Our First Rockies Game

We headed out to the baseball field last week to show Maelin her first Rockies game. We had to bring Toto along (he goes where we go), and we met a good group of friends. It was the Fans Appreciation night, so fireworks were scheduled. Thought it would be a great time to introduce the little one to the joy of live sports.

She LOVED it. Although...it was hard for her to see anything since she's so small. So she had the most fun just running around the stadium, eating Dippin Dots ice cream, playing ABC Food on my iPhone (best app ever), asking me questions like, "Mommy, why is the football game so loud?", dancing when it was time to dance at the 7th inning stretch, singing and playing with our friends, and then...it was firework time.

We were super excited to stay in our seats to watch them as we were down really low and looking right at the west stands, where they were scheduled to be shown. However, Maelin saw the crowds being moved from the west stands onto the baseball field so they could watch the show on the ground. She flipped out and wanted to go down there with them. Being the bad Mommy I am, I figured we could find a way around the ushers and security and get down there. So we packed everything up, said a quick good-bye to the group, and hurried off. Turns out the Rockies staff knew what I was attempting and nope...there was NO way I was going to get us on the field. So I had to drag Maelin back to our section. The whole time, she was just sobbing and saying, "But Mommy, WHY can't I go on the field with the people? I'm a good girl!" It was awful. Lesson learned: do NOT try to break the rules with the 4 year old in tow. Just stay put and let her realize that rules are for everyone.

By the time the show started, she forgot all about being sad and loved it. She totally loved it. Then the music came on and we were all dancing and then it was time to leave. More tears. More drama. "Mommy, I don't want to leave! I want more football!" (yes, it was a baseball game, but considering she barely watched any of it, I gave her that. She watches football with her dad, so that's the sport she knows). I finally got us out of there, fought the game traffic home and the little thing was crashed in bed at 11pm.

Note to self for future baseball trips: 1) Leave Toto at home. He's a pain in the ass to carry around the stadium especially when the child keeps dropping him in the middle of a crowd. 2) Bring cash. Lots of it. Dippin Dots are pricey. 3) Make sure iPhone is fully charged so she can play and I can actually watch part of the game. 4) Eat dinner before we get there (which we did, thank god). Can't imagine what it would have been like if she was hungry. 5) Do NOT try to switch seats. Just stay where we're at and act like it's the best spot in the entire world. 6) Take lots of pictures and write it all down later because nothing is cuter than my little girl looking at me and saying, "Thank you Mommy for the football game. We do fun things."

Loved it.