Monday, October 31, 2011

World Champions!!!

 Way to go Cardinals! 


The Cards did it!  They won the World Series!!!

The seven game series was closely matched, and Game 6 was epic, but the Cardinals never quit and now, we are, the WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!!

It is a great day to be a Cardinals fan!

Mommy and Attia ready for Game 1
(Notice '82 World Champions shirt)


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Game 6
St. Louis Post-Dispatch


Bernie: Cardinals pass their greatest test
BY BERNIE MIKLASZ, Post-Dispatch Sports Columnist
Posted:  10/28/2011 2:38 AM
 
        In the 179th game of this long, wholly improbable 2011 campaign, the Cardinals finally appeared to be out of time in Game 6 of the World Series. They were doomed. Down to their final out, down to their final strike. Not once, but twice. Down to the final minute of their impossible dream of a season.
        In a few seconds, it would all be over. That was true in the ninth inning. It was true again in the 10th inning. What a sad way to end it all. The lights were about to be turned off at Busch Stadium, the happiest place in baseball. Cardinals fans would walk slowly to their cars, and drive home in silence.
        The Cardinals had trailed Game 6 for much of the night, with the Texas Rangers having leads of 1-0, 3-2, 4-3, 7-4, 7-5 and 9-7. The Rangers led the World Series 3-2, and had repeatedly  knocked the Cardinals down in the run-up to a victory.
        How many times could the Cardinals rally? When would their hearts finally give way? Even the most resilient competitor has a limit, reaches the breaking point. There comes a time when you simply cannot go on. The Rangers were going to own the night and take the World Series championship back to Texas.
        Well, if there's one thing we've learned about this gallant, gutsy Cardinals team, it is this: Their strength never wanes. Their will to win never fades. Until the end, this proud and resilient team believed. They knew that somehow the dream would stay alive.
        At the bleakest moments, these foolish, stubborn men in the Cardinals uniform really thought they were going to pull this off.
        They honestly believed they'd lift St. Louis off its moorings and shoot down the star that was twinkling over the great state of Texas.
        "It's Cardinal baseball," third baseman David Freese said. "This is how they teach us. You never give up."
        At 11:39 p.m. on Thursday, leading off the bottom of the 11th inning, Freese squared up on a 3-2 pitch thrown by Rangers reliever Mark Lowe. It was a change up, an opportunity that could not be turned down. Freese got all of it, jolting the World Series in a way that was so shocking, so incredible, that we'll be talking about this classic forever.
        Parents and grandparents will grow old, talking about the night they danced in the aisles, jumping into each other's arms and into the embrace of strangers, as they celebrated one of the greatest moments in franchise history. The kids who watched this will grow up, savoring the wonder of it all, and passing the story down through the years. Through these stories, this unbelievable night will live forever.
        Freese, the hometown hero from Lafayette High, sent a miracle soaring above the diamond, rising above the wall in center field to land in the beautiful green grass that no glove, no Ranger, could reach.
        Home run. Then, delirium.
        Freese circled the bases, his right arm raised in triumph, taking a victory lap, and all of St. Louis wanted to be at his side, running with him.
        The thunderbolt gave the Cardinals a scintillating 10-9 win that was a testament to their pride and indefatigable desire. We witnessed one of the greatest games in World Series history, one that quickened and slowed the pulse, one that lifted us up, slammed us down, and raised us back up again during 4 hours and 33 minutes of bedlam.
        "It was all about surviving," Freese said. "It was all about getting to tomorrow, and Game 7."
        All of this wonderful, spectacular chaos and Freese made it possible by keeping it simple.
"It's all about knowing that this is the same game as when you're six years old," he said. "It's just elevated on a stage, and everyone is watching. But you have to keep reminding yourself it really is the same game."
        Game 7 is tonight at Busch Stadium. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. Make sure to bring medication, oxygen, and hope. The Cardinals and the Rangers will go at it one more time, winner take all. We will not exhale for nine innings, or for as long as it takes.
Freese had saved the Cardinals in the ninth on a 1-2 pitch from Texas closer Neftali Feliz, ripping a 98 mph fastball over the head of right fielder Nelson Cruz for a two-run triple that tied the game at 7-7.
        Surely, Freese's clutch hit - delivered against all odds - would catapult the home team to a dramatic victory and an appointment with the Rangers in Game 7. But Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton answered, rocking Cardinals closer Jason Motte for a two-run homer in the 10th, giving the Rangers a 9-7 lead and taking them a giant step closer to the thrill of victory. The champagne was on ice.
        In the bottom of the 10th, the Cardinals cut the lead to 9-8 on singles by Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay, a sacrifice bunt by pitcher Kyle Lohse and a run-producing ground out by Ryan Theriot. Lohse was pinch-hitting; the Cardinals were out of position players. The situation had become increasingly desperate.
        Lance Berkman was up next. At 2-2, down to his last strike, The Puma lined a single to center off Texas reliever Scott Feldman, with Jay dashing home with the tying run. It was 9-9 now, and Busch Stadium was literally shaking.
        Berkman put in his precious piece setting Freese up for the grand finale, the home run that made an entire town go nuts. A representative of the Baseball Hall of Fame showed up in the Cardinals' clubhouse to receive Freese's bat and jersey. And why not? This was instant baseball mythology.
        What a game. What an impossible, insane, incredible game.
"You had to be there to believe it," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "We never quit trying."
        And it's been that way all season, through all of the injuries and turmoil. It's truly been that way since Aug. 25, when the Cardinals began a ridiculously unlikely comeback from 101/2 games out of a playoff spot. This same tenacity carried them through Game 6, a game that seemingly had been lost several times. But these are the 2011 Cardinals. They are ferocious and fearless. And they have one more day to go, one more victory to claim, until they can rest.

