Obsession

Chase's obsession? Baseball!

I'm not really sure how or when it started... maybe it was the t-ball set we bought him for his birthday back in February, or maybe it was the fact that we started watching the Rays games on TV every night when summer began. Regardless, Chase is obsessed. Every waking minute, he wants to play baseball! Doesn't matter if we're outside or inside, he wants us to pitch to him or play catch. He even has a little wind up routine that he does when "pitching," which he totally picked up from watching the pros! We had to take him to Sports Authority to find a little lefty baseball glove because he kept trying to catch with Eric's (very large, right-handed) glove. While we were there, we found a Rays baseball that was soft enough to hit around the house. Next came the Rays shirt and baseball hat, which had to be worn every day for a few weeks! Chase has been to 3 Rays games, including 2 this summer. He LOVED them!! At the first one, he got a bobble head doll and a baseball, he ate a hot dog and Cracker Jacks (they were included with our tickets!), and he got to run the bases after the game! That meant that the second game was filled with requests to go onto the field and for a hot dog, which he seems to think is automatic anytime you go to a baseball game. He even points to his pennants at night before he goes to bed and says, "go there, eat hot dogs!"

At the first game, eating Cracker Jacks:

Running the bases:

Showing off his Rays gear and new glove:

Watching a game and eating apples:

At the second game (we were waaaay up high and he was not happy about that!):

With "Raymond," the mascot:

Our first Rays game as a family of four! This was taken during the 9th inning, and Chase was exhausted!