Thursday, May 17, 2007

Dodger game and Uncle Dave's big surprise


I decided to take the boy to the Dodger game. He's been to one Angel game this season (compliments of cousins Ruben and Vickie- thank you Easter Sunday) but he had yet to visit Dodger stadium.

The Dodgers always win when Noah visits.

I stumbled across a half dozen tix for the Dodgers v. Cardinals game. The rubber match. I called up my nephews Eli and Henry and invited them along. We loaded up the Avalon and headed to the Ravine (equipped with Uncle Mark's top secret directions!)

We were seated in the outer reserve, section 60. Row U.
For those of you that don't know Dodger Stadium:
Outer Reserve is highest level, besides Top Deck, but they are directly behind home plate, so Outer Reserve is the farthest you can get from the action.
Section 60 - Dodger Stadium is EVEN on the right field side, ODD numbers on the left. It starts at home plate and spreads out. 60 is the absolute last Section in the Outer Reserve.
Row U- Well, you all know your alphabet. Usually there is a V, W, X, Y, Z to follow good ole U. Not at Dodger stadium. IT goes U. Then Z.

We were in the last section, 2nd to last row, and three seats from the absolute corner. We were practically in the parking lot.

Nobody cared. It was a bit cold but we were all dressed up in our best Dodger gear and ready to cheer.

We enjoyed the first two innings, squinting our eyes to see the Cardinals take a 3-1 lead into the third inning. We munched on rice cakes and slurped on our bottled water. Both brought from home.

UNCLE DAVE to the rescue.


Uncle Dave showed up in Section 60 Row U to offer us a deal. No strings attached, he was going to take us all down to the FIELD level, third base side, row D (only four rows from the field! - Don't aks how, but Uncle Dave scored 4 EXTRA TIX to the FIELD LEVEL, easily 50 bucks a pop!)

What do we think? We love it. Well, I love it.
Noah doesn't fully understand English just yet and is still ssoaking in the sheer size of the stadium itself.

Eli and Henry are a little put out. Eli says, "I'm actually OK" and "That's a long walk".

Henry only half listened but when Uncle Dave loudly poses the question, "Do you wanna stay way out here or move down in the Yellow seats right on the field, four rows back?!" Henry said, "I don't know."

Noah didn't know either but of course we were up and out of our seats, heading for the field level. Uncle Dave dragged the two helpless boys through the crowds, up and around, down escalators and stairs to the coveted FIELD level. Laura, Noah and I followed shortly.

Brilliant seats! I loved it. And once they caught their breath aand settled in Eli and Henry loved it, too.

A couple of innings later Betemit launched a three run pinch hit home run, with two out! The Dodgers led 5-3/ held on for a 5-4 win thanks to the bullpen work of Broxton and closer Saito(who's "Bad to the Bone" entry music is rot with cliche but you couldn't help humming along)

Thank you, Uncle Dave for the great seats. Sorry your Cardinals lost.

This was Noah's 8th or 9th baseball game. 2nd this year. And would you believe, he has somehow picked up a love for the game. In deep sleep once we got home I think I heard him mumble..... 'go dodger blue...."

Indeed!




LA Dodgers 5, St. Louis 4 LAD
LA Dodgers (25-16)
Won 2
May 16, 2007
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis
0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 12 1
LA Dodgers
1 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 X 5 7 1
Standings thru 5/16/07 | Wrap | Gameday


St. LouisABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Miles, 2B5111013.235
Encarnacion, RF-CF5130010.333
Pujols, 1B4010011.245
Rolen, 3B4110113.217
Ludwick, LF3000034.233
Falkenborg, P0000000.000
b-Spiezio, PH-RF2011001.250
Taguchi, CF4000021.241
Flores, P0000000.000
Springer, P0000000.000
Johnson, P0000000.000
Molina, C4120000.286
Eckstein, SS4020001.246
Wells, P2000022.267
a-Duncan, PH-LF2010002.297
Totals39412211118

a-Grounded into a forceout for Wells in the 6th. b-Singled for Falkenborg in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Molina (2, Wolf), Rolen (6, Tsao).
TB: Miles; Encarnacion 3; Pujols; Rolen 2; Spiezio; Molina 3; Eckstein 2; Duncan.
RBI: Miles (4), Spiezio (10).
2-out RBI: Miles; Spiezio.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ludwick 2; Miles.
Team LOB: 10.

FIELDING
E: Eckstein (7, fielding).

LA DodgersABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Furcal, SS4110122.295
Pierre, CF5011002.278
Garciaparra, 1B3011110.292
Kent, 2B3000123.294
Gonzalez, LF3000102.265
Broxton, P0000000.000
Saito, P0000000.000
Martin, C4010004.319
Ethier, RF3210100.283
LaRoche, 3B3100103.261
Wolf, P1000011.118
a-Betemit, PH1113000.194
Tsao, P0000000.000
Beimel, P0000000.000
Clark, LF1010000.268
Totals315756617

a-Homered for Wolf in the 5th.

