Old Timer's Weekend

We had an action packed weekend. So action packed that I didn't even get around to posting last night. As some of you may know, Sunday was Old Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium, so that kept Bat Bat and Daddy busy for most of the day. But before that, it was a different type of busy with the whole family, and not in a bad way at all.

Yin Yin, Yea Yea, Bat Bat, Auntie Shannon, and Connor and Zoe all came down to NJ to spend the weekend with us and celebrate my birthday weekend (actual birthday is on Wednesday for all of you out there who haven't bought me a gift yet). Right after swim class, the celebration started with lunch at Triumph in Princeton, then some fun in the backyard with the Pirate pool again, and of course, the grill. After chowing down on delicious porterhouse steaks and veggies that Yin Yin and Bat Bat cooked up, we ended the eating festivities with Daddy's favorite: a Carvel cake. To top it all off, Daddy got the Yankees jacket that he's been looking at for probably 10 years (but never bought because he either lived in Boston or Florida). It was the best birthday present I've got this year!

After celebrating me becoming an old timer, we went to the stadium to see all the Yankee old timers come out and play. It was our first Old Timer's Day and definitely an experience I'll do again. What I'm actually looking forward to most is taking Kaylani in a few years and reliving my memories of the old Yankees with her. I saw countless Dads and their children sharing the experience, and it's only a matter of time before that Dad and that kid become me and Kaylani.

Now it's time to wrap up my 364th day of being 28. Tomorrow will be my last day as a 28 year old so I guess I'll live it up. As for you, you can live it up right now by checking out these pictures from the weekend and today. Kaylani's got some pictures in her brand new (used) car that Titi Glendalys, Alisha, and Rohan gave her. It's only a matter of time before she gets her real drivers license. And from the looks of it, she's gonna love it! Enjoy!

At the game

So I'm sitting here in the bleachers of Yankees stadium watching the Yankees-Red Sox game. Its the start of the second inning and already we're down 4-0. Not a good start, but it's alright because it's baseball.

The thing about being the game is that I'm not at home. Its about 7:30 right now which means that Mommy and Kaylani are getting ready for bed. No one will believe me, but I do wish I was there. I love watching Kaylani fall asleep, especially when she looks at me tiredly and gives me a big smile.

Seeing that sure beats the thousands of ugly, annoying, smug Sox fans here, but there's nothing I can do about that. So to get me through this game, I'll stare at the picture of Kaylani on my phone every inning. And then I'll go back to watching the game and cursing at the Sox.

Oh, and don't forget to visit the Dad-Blogs to read my latest Sports Illustradad column on why you shouldn't buy the new "A-Rod" book. And for even more fun, check out the comment string fueled by one of the Sox fan dads. Gotta love the rivalry! Go Yanks!

Downtime?

I've always thought that we were busy people. We always had something to do, whether it was a local trip to Target or Stop&Shop/Wegman's, or a weekend trip up to Boston. It just always seemed like we were on the move. Looking back now I can see how much downtime we actually had before Kaylani.

Just to preface this, I'm not complaining that life is different now that we have Kaylani. I just can't believe how having a baby changes your perspective on certain things. I look at some of our friends and can't believe that just a few years ago (or even last year) we were as "free" as they are still.

Gone are our days of sleeping in, sitting around all day and watching TV/movies, going to the movies (was actually never a big fan anyways since it involved sitting still and staying quiet for 2 hours at a time), driving off to run errands whenever we so chose, or having dinner out on a whim. Now, they're replaced with early morning errands, naptime, quiet time around the house, and quick dinners at home before an early bedtime for everyone.

And instead of heading to bars to watch a game, or wandering around a mall or shopping for hours, we take trips to the park or to the zoo, or other family friendly environments where we can make a quick escape if necessary and don't have to worry about disturbing people if Kaylani happens to be cranky. Everything else is put on hold, or squeezed into the limited amount of time we have to ourselves, or more specifically, times when Kaylani is napping.

And when it all comes down to it, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have no real desire to sit at a bar all day anymore (even if the Yankees were on). I find sitting in front of the TV for more than 2 shows boring now (and tiring since we only do this after Kaylani is already in bed). TV during the day would mean Kaylani was watching too, and there are much better ways to help her develop. Making sure she gets her sleep and then taking her around to see new things and new places are what our lives have become about.

We got everything we asked for, and there's no way I'd want anything else. Well, except maybe a few hours a night this weekend to watch the Yankees and the Red Sox go at it. Good thing 2 of the games are night games and she'll be asleep already. Plus, watching baseball on TV is a good way to help her develop, right? No? Just me?

It's only a day away

Luckily for me, Kaylani wakes up at 7am every morning so I can hold her for a few minutes before I head off to work. Even luckier for Mommy and me is that Kaylani wakes up at 7am after going to sleep at 8pm. This is especially good for us on days when I don't make it home until after 7pm, or after Kaylani's bedtime process starts, like today.