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Cardinals World Series Record 


St. Louis CardinalsNL11 1926, 1931, 1934 '42, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011

It's a baseball town! Red shirts line the
streets and fill the stadium for the
World Series Champions parade.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Pumpkins for our Pumpkin


It's that time of year! Halloween is almost here and at the beginning of the week we were still in need of some pumpkins!

We had been wanting to make a trip out to the pumpkin patch for several weeks and on Tuesday afternoon open schedules and good weather finally aligned, so we got our cute little pumpkin loaded into her car seat and made a family trip out to Schaake's Pumpkin Patch.

We made it just in time! There were still a few good pumpkins left for the picking and it turned out to be the last warm day before Halloween. A little windy, but warm. Attia enjoyed the trip, helping mommy and daddy pick out pumpkins and watching the other kids, but I'm sure she will like it even more next year!


Riding into the pumpkin patch...

'Helping' daddy pick out her baby pumpkin

Returning from the patch on the tractor

Of course mommy and Atti
had to take some pics



... and now we have pumpkins!









Tuesday, October 25, 2011

'Solid' Food and Other Recent Firsts

In September Attia had her first introduction to the world of solid foods. She was totally ready for it and she loved it! - for the most part. :-) There are definitely some things that she likes better than others, but after a few tries she seems to like it all. We started with rice cereal, which she really liked, and she was VERY eager to eat! Here's a video of her first try:




After we did rice cereal for a couple of weeks we moved on to veggies - some of them got really great reactions with the first taste! So far we have tried:

  • Rice Cereal - Sept. 2: Attia's first introduction to solid food and she loved it right away! She was very excited to try eating with a spoon, and immediately wanted to help feed herself!
  • Carrots - Sept. 12: These got the worst/best first reaction. She made a face that made it very clear she was not a fan! I think a lot of it had to do with the texture and preparation though. I was making the baby food myself, without a food processor, and even with a lot of steaming and mashing carrots just don't get very smooth. Later in the month we tried out some organic jarred carrots and she liked those much better. She still wasn't too sure about the taste, but by the third try she was happy to eat it. 
  • Bananas - Sept. 16: A huge hit! Sauteed bananas were super easy to make and mash, and she loved them! After a hesitant first taste she decided they were ok, and was ready to munch away!
  • Sweet Potato - Sept. 25: This one went over pretty well, and she liked both the homemade version and the organic jarred version. By the third day she was gobbling it down!
  • Peas w/ brown rice - Oct. 4: We got a pretty priceless reaction with this one too. : -) Her first green veggie. She was more 'ok' with it each day, but she didn't warm up to it quite as well as the others. We held off on them for two weeks and when we tried them again she decided that they were just fine, and she ate the whole jar!
  • Winter Squash - Oct. 7: This was an instant winner! She flew through half a jar (much more than usual) the first night that she tried it. Definitely her favorite thing that she has tried so far!



It's no question that our baby girl is growing up fast, and learning and experiencing new things every day! Here are a few of her other milestones and first experiences from the last month...

Milestones:
In September she mastered sitting by herself while playing with toys at the same time.

She has been able to pull herself up to standing while holding on to our fingers for quite a while, and now she is trying to pull herself up while holding onto other things.

She is able to stand at the ottoman and play with toys for a short period (with mommy or daddy right behind her)

And she has the signs of her first tooth trying to work its way through! She can't stop playing with it with her tongue  :-)

Firsts:
She got to experience her first Haskel Indian Art Market as well as her first Lawrence Arts & Crafts Festival. Sept. -11th

She visited the post office for the first time. -Sept. 15th

She saw the leaves change colors and fall to the ground for the first time, and she crumbled her first leaf - an instant favorite thing to do!

She got her first cold :-(. No fun, but she loved her day to stay home from daycare with her daddy. 



And we have MANY more to come!








Friday, October 21, 2011

Attia's Seven Month Photo Shoot


We did our seven month photo shoot at the very beginning of October, when the leaves were just starting to fall. Attia loved playing with the leaves - studying their colors and crumbling them up! She was so interested in them that it was a little hard to get her to look up for the camera!



























 Our six year old neighbor Owen came to join in the fun at the end. She loves to watch him run around! He has a 16 month old brother at home, so he is quite accustomed to entertaining babies :-).














Saturday, October 1, 2011

Attia's Six Month Photo Shoot


Time for our six month photo shoot! Actually, we did this photo shoot at the beginning of September it has just taken me a while to get it posted. Check out her cute pics!
























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The Tutu: 
Seeing as how this was Attia's first 1/2 birthday we had to do something special for her photo shoot this month. I was looking around for accessories when Stacy gave me the idea to make a tutu myself. Since we all know how expensive cute baby things can be, and how much I love to do crafty projects, I thought this was a super idea! So, after looking at Stacy's friend's blog for inspiration, I decided on colors and ran out to the store to get some tulle. A few days later Attia had her very own handmade tutu! She was happy to try it on for me on her birthday, and we did her photo shoot a few days later!

Sitting pretty for her tutu fitting

And showing it off

Are we done now?