BATTING
2B: Furcal (8, Wells), Ethier (7, Wells).
HR: Betemit (4, 5th inning off Wells, 2 on, 2 out).
TB: Furcal 2; Pierre; Garciaparra; Martin; Ethier 2; Betemit 4; Clark.
RBI: Garciaparra (26), Pierre (10), Betemit 3 (13).
2-out RBI: Pierre; Betemit 3.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Martin 2; Furcal; Kent 2; Pierre.
S: Wolf.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Martin (7, 2nd base off Wells/Molina).

FIELDING
E: Martin (5, throw).

St. LouisIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Wells (L, 1-8)5.06556516.75
Falkenborg 1.00000108.31
Flores 1.00000002.51
Springer 0.11000002.13
Johnson 0.20000000.63
LA DodgersIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Wolf (W, 5-3)5.06321703.91
Tsao (H, 3)1.23110303.06
Beimel (H, 4)0.11000003.72
Broxton (H, 11)1.01000001.17
Saito (S, 13)1.01000101.42

WP: Wells, Wolf.
IBB: Ethier (by Wells).
HBP: Pujols (by Wolf).
Pitches-strikes: Wells 125-68, Falkenborg 11-7, Flores 12-7, Springer 9-6, Johnson 9-6, Wolf 89-62, Tsao 25-18, Beimel 8-5, Broxton 17-9, Saito 16-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Wells 9-1, Falkenborg 0-2, Flores 2-1, Springer 0-1, Johnson 2-0, Wolf 4-4, Tsao 1-1, Beimel 0-1, Broxton 1-2, Saito 1-1.
Batters faced: Wells 28, Falkenborg 3, Flores 3, Springer 2, Johnson 2, Wolf 23, Tsao 8, Beimel 2, Broxton 4, Saito 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Johnson 1-0, Beimel 1-1.
Umpires: HP: Mike Winters. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Marvin Hudson. 3B: Ed Montague.
Weather: 63 degrees, clear.
Wind: 6 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:20.
Att: 38,252.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Da Da and Noah's SPRING BREAK

You remember spring break!
At least the spring break they sell us on MTV.
Use to be staying up late, over-indulging in liquid numbing agents.....

These days spring break is a G-rated affair. And I could not be happier about it.

Today marks the end of my spring break. And I spent each of those days with my son, Noah!

Let's look back on our wild week.

The first day Noah and I slept in.... till 7:00am. It was glorious. Well rested, we ate breakfast together. I got really excited about our first spring break day together so I made waffles, veggie sausage, scrambled eggs, and poured orange juice, coffee, and milk (whole for him, non-fat for me) Noah ate Cheerios, I ate the rest.
We headed to a gymboree type class. It's called "Parenting a toddler" - Laura signed up several weeks back and although I had taken Noah one time before this one was special. For several hours Noah climbed and threw and played - Dad encouraged and cheered and laughed. The highlight was when a Mom screamed because a "lizard" had scampered into a corner and she needed a "man" to get it. I said, " A man? I'll go outside and look for one." Nobody laughed. The lizard turned out to be a tiny rubber toy, like one you'd find in a cereal box. The Moms were still freaked out.

Noah and I napped, Mom was home by noon, and day one came to an early end.

A walk. Books. Bath. Bed. Love you, Noah.



The next morning Noah and I ate our yummy breakfast, got ourselves a shower, and managed to hoist on our swim attire and head down to the YMCA for swim class, which began at 9:30am. We were early and so decided to wander around the drug store for fifteen minutes. And it is times like these when life makes complete sense. It is in fleeting moments like these when you can't stop being so grateful for how blessed you are. Noah and I wandered down the toy aisle and I bought Noah a bouncy ball. I handed him the ball. He took it. He laughed. He said, "Da Da" as if he was saying 'thank you.' He had never been happier in his entire life. The cashier flirted with him and his "gorgeous eyes" and we moved on to swim class so happy we could not stand the sight of ourselves. OK, not true, Noah relishes the chance to glimpse his reflection any time he can.
During swim class we pretended to be bubbles, a cookoo clock, and a dolphin. Noah doesn't mind being dipped or passed around, but if you try to get out of the pool he has a real problem. Apparently, he wants to live there. But, a group of elderly folks start to line up outside our little pool for their turn at swim class. It's similar by nature, they pretend to be bubbles, cookoo clocks, and dolphins as well.

A trip to the library. Bath. Books. A car ride to sleep.


Later that week we found ourselves at the Children's Museum in La Habra with my cousins Vickie and Melissa and all our kids - Kasandra, Nathan, and my Noah. The thing about a Children's Museum is that it is a magical place - for only a very short time in a child's life. If you are too young, you just can't understand what you are seeing and doing. If you are too old, you are bored by the exhibits and wish for more. For Kasandra, Nathan, and my Noah the museum was absolute magic. They had trains you could control with the push of a button, they had a replica bus you could drive and pay your fare. They had a car to drive for little guys. They had plastic potatoes and carrots to pluck from the ground, and they had large realistic animals that scared no one, but intrigued all.


A couple more cousin pics. Know that no child was armed by lions in the taking of this picture.





