Take Me Out to the Ballgame

My first Cubs lesson...reading Cubs 101 with Daddy
7th Inning Stretch

Thanks Kim Davis for our Cubs dresses...we love them!

Buy me some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!

Our tired little Cub

Play Ball!

One Proud Daddy

Opening Day 2009-Minute Maid Park

All decked out in Cubs gear and ready to go

Monday, April 6th will forever go down in the record books as one of the happiest days in Josh Smithson's life. Not only was it Opening Day and his beloved Cubs were taking on the Astros at Minute Maid Park but it was his first time to be able to take his daughter to see a baseball game. Anyone who knows Josh knows that Opening Day for him is arguably the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" so to be able to share in that with his little princess, you can only imagine how happy he was. To say he was floating on Cloud 9 would be a huge understatement!

It all started this past Christmas when Abigail gave her daddy tickets to see the Cubs take on the Astros on Opening Day. He has literally been counting down the days ever since. What's sweet is that it wasn't the fact that he was getting to see the Cubs play that made him so happy (sure that was an added bonus) but it was the fact that this time he was getting to share the experience with his precious Abigail. As a matter of fact we had several offers from friends in the Houston area to babysit Abigail for the night so we could enjoy the game as husband and wife but Josh wanted nothing to do with it...he insisted that it was going to be a family affair. I'll admit I was a little hesitant on how the evening was going to turn out; after all I don't know of many 4 1/2 month olds who are entertained by watching an entire 9 innings of baseball. Josh however was convinced otherwise. In his head he pictured it as one of the most memorable evenings of his life. I have to say, this time he was right. Our little Abigail was a champ! Of the 9 innings, we actually sat and watched 6 complete innings from our seats. The other 3 we spent walking around the ballpark. The only time Abigail actually got a little fussy was during the 1st inning when her dad got a little too excited after Alfonso Soriano hit a lead-off home run to put the Cubs up 1-0. She was caught off guard and got a little scared after her dad jumped to his feet and started cheering. (Of course it probably didn't help that while he was cheering he was holding her up in the air as if she was some sort of trophy). We quickly came to the realization that we were going to have to find "alternative means of celebrating" if we wanted this family affair to last long. After taking in the sights and sounds Abigail managed to catch a quick "cat-nap" during the 3rd and 4th innings...I think the excitement and the stimulation from her surroundings finally wore her out. My favorite moment of the night was watching Abigail and her daddy sing "Take me out to the Ballgame" in the seventh inning stretch together. I've never seen Josh happier or more proud than he was at that particular moment. To put icing on the cake, the Cubs beat the Astros 4-2. It looks like Abby may be the Cubs lucky charm. Dare I say this may be the year?