Exit Sandman

Yesterday was a sad day in the lives of Yankees fans throughout the world.  It was a long time coming, but it was the last game for Mariano Rivera, the Yankees closer for the past 19 years.  When Julian and I realized that it would be his last game, and that it was against the Astros only 2 hours away, we knew we had to go.

So early last week, we bought tickets to the game.  I mean, what better game could there possibly be to be our son's first Yankee game?!  It was going to be perfect!

But then the Yankees got mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  And Mo had the storybook ending at Yankees Stadium with Andy Pettite and Derek Jeter taking the ball from him as he shed tears and hugged them before leaving the mound.  How were we to know that we would never see him pitch again...

We started hearing rumors that #42 would not play in the Houston series.  And then Mo announced it himself...the picture we had in our heads of holding our son, as "Enter Sandman" played and #42 went running out to the mound for the last game of the season to cement the Yankees berth into the post season...well it was nothing but the perfect picture in our heads.

So we went to the game anyway, knowing good and well that it would be a different game than we anticipated.  No Mo, no Jeter, no Robbie, no AP, no BG, no Tex, and no, not even A-Rod...none of them were going to play in this game.  But it didn't matter, because they are still our team...they still wear the pinstripes...they're still THE New York Yankees....

And it was still going to be Alex's first Yankees game in a lifetime full of Yankees games (and Jillian's 3rd in a lifetime on Yankees games too).

Sad to see Mo go 

The Acostas at the Yankees game

Mommy and Alex

Daddy and Jilly

And even though he didn't play, Jillian and Alex will always be able to say that they saw Mariano Rivera in his last game ever.  We got there right as Mariano was giving his speech to the crowd before the game.

Good to see the smile on his face

Joe Torre was there

A gift for Mo from the Astros organization

He apologized to the crowd for choosing to not play in Houston.  He said that he wanted the farewell in Yankees Stadium to be his last memories of the game.  And from the bottom of our hearts, it made it all ok.  I mean, who are we, as fans, to say that he owed us one last jog to the mound.  It was HIS Career, HIS cutter, HIS grace under pressure, HIS love of the game, and HIS life...he lived it HIS way and left the game the way HE wanted.

The last #42 to ever play the game

And for as long as we live, we can say we were there to see one of the greats in Mariano Rivera as he gracefully bowed out of the game. 

Exit Sandman

After Mariano's speech, we dried the tears from our eyes and enjoyed the baseball game.  It was a fun atmosphere, and both of the kids did so well, especially considering it went to extra innings.  Sometimes I think we are crazy for taking a 2 1/2 year old and a not-even-2-month old to things like this, but they are great kids and it was really great for us to make memories together as a family of four!

On our way into the game

I'm pretty sure Jillian was most excited about this HUGE Mickey!  We first saw him on our way in. She asked us to go find him again on our way out so she could give him a hug and kiss goodbye!

The view from our seats

The cutest little Yankee fan

Daddy and his boy

His little pride and joy

Mo in the dugout, enjoying the game

His last few moments in uniform

And though it wasn't the "perfect" ending we had envisioned, it was perfect in all the ways that matter...good ,quality family time watching America's pastime, memories made by these Yankee fans, and hearts filled as we said goodbye to Mo!

A Day Filled with Best Friends

What a great day we had on Saturday!  It was a fun-filled day with lots of stuff to do and the best company of all to spend it with...our best friends who are like family!

We started our day by going to William Baker's 3rd birthday party.  William's mommy is one of my work friends and we were all too excited to receive an invitation to his paint party.  William also invited his friend from school, and Jillian's best friend, Jackson!  So these 2 besties got to spend the morning together being tiny Picassos!

Don't they look so cute in their aprons?!

At the party, each child got their own apron, a homemade easel, and a poster board to create their masterpiece.  There was a table full of paint options, and of course Jillian went straight for the purple and pink.

These 2 found spots next to each other and got to work on their "art projects."

