Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

We braved our first Giants game as a family of four.  I have to say that it went pretty smoothly.  Riley LOVES going to the Giants games and Jacob is so chill nothing really bothers him, other than an empty stomach.  We parked in our usual spot down where Gordon Biersch USED, yes, that's used, to be, so sad they are closed but the parking was a steal, $10 all day in SF for a Sunday, and it's easy to get in and out of the city from there.  I apparently drew the short stick and I got to carry Riley on my back in the Ergo down to the ball park while Marc carried Jacob in the Bjorn.  We got lots of stares, Marc thought it was because people thought he and Jacob looked cute dressed exactly the same (oranges shirts and matching Giants hats) but I'm sure it was because they all thought he was a jackass for letting me carry the 3 1/2 year old while he got the baby. 

I will say that the Ergo does put less strain on your back than the Bjorn but it still looked ridiculous.  We got the park and we hit up the Giants store, I got a new t-shirt and Riley got a new sweatshirt and then we headed to our seats which were literally in the second to last row of the stadium.  Marc's a big spender, what can I say! :)

Riley was the photographer for me, she loves using my point and shoot camera and she's actually pretty good at taking pictures!

Ok, I took this one

Not bad for a 3 1/2 year old!  Riley was pretty into the game, she cheered with the crowd and yelled "Go Giants" without any urging from us, she even threw out a few "woot woots."  It was pretty chilly up there and Riley started to get antsy in the 5th inning (Jacob fell asleep) so we got up to walk around.  We were standing behind the Lower Level seats and a girl and her dad came up and told us that they were leaving and gave us their tickets so we got upgraded for the end of the game.  Sweet!

Our new view!

All in all it was a good day!  The kids had a great time and no one melted down!

Let's Go Giants!

Last Sunday Marc and I took Jacob to his very first Giants game!  Marc wanted it to just be the 3 of us so that Jacob could get all of the attention and have his first time be with just us, just like Riley's was, so our friends Pat and Jen so graciously took Riley for the day for a massive play date with her bestie Bella.  Marc and I headed to the city with Mr Jacob-Pants without Riley knowing where we were going, I felt kind of bad but she would have flipped out and insisted on going so it was better that she didn't know.  She had gone the prior weekend with Marc and Marc's boss' boss and his daughter for a nice daddy/daughter day so it' not like she didn't get to go to a game.  Let's just say the drive in was odd, Jacob fell asleep and there was no constant chitter chatter since our little chatty Chatterton wasn't with us.  We didn't know what to do with the quiet, we could finally have that conversation that we've been longing to have with each other, except we didn't know what to talk about!  We finally settled on the topic of my new car (my company is getting rid of their fleet and I am in the first wave so I have to have a new car by May 29).  Anyway, we made it through an entire conversation without any "Mom, mommy, momma, I need to tell you something.  The the the the, the sky is blue."  Seriously, that's what happens.

We got to the city and had to wake Jacob up to put him in the Bjorn to make the trek from our usual parking spot down near Market St to AT&T Park.  We made a quick stop at Starbucks for a beverage and then started the walk down, the day was gorgeous and Jacob loved taking in the views of the bay and all of the people that were out, I swore his eyes were going to pop out of his head.  We got to the game and went to our seats, gave Jacob a bottle and after a short meltdown he fell asleep for a few innings in my arms.  Not going to lie, I absolutely loved it, I miss him sleeping on my chest and in my arms so I will take any cuddles I can.  He woke up around the 6th and we watched the game a bit and then we walked down to Build A Bear Workshop where we made him his "first game friend," a bear so creatively named "Teddy," who wears a Giant's jersey and hat.  We made Riley a Lou Seal at her first game so we carried on the tradition by creating "Teddy."  Jacob LOVES "Teddy!"  After "Teddy" joined the fam we just hung around the lower the level and watched the game.  Jacob was getting tired so we left even though the game was tied in the bottom of the 9th, plus we needed to rescue Jen and Pat from two toddlers. 

All in all it was a great day, Jacob exceeded my expectations at the game and Riley behaved at Bella's with only a few minor squabbles!  Got to love when 2 kids are fit for public!

Put me in Coach, I'm ready to play!

At our seats with Daddy

Getting ready to make Teddy

So ready to make his new friend

Helping daddy stuff "Teddy"

First of many photos in front of At&T Park

Visitor in the City

Riley's Aunt Jaclyn was in the city this week for work so we got to go into the city Saturday after gymnastics and spend some time with her.  We met her at her hotel in Union Square and Riley took to her Auntie immediately.  She wanted to hold her hand and walk everywhere with her.  We were hanging out in the lobby and there was a couple sitting my the fireplace and Riley walked right over with Jaclyn following and said "This is my Aunt Jaclyn!"  It was so cute! 

Riley and Aunt Jaclyn at lunch

Making wishes in the fountain at Aunt Jaclyn's hotel!

Since we were in the city, we decided to make a day of it and walk around Union Square and go shopping.  Marc and I love to spend a day in the city and then head back out to suburbia, our darling daughter?  Couldn't get enough of the city and threw a massive fit as we put her in her car seat, yelling, "I want more city, I want more city!"

Beach Day

I know, who goes to the beach in November, but that's how we roll in Cali! While my friends in Indiana and the Midwest got their first snow, we were hanging at the beach, and that is why we pay so much to live in this beautiful state! Instead of shoveling show off of our cars or our driveways, we were shaking sand from our clothes.

Today we went into the city to meet up with our friends, the Goines', Marc and Jenny's mutual friend Lindsay was in town from Arizona so we headed out to meet up for a fun day at the beach. We were hoping to make it into the city in time to meet them at the zoo but our cleaning lady was late so we missed that but Lindsay was super nice enough to buy Riley a stuffed monkey. So super sweet. We headed over to Ocean Beach for a picnic lunch and some sand play! Riley and Jake had a blast playing in the sand, they both also got a few mouthfuls of sand as well, Jake because he was being silly, Riley because she saw a doggy eating something out of the sand.

Of course since we were in the city we had to go down to AT&T Park and checkout the World Series merchandise. We were surprised to find that the park wasn't decorated all that much but we did get some good (albeit overpriced) gear!