Lilian’s First Red Sox Game

Lilian had already been to her first baseball game, but a couple of weeks ago, we took her to her first game at Fenway Park. So, you know, it was her first game that really counted.

Well, it was her first Red Sox game where she wasn’t in utero.

It was also her first Sox/Yankees game, so we hit all the big milestones at once.

(Big props to my friend Dave for helping us get tickets!).

It was also Lilian’s first obstructed view at Fenway. But, hey, in my not so humble opinion, you’re not a real Bostonian until you’ve watched the Red Sox from behind a pole. Besides, she wouldn’t know baseball from cricket. And we spent most of our time watching her. So, really, they were the perfect seats.

(Plussity plus: they were relatively affordable).

(For Fenway).

She’s not usually big on sitting still, but Lilian was surprisingly happy to sit on our laps.

I love people-watching at Fenway. Lilian clearly takes after her mother. She had a grand ol’ time looking around and checking everything and everyone out. It didn’t hurt that she just learned how to clap. She’s big on clapping these days. Every time a big play happened and everyone started cheering and clapping, she would lose her tiny little mind.

She also made friends with the people behind us. They thought that she was the cutest thing ever. I’m pretty sure they kept her pretty well entertained as well. She was fascinated by them… especially when they came back in between innings with snacks. They would have happily let her try her first bite of fried dough. But I’m a mean ol’ Mom and don’t want her to think that the world is her buffet if only she cranes her neck and makes lip smacking noises.

(It’s pretty much the cutest thing ever).

(When they offered to share, even I had a hard time saying no).

The Sox obliged us with a win, which makes Lilian 2 for 2 in games that she’s “attended.”

(Lucky charm?)

(Anyone want to give her some more tickets so she can keep working her magic?)

We brought her down to the field so we could get a decent picture of her in front of the field. We waited patiently while a whole bunch of other people took pictures. I guess our patience paid off, because a security guard came walking over to us and made “hand your baby over” motions with her hands. At which point I handed her over. Because: mother of the year. And Lilian got set down on the warning track!

Which just goes to show you: good things happen when you hand your baby over to a total stranger.

She has no idea what a lucky little lady she is.

At the point where she decided that this was a pretty neat sandbox and started digging around with her hands, the townies behind us started yelling “grab some dirt! grab some dirt!”

Some day, she’s going to show this picture to her friends, and they’re not going to believe that it’s Fenway. Good thing I got a shot from a wider angle.

I’ve had a lot of cool things happen in my life. I’ve been to Europe, South Africa, and Nepal. I’ve seen Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I’ve met the Dalai Lama. I guess you could say I’m a wee bit jaded. But, after Lilian got to go down onto the field? I was as giddy as a schoolchild. I’m not kidding. I couldn’t stop telling Kristian how cool it was.

I was a little worried about how this trip was going to go. The game started at 1pm, aka peak nap time around these here parts. I had visions of Lilian completely losing her shit while everyone around us judged us – both silently and not-so-silently. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. Lucky for us, she was a total champ. She was awake and happy the whole time…

… And then we put her in her stroller to walk back to the car and she fell asleep in about 45 seconds.

I think it’s safe to say, Lilian’s first Red Sox game was a complete success.