baby's first baseball game

You may remember that it was opening day 2015 when we found out I was pregnant. I got the call that morning and met Jon at the ballpark a few hours later where I presented him with a little league baseball that said "Baby Hardin Coming December 2015." This was the look on his face. It will always be one of my favorite memories.

Fast forward 1 year, and we were right back at the ballpark again for opening day 2016, this time with said baby in tow. I'd say life has changed just a bit...

Of course I was a little nervous about how Charlie would do during a long baseball game - especially now that he's grown out of the I-can-sleep-anywhere-anytime newborn stage. Well, it turns out I had nothing to worry about. Charlie LOVED the baseball game. He was completely mesmerized by all the sights and sounds, and he apparently thinks the sight of Mom in a baseball hat is the funniest thing in the world.

He just sat in my lap and watched the game. He is definitely his father's son. He wore his headphones during the opening fireworks and to help take a little snooze during the 7th inning stretch, which was interrupted by cheering for a Bryce Harper home run that even the headphones couldn't muffle. We made it through a 1.5 hour rain delay (another napping opportunity for Charlie) and lasted until the very last out just before 9:00 p.m.

Alas, the Nationals didn't win, but I'd still say our first game was a major league success.

opening day 2015 vs. opening day 2016

P.S. I also have to give the Nationals props - the new nursing mom's room is amazing. I was able to just nurse Charlie in our seats during most of the game (yay for roomier, cushy club level seats!), but once it got a little cold and a little past his bedtime, we moved to the nursing mom's room. It's outfitted with nice chairs, plush changing tables and the game on TV. I have a feeling we will spending lots of time there this summer. :)

just taking a little rain delay snooze 

i'm too busy having fun to smile. 

checking out the nursing moms room

bump watch: finding out

the day we found out about skippy.

When you go through fertility treatments (that's another topic for another day), the whole process of finding out you are pregnant (or not) is completely different. There are no home pregnancy tests. It's always a blood draw in the morning followed by a phone call in the afternoon. I've received this call numerous times. All of them negative, but for some reason I had a feeling that there was going to be something different about this one on April 6, 2015...

1. I knew if it was positive, it would mean a Christmas baby. I love Christmas, but I absolutely never, ever wanted to have a baby around the holidays. In fact, in our complete naivety, Jon and I had a big, fat "don't get pregnant" clause around the weeks that would yield an extra gift from Santa. The saying goes that beggars can't be choosers, and I had a funny feeling that God's sense of humor would see fit for a Christmas baby. I love to make plans. God loves to change them. Luckily, He's always right.

2. After some hemming and hawing, I scheduled my appointment for first thing Monday morning on opening day. Baseball's opening day, that is. Part of me thought baseball would be a nice distraction either way. Boy (or girl!), was I right.

3. This was the first time I spent any amount of time thinking about how I would tell Jon. Again, this wasn't my first rodeo, but for some reason, I was inspired this time to put a little effort and planning into it. Since we would be going to the baseball game, it was an easy decision. I secretly bought a little league baseball while I was out running errands that weekend. I hadn't exactly planned how I was going to use the baseball, but I thought it could play a role in the big reveal.

4. My phone rang before 2:00 p.m. Fertility treatments come with a ridiculous amount of monitoring appointments. I think I've spent half of my life in the waiting room at Shady Grove Fertility. It's always the same. Early morning appointment, mid-to-late afternoon phone call. You get pretty good at predicting what time they will call so when my phone rang well before their average call time, my heart skipped a beat. What does an earlier phone call mean??? The conversation with my nurse Rachael went something like this.

Rachael: I have some good news. You're pregnant!
Katie: Stop it. Are you serious? Stop it.
Rachael: {Laughing} Yes.
Katie: No way. I mean, I guess this would be a really mean joke. But seriously? You're not joking?
Rachael: No, you are pregnant.
Katie: {Terrified}. Oh my gosh, this is terrifying.
Rachael: {Laughing}. Everyone says that.

When you spend so much time and energy trying to get pregnant, you reserve zero focus for what happens when you actually do get pregnant. It's also a defense mechanism. Assume the worst, hope for the best. Needless to say, I was completely unprepared.

trying to decide what to wear to the game....

I hung up the phone and immediately panicked. I knew I needed to get dressed and get to the baseball game. Jon was already there. I had all my Nats gear laid out on the bed, but I was too excited to even think about what to wear. I pulled on the two nearest tops. I grabbed my empty cup of coffee to take downstairs on my way out. Except it wasn't really empty, and in my excitement, I spilled coffee all over the stairs and wall. Oops.