Jillian really, Really, REALLY loved painting.  She started off using the brushes, but eventually just started using her hands.  And then she realized she was getting her hands dirty (she hates getting her hands all dirty).  So she went back to using the brushes.  

The paint party was a great idea to keep around 15 kids entertained for a little bit, but each child eventually got tired of painting (some after 2 minutes, some after 10).  But not this kid...she stayed outside painting for 45 minutes!  She started with this lovely purple and pink heart-shaped masterpiece, but she eventually used every paint color available and covered every inch of her poster board!

(Side note: Needless to say, I came home and told Julian that he needed to make Jillian an easel at home so we could spend our afternoons painting.  She loved it so much!  I think we have a future artist on our hands!)

But the fun didn't stop there.  I told Jillian if she ate all her lunch and took a good nap, we would go see the marching band, the Aggies, and all her friends in the afternoon.  

We joined up with our closest friends, the Malnars and the Hayes, to go watch the Corps March-in before Texas A&M BTHO SMU!  These kids loved it!  And I loved getting to spend quality time with our nearest and dearest.  

We had curbside seats to watch the band go by and it is definitely a site to see!  I was a little worried how this little guy would do, but he was such a trooper.  I covered his little ears but he did not fuss one bit as the band went by.  I'll take it as a sign that he will become an Aggie someday since he enjoyed it so much!

After march-in, we wanted to continue taking in the gameday experience, so we went to the Association of Former Students and took some family photos in the Aggie Ring!

The Fightin' Texas Aggie Acosta Family (minus Daddy...so sad he had to work during all this)

And next a family photo with our friends who are like family crew!  I think these kiddos were the cutest little Aggies around!  I can see it now...all 5 of them will be in college at the same time and I am sure they will all choose the greatest university in the world...Texas A&M!

Jillian, Class of 2033, Alex, Class of 2035, Jackson, Class of 2032, Andrew, Class of 2035, and Cole, Class of 2035 WHOOP!  (Lord help us, that means that me, Meredith, and Christen will all be Aggie Moms...haha!)

Next, we went up to my office in the MSC so I could feed Alex, and these 2 ran around and burned off more energy.  A big, heartfelt thanks to Meredith and Justin for watching Jillian while I fed the baby.  I wasn't around when they took this next set of pictures, but I think they are priceless!

Best friends posing for the camera

Jillian is starting to be a little ham!

Look at that pose!  She's just like her mommy!  (I'm pretty sure my mom has a pic of me just like this, but on our fireplace in a blue leotard.)

These 2 best friend cuties had a great time together!  And as for us adults, it is such a blessing to spend such quality time with my best friends and watch as our children grow, learn, and experience together.  At times, it is hard being so far away from family, but with these people in our lives, we have friends who have become family.  I honestly couldn't do all this without them!

Dimples!

I can already tell you that Alex has me wrapped around his finger, and it's all because of those 2 little indentations on his cheeks.  Literally one minute after he was born, my mom mentioned that he had dimples, but I had no idea just how cute they would be.  

I can see it now...

(Alex, age 2 months)

Scene: Mommy changing Alex's diaper

Me: Alex!  You just peed/pooped onto Mommy for the 2482 time!

Alex: (flashes those dimples and coos)

Me: (heart melts) OK, sonny boy, I forgive you!

(Alex, age 2)

Scene: Alex eating lunch

Me: Alex! Please don't pour your yogurt all over the table AGAIN!

Alex: (flashes those dimples)  Sorry, mommy!

Me: It's ok, Bubby Boy, Mommy will clean it up!

(Alex, age 17)

Scene: Alex gets caught sneaking out

Me: Alex!  No, sir.  It is not acceptable for you to leave this house after 11 PM!  Just wait until I tell your father...

Alex: (flashes those dimples) I'm sorry, I promise it will never happen again!

Me: OK, Bubs (yes, I will still call him Bubs when he's 17), maybe Daddy doesn't need to know about this...