By 7:30am, I was out the door and on my way up to the new Yankee stadium for opening day. I'm not going to lie and say I was sorry to be leaving for the day because after all, I was going to see the Yankees first game ever at the new stadium! Maybe it was the slow pace of the game, or the fact that the Yankees got blown out in the late innings, but I found myself missing my little girl and hoping I could get home in time to see her before she went to bed. Unfortunately the baseball diehard in me didn't allow me to leave early to make things easier.

So because I'm such a baseball diehard, I had to "endure" 6 hours at the stadium before I could leave. It was tough being at the stadium 3 hours before the game started and waiting on line for my new authentic Teixiera jersey, or for the beer and hot dogs and sausages we waited for, but I survived. And believe it or not, the whole time I was thinking about Kaylani and Mommy. Well, some of the time at least.

I actually made it home by 7:30pm, which was minutes after Mommy put Kaylani to sleep. Since she was crying, I took the opportunity to head into her room and say goodnight to her which made my day. Seeing Kaylani and kissing her goodnight made a Yankees loss on opening day suddenly bearable. It was tough to be away from 7:30 to 7:30, but at least I got to say good morning and goodnight to my little girl. So win or lose for the Yankees, I'll always have Kaylani. And trust me, that's always a win.

Opening Day!

Today is one of Daddy's favorite days...Opening Day for the Yankees! It normally comes after a very long and cold winter where we're stuck inside, but this year, the offseason wasn't too bad. I mean, from a waiting from baseball perspective it was bad, but Kaylani was around to keep us busy for the last 5 months. And now that baseball is back, Daddy got to live out a lifelong dream of his.

Ever since I started thinking about being a Dad (which was sometime around the age of 17...I know, I'm odd), I couldn't wait to watch baseball with my own kid. So finally, 11 years later, my dream came true. When I got home from work, I quickly changed into my Yankees T-shirt so I could match Kaylani's cute little Yankees outfit that Mommy put her in appropriately this morning. Feeling like we were dressed for the occasion, it was baseball time!

Normally Kaylani isn't allowed to watch TV, or at least not much of it, but not surprisingly, Daddy made an exception for Yankees baseball. So with her sitting on the couch and me laying across her, we watched the game together. She actually behaved real well and watched quietly along with me. It's hard to say if she was interested in the game or was just relishing her time in front of the magic box. Either way, Daddy was okay with it.

Anyways, baseball season is here finally and I couldn't be more excited. You can bet Kaylani and Daddy will spend quite a bit of Daddy-Daughter time parked in front of a TV somewhere watching the game, and maybe even at the new Stadium later in the year since I renewed my season tickets. But for now, it's time for Daddy to turn off the radio so Kaylani can finish nursing and go to sleep.

Today's game didn't quite turn out the way we wanted to, but when you have a smiling baby as cute as Kaylani, it's hard to be upset even when the Yankees lose. Anyone who knows my passion for baseball will find it amazing that I can smile during a Yankees loss, but that's what Kaylani does to me. Check out these pictures of Kaylani and Daddy on Opening Day (and from our weekend in Boston in a separate album). I bet they'll make you smile too...no matter who you're rooting for. Go Yanks!

Raising Her The Right Way

It's no secret that I'm a die-hard Yankees fan. And it's no secret that I plan on raising Kaylani like that, my nieces and nephews like that, and really anyone that I can still influence like that. But I don't think team loyalty is something you can teach someone, or push upon someone. It just kinda comes along because you're raised that way, or for us Yankees fans, because you know it's the right thing to do.

Take my friend Jay for example. His daughter likes the Yankees, even though she lives in Dallas and her dad is a Red Sox fan (this post will not go into how ridiculous it is that Jay, who lives in Dallas, is a Red Sox fan). Now his daughter is someone I can relate to. She's a Yankees fan, and that makes a lot of sense to me, and that's how I always thought Kaylani would turn out.

Well tonight, I was able to exhale just a little bit. Sure I had pictures previously of Kaylani with the Yankees hat that my brother and family bought her when she was just a day old, but that wasn't enough to make me relax. She hadn't shown me that she was a true Yankees fan yet (granted, it's not baseball season quite yet) until now. Tonight, she did what most of us Yankees fans do when they see Red Sox paraphernalia...she gave it the finger.

The picture above was not staged (well, adding the Red Sox stuff obviously was), but she really did give it the finger. I've never been so proud! And before anyone gets the wrong idea, Kaylani will NOT be allowed to give people the finger when she's older. That would be rude and uncalled for...unless they're wearing Red Sox paraphernalia, in which case it would be hilarious!

Sure you could argue that her pinky is in the air too, but I'd argue that I just didn't snap the picture fast enough. Either way, from this day forward, Kaylani is a true Yankees fan. She was born in a down year for the Yankees, but she'll grow up in a great time for them as well. And her Dad is going to take her along every step of the way, including to Opening Day at the new stadium this April if Mommy lets him. I'll keep you posted on how that conversation goes...

But in the meantime, check out a few pictures from the last two nights. We had to wake her up for yesterday's photos because we may have forgot to take any during the day, but we got them. As long as this is a daily blog, the goal is still to take daily pictures, so keep on checking back! And keep on reading along. After all, what else are you going to do until Yankees season starts?