It's no shocker to anyone who knows Ellie that she can be
slightly unhinged at times. Therefore, I tend to worry slightly whenever we're
dragging her into a unfamiliar situation. Two questions in particular flash
through my mind. "Is she going to be a good baby?" or "Will she
come off her rocker?" These questions were definitely going through my
mind on Saturday as Bethany and I prepared to share another first with Ellie; her
first Royals game. Now, obviously this was a momentous occasion since our baby
girl and the Royals are forever linked because #math. Therefore, I wanted to
have a really fun and enjoyable experience rather than one where I would
remember Ellie having a meltdown.
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| Don't tell me you're actually doing the math... |
Among the great perks that Bethany enjoy about DFA is that
the company pays for employees and their families to attend a Royals game each
year for "DFA Day at the 'K'". I personally have a great time at this
event. Not only do I get to watch my team play, but I get to mingle with some
of Bethany's co-workers and partake in some Jack Stack BBQ to boot. With first
pitch of the game occurring at 6:15 pm, we finally found our way out of the
house around 4:15. We wanted plenty of time to relax at the tailgate before finding
our seats in left field. After a quick stop, we reached our destination a
little before 5:00.
If you've been to the Truman Sports Complex before, then you
realize that it's very common to have a hike on your hands to get from your car
to the stadium. As squirmy as Ellie is these days, rather than carrying her in
our arms, I promptly put her on top of my shoulders and led her on a one-baby parade
across the parking lots. Normally when she's on my shoulders, Ellie is quick to
grab my hair, ears, mouth, nose, eyelids, Adam's apple or anything else available to try and steady
herself. Not out of fear but more because it's a fun game to her. On this
occasion, she was so enamored by everything around her in the parking lot that
she didn't even think twice about grabbing anything. Instead, her little head
caustically flipped from side-to-side being certain to take in every sight.
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| Ellie did do her fair share of mimicking this motion. She IS a Royal baby... |
We reached the tailgate area and sat down to partake in some
BBQ briefly before heading into Kauffman for the game. We knew that we wanted
to go inside early so that we could pick up the special certificate that the organization gives out
to first time guests (not for us but for Ellie). What happened next genuinely
shocked me. Saturday night was Danny Duffy Bobblehead Night with something like
the first 15,000 fans getting one. Normally these are very coveted and go
quickly. That was not the case on Saturday night with Bethany and I each
receiving one. Imagine our surprise when the giveaway guy then hands us a third
one specifically for Ellie. I know that will likely be occupying a place of
honor in her room for years to come if I have anything to say about it.
I knew for a fact that Ellie would be just fine before the
game but wasn't certain what would happen once it started. In fact, my soul
goal was to just make it through three innings with her. I knew it would be
going long past her bedtime but I also was worried she would get bored or the
noise would bother her. It turned out that all of my fears were in vain. Ellie didn't
just make it through three innings, she made it to the eighth. She only reacted
negatively once and that was due to being scared when the crowd reacted to a
big play. Otherwise she had a great time as she alternated between playing peek-a-boo with everyone
around us and attempting to eat her Danny Duffy Bobblehead (and yes, I must say the whole thing). I also put her on my shoulder in between each inning and goofily
danced along with the ballpark music playing. Not only did she love it, but the
people around us enjoyed it as well even if they were slightly concerned about
her being too small to be on my shoulders.
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| Not our seats... |
To top off a perfect experience at the ballpark, the Royals won 4 to 3 over the Orioles! I'm already stoked to take Ellie to her next
baseball game although I'm not sure when it will occur. In fact, I really think
it'd be awesome to follow through on my dream of seeing a game with Ellie in
every major league ballpark at some point. Let's face it though. She'll probably
end up hating baseball if for no other reason than to troll me. It would fit
her nature. #DaddyWrite
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| This picture makes me super happy! |
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