You get the picture!  He will get away with anything...all because of those dimples.

Do you blame me?!?!

Proof That They Love Each Other

Jillian really is the cutest big sister ever!  I am always amazed at how much she loves her baby brother, Alex.  I know that it may not always be this way, and so I have been trying to document it as best as I can.  I figure I can use all this documentation as proof when they get older and they forget just how much they love each other!

The other day, I turned the corner and found Jillian sitting in Bubby's room reading books.  I asked her what she was doing and she said she was reading books to her baby brother...

She moved her stool close to his bed...

Brought in her favorite books...

And "read" these stories to him!

It was the cutest thing ever!

Also, she LOVES matching with her baby brother.  Really, she does!  If Jillian puts on one of her shirts that matches him, she goes to Alex's dresser and gets his matching shirt out of his drawer.

It's in the everyday moments too, like when she insists on helping to change his diaper by handing us wipes.  Or when she stops from playing to climb up on the bed to make sure baby brother is covered.  

It's the little things, like insisting on pushing his stroller "because that's what big sisters do."  She learned that from her Big Sister book.  

Jillian kisses her baby brother a million times per day, with sweet kisses to say good morning, or that she missed him when she sees him after school, or goodnight after a long day.  She has conversations with him, where she does all the talking of course.  

And it is clear that he loves her too.  We have been blessed lately to see Alex send intentional, loving, gummy smiles, and no one can make him smile quicker than his big sister, Jilly Bear!

He follows her with his eyes

And sends big smiles her way, too

Jillian says that Alex is her "best friend ever"...I hope and I pray that it will always be that way!

The son he always dreamed of...

Over a year ago, I was blog stalking our photographer, Sarah Giles, and I came across some photos of fathers with their sons in baseball themed shots. I did what any good blog stalker would do...I pinned them on Pinterest to store for future use as inspiration for the day that my husband could take these photos with our son. 

At the time, we weren't yet trying for our second child. But these pictures really stayed with me, and I thought of them from time to time, often times when day dreaming of our future. I wasn't sure that these photos would ever happen. After all, it would take the miracle of getting pregnant again and then there's the 50/50 chance on if we would ever even have a boy...

For a lot of reasons, I was elated the day we found out we were having a boy. I remember thinking for a split second that day about these photos and how I couldn't wait for us to try to take some like it. But then my thoughts quickly raced on to another thought.

Couldn't wait for that to be my son in the photo

I knew this would come in handy some day

It wasn't until a few weeks before Alex was born that I remembered about these shots again as I was prepping for his newborn shoot. A lot of prep goes into these things. You have to pre-decide outfits and props and concepts...

It wasn't hard to gather all the things needed for these photos. Julian obviously already had his Yankees shirt. We had some old baseballs on hand that he uses as decor in his man cave. We already had the bat, a signed Robinson Cano piece of Yankees memorabilia. There were just a few pieces missing. 

I got a little Yankees hat for our son. It melted my heart the day it came in the mail. And I made sure that we took a baseball with us to the hospital so that we could get his little footprint on it, and keep that ball as a keepsake for his Daddy.  

Lastly, we needed a glove.  Julian asked his dad to lend him this glove.  To Julian's dad, this glove carries special significance as it is one he bought overseas while stationed in Korea.  He has had this glove for over 20 years now.

We had all that we needed to take the photos, but I had no idea just how perfectly they would turn out...

The moment we took these, I had to leave the room because there were tears in my eyes.  I was so overwhelmed with joy, watching my husband, decked out in his beloved Yankees gear, holding our son with so much pride and love in his eyes.  It hit me that I had given Julian what he had always dreamed of...a partner to watch Yankees games for years to come, a person to share his love of baseball with, a son to call his own...

Daddy's pride and joy

Our little slugger

Look how perfectly he fits in Papi Papo's glove

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...these pictures are worth a lot more than that to us.  These pictures are worth a thousand hopes and dreams we had for our future a thousand memories and wishes to come with our son!