I had stuffed the baseball in a drawer downstairs. I figured I would write something about a baby on it. Like I said, I was pretty unprepared. My hands were shaking so I scribbled on a piece of paper to try to get it right. But I'm too impatient so I just went for it. Thus, the ball was engraved with a very sloppy "Baby Hardin coming December 2015." I stuck it in my purse and headed for the car. Luckily, before I pulled away, I realized that I didn't have my ticket. All the way back upstairs I went.

I drove to the metro. I waited for the metro. This all felt like an eternity. I arrived at the ballpark (finally!) and then remembered they had mandated metal detectors at the entrance now. I saw the looooong line and immediately made a bee line for a smaller, less frequented gate around the corner. One perk of being a regular attender is knowing little tricks like that. The line was much shorter at that gate, but I made the mistake of getting in line behind two goths who were covered in chains. I kid you not. The dude kept setting off the detector, pulling more chains out of his pockets and setting it off all over again. This went on for a few minutes or a few hours. I had lost all concept of time.

Finally, I was in. I tracked down Jon who was grabbing a drink with our friend Betsy. I played it cool for a solid 10-15 minutes until we parted ways. I nonchalantly told Jon I wanted to take his picture before we headed to our seats. Despite the fact that Jon knew I went in for a blood test that morning, he appeared to have no idea what was about to happen.

While I'm casually pretending to take his picture, I switch to video mode, grab the ball out of my bag, and hand it to him. This is his reaction:

It is such a Jon reaction. He reacts, then remembers that I'm supposedly taking a picture so he pauses to smile for the camera and then he continues his natural reaction. Hilarious. Jon can be a little slow on the uptake.

We then made our way to our seats, sat down next to our friends who were attending the game with us, and proceeded to pretend we didn't just find out we were having a baby for the next 3+ hours. The Nationals lost the game, but it was still a pretty great day.

The End.

I lied. Not the End.

Now would be a good time to note this baby's nickname. Since this baby has a baseball history already - and will hopefully love baseball like mom and dad - we've decided he/she will be called Skipper, which some of you may know is a nickname for the manager of a baseball team. Henceforth, Skipper, Skippy and Skip will all be used as an in utero name for this little one. I promise there will be a "real" name eventually, but you probably won't get to know that until after he/she has made his/her appearance into this world.

city of brotherly love

We spent last weekend in Philly sightseeing, baseball watching and relaxing. Here's a little recap of our visit in the city of brotherly love. 

We took Friday off and took a leisurely drive up to Philly. We checked in to the Rittenhouse Hotel and enjoyed their afternoon tea. I love a good high tea, and this was one of the best ones I've had stateside.

That night we went to the Nats vs. Phillies game. Another ballpark crossed off our list, but unfortunately, it was overcast, chilly, and the Nats lost. We went to a second game on Saturday night and it was a repeat of night one. Luckily, the colder weather kept a lot of Phillies fans away so we didn't have to deal with any hecklers. Despite being the city of brotherly love, Philly sports fans aren't exactly known for their love....unless you count their love for booing and heckling.

Saturday morning we started with lattes to fuel up for a day of historical sightseeing. I've never done any of the touristy things in Philly so it was fun to take it all in on a sunny, but breezy day. There was more to see than I thought. We walked A LOT. However, because we did this trip a little more spur of the moment, there was no real planning involved. This is very unlike us...and it reminded me why we usually plan. By the time we strolled over to the old city, Independence Hall tickets were already sold out. Oops. Jon assures me it's just a room so I'm assuming I would have been unimpressed anyway.

Midway through the day, we stopped for cheesesteaks at Sonny's. They were delicious, but I think one cheesesteak every 4-5 years is probably enough for me.

I know this doesn't look great, but it was. I could only eat about half of mine. Cheesesteak: 1. Katie: 0.

Jon finished his like a champ. I definitely recommend Sonny's if you are ever in Philly.

don't be fooled. tis the city of brotherly love in name only.

We brunched on Sunday before crossing the river into New Jersey. I've briefly been to NJ before, but I wanted to make it a little more official.

We randomly picked a park on the riverfront to walk around, but we stumbled upon the USS New Jersey, which is apparently the most decorated US battleship. I wanted to take the tour, but we didn't have time. Again, we probably should have planned better. Maybe next time.

Last, but not least, we did a quick drive-by of the Rocky steps before heading back to DC and cherry blossom madness. On our way back home, we literally saw a mile-long stretch of cars parked on the interstate shoulder. People will stop at nothing to see those trees.

easter weekend and baseball

We had a pretty good run these last few days. Thanks in part to the best weather of the season so far, we had a lovely Easter weekend followed by baseball's opening day on Monday. Top that off with a good NCAA championship game Monday night, and it was a pretty great 72 hours. This upcoming weekend we are off to Philly for some more baseball and R&R.

