(except the end ...)
Millie made it to her first pro-baseball game last night (a Detroit game much to the chagrin of her St. Louis family, but at least the Cardinals were there) and she had a blast! Millie was not fazed by the crowds or noise for one minute. We left Unionville around 3:00 so that we would be able to get to the game around 5:00 when the gates opened. The ballpark was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1968 World Series when the Tiger's faced the Cardinals ... and won (there have been subsequent match-ups where the Cardinals were vindicated -- some in not-so-very-distant memory :) ) and the first 10,000 fans received commemorative replica 1968 road jerseys. A lot of people wanted those jerseys! We arrived at the gate right at 5:00 and the lines to get in the ballpark were HUGE! We made it through in about 20 minutes. I think they were out of jerseys in about 25 minutes. It was nice to see the crowds at Tiger Stadium. This is a ball team that went through a LOT of tough years and the fans were not very loyal. Scott and I are still a little shell-shocked when we go to a Tiger's game that is that crowded. The official count for the night was 44,400 some people -- the third largest crowd in the history of Tiger Stadium. That's pretty impressive considering they've played a post-season there!
The game didn't start until 7:05, so we wandered around the concourse a bit.
Millie and daddy got new baseball hats,
Millie got to ride on the carousel,
and the grown-ups all found some food to eat (and Grandma got a much coveted strawberry daiquiri!). 
Millie got to ride on the carousel,
and the grown-ups all found some food to eat (and Grandma got a much coveted strawberry daiquiri!). 
Before the game started there was a brief ceremony where some of the '68 players were introduced. Millie really enjoyed all the fan fare:
As usual, Millie made friends with everyone sitting around us. She had bright sparkling eyes and a great big smile for anyone and everyone who would make eye contact with her. Daddy may have cause to be concerned because she made friends with a lot of men in the stands! I was very impressed with Millie, she was busy, but not overly squirmy and didn't fuss at all. She was quietly attentive for most of the game, she was able to nurse frequently and without drawing much attention to mommy (thankfully) and was happy to just watch everything going on. She perked up every time the crowd cheered and loved the beach balls that inevitably made their way through our section. She spent some time with daddy and grandma, but stuck close to mama for most of the game. By the seventh inning (about 9:30) she was ready for a break and she quietly fell asleep while nursing.
As usual, Millie made friends with everyone sitting around us. She had bright sparkling eyes and a great big smile for anyone and everyone who would make eye contact with her. Daddy may have cause to be concerned because she made friends with a lot of men in the stands! I was very impressed with Millie, she was busy, but not overly squirmy and didn't fuss at all. She was quietly attentive for most of the game, she was able to nurse frequently and without drawing much attention to mommy (thankfully) and was happy to just watch everything going on. She perked up every time the crowd cheered and loved the beach balls that inevitably made their way through our section. She spent some time with daddy and grandma, but stuck close to mama for most of the game. By the seventh inning (about 9:30) she was ready for a break and she quietly fell asleep while nursing.
Not wanting to miss anything, she woke up for the final inning where the Tiger's tried to get a rally going, but just weren't quite able to pull it off. Personally, I was thankful that they weren't able to tie it up in the 9th (and not just because I was quietly rooting for the Cardinals... notice I DID where my Cardinals red, even if I didn't advertise it), we had a long ride home ahead of us and I was anxious for Millie to get back to sleep. She was wide-eyed as we made our way back to the car and played happily in her car seat as we got out of the garage and through traffic to the highway. Eventually she fell back asleep, with the help of some creative nursing, and slept until we pulled in the garage at Grandma and Papa's house. She had a quick diaper change and then everyone crashed for the night (around 1:00! That is a LAAATE night for this little family!).
Of course, Millie was up and ready to go around 6:30 this morning. And then she was ready to crash again at about 8:15 :). It's about 10:00 and she is still sleeping soundly. This has been one action-packed, adventure-filled vacation filled with all kinds of new experiences for Millie. It has been so much fun watching her reaction to everything and seeing how much she just soaks up. This is our last day in Michigan -- we head home bright and early tomorrow morning and then it's off to the Cape on Friday to see Bob, Irina and Tavi.
Oh, and in case you were wondering who won the game, the Cardinals won 8 to 4 :).
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