The week ended in a flurry of books, baths, drives and walks.

Laura was there for a mid week trip to the park where sunshine attacked Noah's fair skin and Noah enjoyed a swing or two. The uptown park was visited by us many times as well. Let's just say we are a family that loves a park!

We had a visit to my folks, a birthday party for Grandma Pam, and a day spent in Sierra Madre with our favorite canyon folk.

There was more but it was all that little stuff that only Noah and I will remember. A smile. A hug. A sigh. He's my Noah, and he gave me my best spring break ever!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

NOAH AT WORK

Enough of this! Noah has taken advantage of us for far too long. He has gotten a free ride. He's coasted on his looks. He's living the good life, rent free!

Here he is sweeping the kitchen.



Here he is vacumming the living room.




Now that Noah is a year old, we are putting him to work.
He is now responsible for all trashes, vacumming, sweeping, dusting, mopping, and chimney sweeping.

He is encouraged to sleep under the stairs and eat gruel, as well.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Happy Birthday Noah


Year One of the Noah show has come to an end.

Noah gathered together family and friends at the illustrious Penn Park Saturday afternoon where a good time was had by all. Noah had 'the best time ever'. That's a direct quote from him! Yes, he talks, and Dad understands.


I asked Noah what his favorite moments were during his birthday extravaganza, and although he is usually a one word at a time kinda one year old, I interpreted hand gestures, body language, gibberish, and other such yelps to decipher his thoughts.

Here they are:

5. "Ga boo de gryelp!"
Translation: I very much enjoyed the presents, especially the one from (insert your name here). It was the (shiniest, fastest, coolest, biggest, noisiest, most educational, hardest to assemble, most colorful, most stylish, most expensive- PICK ONE)











4. Da Dana hujuku -
Translation: Before my birthday party Mom took me to get my first
haircut. I was scared! I mean, a person comes at you that you never met
before with a pair of scissors and says, "Hold still". I'm like, 'I'm
outta here." But after it was over everything was fine. I looked sharp.
I mean, I looked so good. That haircut made me look months older.














3. Ka! -
Translation: One word, people. Cake. Why was this the first I was hearing about
this delicious morsel? All I can say is, Wow! Guess what? I'm a sugar
junkie, yes I am! A year goes by and nobody tells me about sugar? I
have some catching up to do. Oh, and let's give it up for my Mom, shall
we? The decorations on that cake and cupcakes?! Hysterical! My Mom, God
love her, actually drew animal faces on each cupcake. A real pleasure,
Mom.


2. Ja baba juby -
Translation: All the fine lookin' ladies. Sadie. Ellen. Cassidy. -
I already talked to my boy Aeden about this and he just didn't seem to care. All he wanted to do was play. He's a lot younger than I am, you know, he's only 10 months!
Anyway, I got Sadie's digits but I'm too shy to call. My older cousins
Henry and Eli insist that girls have something called 'cuties' but I
say bring on the cuties!











1. Ma Ma -
Translation: I love my Mom. She is the best Mom. Really! This past year, I just can't tell you what she's meant to me. I mean, food, clothing, warmth (to name a few). But I just love that lady. She is the best. I tell ya, this is nothing against other Mom's, but my Mom rocks the suburbs! Thanks Mom!



Thanks again everybody for making my birthday such a success. The next day I was so excited I woke up at 5:30AM to open presents. Mom and Dad were thrilled! I have been beeping and bumping and rolling and riding and singing and dancing since 5:30AM. And that's not all. There's so much more to do. I can't wait to .................ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ


Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Noah - walks, talks... dances?

The attached video is the reason why single people hate parents. Because we, parents (well, parents like me) make silly little videos of their kids dancing. And post them on the web.

Noah dancing, with Mom at his side, is the most wonderful footage a parent can have. But for the rest of the world, you can't imagine wasting so much time as to upload a video, add text, music, effects and transitions to a little boy simply walking to and fro and wagging his body this way and that.

I can't get enough!

Sunday, January 21, 2007



Firetruck destroyed - Noah #1 suspect.

Giant pools of drool located right next to the four recently flatened tires and smashed in windows linked Noah Hyatt, baby, to the near death of four of our finest firemen, and the wreckage that once was a firetruck.

Four men, and one dalmation, were rushed to Little Tikes Hospital, located in Noah's toy chest, where injuries from broken bones, crushed skulls, and missing limbs were treated. All the victims are in stable condition, but things don't looks too good for the dog. Apparently, Noah placed the canine in his mouth and chewed maniacally all the while mumbling, "doggie."

While it remains unclear what motivated the boy, now 11 months old, to attack the fire truck as it made its way through the living room of parents Tom and Laura (photo not available) what is clear is that Noah is a baby not to be trifled with.

"We just stay out of his way when he plays 'fire truck'", Dad and sometimes victim of Noah's hair pulling and stomach diving. "He aint foolin'. He'll jump on your stomach and drool on ya just as soon as look at ya, by God." Mom was too shaken up to comment.

Noah was last seen walking drunkenly towards the police station. All our boys in blue remain on full alert.