On Friday, our friends Kelton and Rebekah came over to watch Little Big League with us in advance of opening day. Rebekah grew up a Twins fan, but somehow missed the greatness that is Little Big League. It should be required viewing in Minnesota schools as far as I'm concerned. They came in full Twins regalia. Luckily, they donned Nats gear for opening day.

Saturday was all about our living room gallery wall and Easter brunch prep. The gallery wall isn't quite finished yet because they sent me 4 of the wrong frames, but we are well on our way and I love how it's turning out.

I'm terrible with photos while I'm hosting. I'm usually too busy making sure everyone is well fed, properly hydrated and happy. By the time I think to take photos, it's all over so you'll just have to trust me that Easter brunch was a success. After eating, we enjoyed the sunshine while the kiddos hunted for eggs.

Monday was all about baseball. It was probably the best opening day weather I've experienced. It made for a great day that could have been better if the Nats had won. Oh well, there are 161 games left for the Nats to win.

company & catching up

It's been two weeks since my last blog. Oops! I'm not really sure where the time goes, but I have a sneaking suspicion that company, baseball, cars and yard work have eaten up most of April, which is apparently already halfway over.

My parents came to visit the first weekend of April. We had fun going to the Nats home opener, checking out a tag/barn sale in Maryland, eating good food, and going to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Ford's Theater. We also did a little car shopping. Even though Jon and I commute into DC together, it's becoming increasingly more complicated to be a one car family out in the 'burbs. We've been gradually checking out some options so we can hopefully purchase something in the next few months. [If you have a small-midsize SUV that you love or hate, I'd be interested in your thoughts.]

my barn sale find was this great lamp!

Since then, it's been a blur of more baseball, yard work, spring cleaning, more car shopping, happy hours, lunch with friends, church potlucks & picnics, and so on and so on. 

spring!

i guess this means it's time to get the yard in shape....

sometimes i get to have lunch with this little guy. it's the best.

and sometimes i get distracted by shiny things...

A couple of other notes while I'm catching up...

We had a pretty epic April Fool's Day. Jon fooled me into thinking our car was on the fritz. This is not exactly the most impressive joke, but he never fools me so it was impressive on that fact alone. [On that note, I'm not really sure what Jon was thinking with this one. All it did was make me realize how much we need a second car because we really would be in a bind if our one car did break down. So basically this little joke is going to cost Jon several thousand dollars.]

Even more fun was the prank we pulled on Dad. Mom gets him every year, and sometimes we team up to help. Since they were due to visit us later that week, I worked up a good story about someone from my office bringing back a case of diphtheria that had potentially infected all of us (I work in tourism development so my coworkers are often traveling to faraway places). I told him I was probably going to be quarantined and that their trip might be called off. I must have been incredibly convincing (although it doesn't usually take much) because he totally bought it. I laughed so hard I cried.

I'm almost done with my Dubai posts. I lost a little steam, but I'm going to power through and hopefully finish up this week.

Last but not least, the two best things from last week: 1. This awesome shirt from my friend who works at the Washington Free Beacon. 2. Our new Nats license plates - wouldn't they look even better on a new car? ;)

a note on baseball

Happy Opening Day!

I'll admit it, I have a soft spot for sports. It pulls at my heartstrings like few other things can. I'm a sucker for the underdog, the comeback kid, an improbable team. I love feeling the elation of a big win, and I hate seeing the devastation of a tough loss. This image from the NCAA tournament nearly broke my heart. I have no vested interest in Arizona State or this basketball team, but it still hurt.

I may or may not have gotten all teary watching this E:60 special on the 23 pitchers that have thrown a perfect game - and that's for the ones that achieved it. I darn near lost it for the ones that came *this* close. Come to think of it, I get teary during most episodes of E:60. I just can't help it.

Football is great. It will always be my first love. But when spring rolls around, give me baseball. The hot dogs. The superstitions. The mystery. The chess match. The steals. The pitchers' duels. The home runs. The extra innings. The small ball. The smell of the grass. The old school socks. The unwritten rules of the game. The signs. The stealing of signs. If you think baseball is slow, we're probably not watching the same game.

It's why I get so excited for opening day. Today is the start of 162 opportunities to pull at my heart strings, and 162 opportunities to do it all over again the next day. That's far more than any other sport can offer. It's a unique experience, and if you're a baseball fan, you know this roller coaster is unlike anything else.

So because it's opening day, and I get all sentimental around this time of year, here is my favorite baseball moment. Even knowing how it would end the next night, I'd still do it all over again. Because that's baseball. As the great Boswell put it, "If half of your life is richer than the other half but you don't know quite why, you're probably a baseball fan."

Jayson Werth Home Run Game 4 NLDS from TJ Cooney on Vimeo.