BIG Day

Blanden had a BIG day!

We left home around noon to meet up with Uncle Jim and cousin Jeremy for a quick bite to eat and then headed to the Rockies game. We didn't expect to stay long. We thought Blanden might have the patience for a few innings, and that we could all only tolerate a couple hours, at most, outside in the 90-degree heat. But Blanden held in there, the game turned out to be a great one (the Rockies won in the bottom of the ninth!), and it was overcast almost the entire time, a welcome relief -- so we stayed for the whole thing!

But the highlight was that Jeremy got to keep a foul ball -- hit by a future hall-of-famer (Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves)!

Heading into the ballpark.

Taking it all in.

Great seats! (Complimentary, courtesy of my office.)

There really is something so wonderfully "summertime" about a good baseball game...

With all the excitement, Blanden only slept about 20 minutes throughout the entire afternoon (fortunately he did take a good morning nap to prepare). We thought surely he would sleep the second we got in the car and headed off to the evening adventure ... but, no, he perked up again.

We timed our outings perfectly as the afternoon showers came while we were driving between venues, then the skies cleared again and we found ourselves back outside enjoying one of our most favorite summer activities of all: City Park Jazz.

City Park Jazz is a special thing for Ed and me. It's where we had our second date, and several summers we have gone to every one of the ten free outdoor concerts, with wine and elaborate picnics in hand.

Needless to say, we were, ah, a bit busy the past two summers (what with getting married and having a baby and all :) ) that we weren't the regulars we used to be. We went once in 2007, and not at all last year, and were excited to have finally made it back this year -- and with our little guy in tow.

This time Blanden spilled the wine once (all over me, himself, and the blanket), ate all sorts of food (from both of our plates and crumbs off the blanket and, yes, the ground), crawled and climbed and scattered our picnic paraphernalia all over the nearby premises -- and the evening could not have been better. :)

We went specifically to celebrate Blanden's little buddy Gavin's first birthday. Blanden loved being around so many other kids, getting caught up in the excitement of it all, but the highlight for him -- and probably for us -- was seeing his former music teacher again. When Blanden looked up and saw Miss Carrie, his face just lit up (which he does not do for strangers) and he began bouncing up and down (his version of "dancing"). He clearly recognized her and associated her with music! ;) I think Ed and I were both surprised -- those classes were meant to be just for fun for all of us, but Blanden clearly received something meaningful from them.

The birthday boy.

Gavin, Blanden, Miss Carrie, and Miss Carrie's own new little guy.

Gavin and Blanden getting a spin through the park before finally calling it a night. (At one point, both of them were just cracking up -- does it really get any better than this in a little boy's life?)

Blanden was sound asleep, at last, when we finally got home just before 10 o'clock. We managed to carry him in, change his diaper, put on his PJs and his blanket, and tuck him into bed without so much as causing him to slightly stir.

It was wonderful to finally get back to City Park Jazz -- only better this time, with our extended family and extended circle of friends. What a day!