we'd make many memories with it over the years, and we're already well on our way to doing that.

Also, I love looking back at old photos of Kyle & Penny together to see how much they've grown and to think of how much all of our lives have changed. Just 15 months ago our days were filled with snuggles, long nursing sessions, naps and... not much else. Penny thought she had a new buddy to sleep next to all day long, but she was in for a surprise! Now we are go, go, go all day long. Penny joins us in the back yard for water play, she goes on wagon rides, watches us at the playground, sits in the basket for family bike rides and has to always be on her guard for tiny hands grabbing her ears/legs/tail without warning. We're very lucky that Kyle learned early on to be "gentle" with his sister and other animals, but he's still a toddler and loves to play rough. Penny has been a trouper and is very patient with him, and also with me when I sometimes lose my cool with her after a stressful day. She's such an important part of our family!

wonderful new things

When I read this list of new and wonderful things you'll get to do as a parent on Cup of Jo last week I was cracking up at #15: "cut up a grape." The act of cutting up a grape isn't funny in itself, but the fact that I cut up about 30 grapes a day into 4 pieces wasn't something I thought I'd be doing as a mom before I had Kyle. I love these kinds of lists, so I thought I'd add a few of my own wonderful things to Jason Good's original list (below mine):

Wonderful Things You'll Get to Do (a la Krista)

1. Wash an average of 56 dishes a day.
2. Wipe someone else's booger on your pants (that you just pulled out with your pinky nail).
3. Use a breast pump in a public restroom.
4. Cry over a haircut that's not yours.
5. Become elated when someone else swallows a small piece of vegetable/smoothie/medicine.
6. Have inside jokes about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with your husband.
7. Spend an entire night trying to sleep with your arm lifted above your head squeezed through narrow crib slats (am I the only one who's done this?!).
8. Spend a good amount of time examining and discussing someone else's private parts.
9. Take a shower in a tub that just moments ago was full of poop.
10. Give yourself a stiff neck trying to reach a pacifier on the other side of the car while merging onto the 405.
11. Fold the same load of laundry 5 10 times.
12. Have a favorite tone/volume setting for white noise.
13. Fall asleep sitting up. Every night.
14. Schedule time to run the dishwasher.
15. Think someone else's cellulite is adorable.
16. Learn to take a doorknob off and open a locked door in under a minute.
17. Encourage excitement about the trash man/street sweeper.
18. Spend an entire night putting too-small clothes in storage bins and holding back tears.
19. Have a TV in your house that for the last 6 months has only played the same Baby Einstein DVD.
20. Wash someone else's bedding an average of 20 times more a month than your own.
21. Open a granola bar with your hands inside the cupboard and then cram the whole thing in your mouth before you're spotted.

Here's the original list that had me laughing:

Oh, but the New and Wonderful New Things You’ll Get to Do
By Jason Good, father of two

There are, indeed, countless things you will no longer be able to do after having children, like grooming, learning, stretching and snorkeling. But don’t fret. Here are just a few of the amazing new things you’ll get to do instead.

1. Butter a piece of toast while peeing
2. Brush someone’s teeth against his will
3. Blow on food while it’s in someone else’s mouth
4. Help someone else blow on food while it’s in someone else’s mouth
5. Eat food that has fallen out of someone else’s mouth
6. Eat food you found on the floor
7. Eat food you found on the mantle
8. Eat candy you found in a shoe
9. Put someone in a Bob the Builder costume while fighting off diarrhea
10. Visit a psychiatrist
11. Wipe somebody’s nose with your bare hand
12. Eat baby food
13. Blame a fart on a child
14. Get someone dressed while you’re in the shower
15. Cut up a grape
16. Almost agree to cut up a raisin
17. Pretend to enjoy the flavor of a prune
18. Ask someone why their hair smells like yogurt
19. Ask someone why their hair smells like your antiperspirant
20. Put someone else’s toenail clippings in your pocket
21. Let someone watch you pee as they stare blankly while eating a Popsicle

Pretend City

Kyle and I had a free day yesterday - no plans, no pressing errands, no deadlines for me - so after nap time we packed it up and drove to Irvine to check out Pretend City. I wish we lived closer to this place because it is FUN for Kyle. He loves being independent and exploring and had a blast running around and touching everything in sight. He especially loved the sand and farm areas, and had fun in the "grocery store" sharing his eggs with a little girl he befriended (and then he held her hand... hmmm). I highly recommend it for kiddos who are walking! I'm sure it's germ central, but sometimes you gotta bite the bullet, right?

corsage

When you work in a restaurant, chances are you have to work on Mother's Day - one of the busiest days of the year. Definitely not my first choice for the way I'd like to spend my special day, but I've accepted it because this is the road I've chosen so that I'm able to stay at home with Kyle the majority of the time. Last year I happened to be on maternity leave on Mother's Day, but two years ago I remember seeing the mommies wear their corsages at work (a gift from our manager) and wishing so badly that I would be able to wear one some day. I was in the thick of trying to get pregnant and wanting to be a mommy more than anything in the world. Little did I know, I would get pregnant with Kyle just one month later!

The corsage was such a small token for us moms who were working all day and who would much rather be at home with our babies, but it made me happy because it represents something so special. We're all moms... including ME! As my co-worker pinned the corsage to my uniform, I couldn't help but tear up because it made me think of how badly I wanted to wear this flower two years before. It made me think of Kyle at home with his dad, and how much I love being his mom. It made my hectic day just a little bit sweeter, because I knew my boys were spending time together and waiting for MOM (ME!!!) to get home from work. It was a reminder of why I'm there and it meant so much.

my fellow mommies at work

go Beach!

When Kyle was 4 months old we took him to his 1st Angel game and we had a blast, but I'm not sure we'll be visiting the Big A this season. Gone are the days that he'll sit on our lap for extended periods of time or fall asleep in the baby carrier. He's ready to run around and say hi to everyone he sees, so I think we'll wait another year or 2 to brave another professional baseball game.

Instead, we spent a Saturday at Blair Field to watch Long Beach State play the Cal State Fullerton Titans, and we had just as much fun! The bleachers were awesome for Mr. Independent, who was able to hang out "on his own" and run around a little. After a few innings, we moved the party to the outfield grassy area and bought a baseball for him to throw around. He loved cheering with the crowd, saying hi to the players through the gate and running up and down the ramp.

We drove the the field thinking we'd stay a couple of innings and hit the road, but we ended up staying for 7 innings and definitely want to go again! Go Beach! (and go Titans) :)