Day after the Rose Bowl

Last night was the USC vs. Texas football game at the Rose Bowl. Uwe held up 2 toys (one representing USC and the other Texas) and had Astrid choose which one was going to win. At first she went for Texas, but then her favorite teething toy won out in the end and she chose USC. Yeah Uwe rigged it. We had to root for our hometown team. Unfortunately USC lost in a close game.

Today I decided to take Astrid for a walk around the Rose Bowl.

I dressed Astrid in the outfit that my mom got her for Christmas. Although she's 8 months old, she fits into 12 month old sized clothes.She loves to roll around on the changing table. It's getting trickier for me and Uwe to change her diaper and clothes.Astrid sitting on our bedroom floor waiting for mommy to get ready.I think this is the first time Astrid has crawled on laminate wood floors. Usually she's in the only room in our house that has carpet, the entertainment room. I prefer wood floors but carpet is safer for the baby to roll around on and she doesn't hurt herself when she falls over. As soon as she gets proficient at walking, Uwe wants to rip that carpet out. Wood floors are so much nicer and cleaner."This floor feels weird mom. Why is it so slippery?"
Astrid seemed to like this spot below the edge of our bed, where she could tangle her legs around the metal post.
Our cleaning lady came yesterday so the floors are spic and span and clean enough to eat off of.Here's what the aftermath of a Rose Bowl game looks like. There was trash everywhere and crews taking down the tents and fences.Astrid's more interested in chewing on the bar of her stroller.

Lately she's been chewing on all sorts of things like the charger for the camera, the edge of the table at a Korean restaurant, and the wood trim of her changing table. "What's the hold up mom? I thought we were going for a walk?"

There were lots of scavengers who either pulled up in a car or were walking around with big trash bags to collect bottles and cans to recycle.

The garbage left by patrons included lots of picnic and food items, a BBQ grill, and plastic chairs.I replaced Astrid's teething toy that I accidentally destroyed when I tried to sterilize it (and it melted). Here she is with a new one, this time in pink. Remnants of the game. Mylar balloons in USC colors with footballs, stars, and a #1.

Today was a beautiful sunny day. The temperature in the afternoon was 76 degrees. It feels like Summer.Astrid loves to chomp away on her seat belt/harness.

"Yes, seat belt chomping is my guilty pleasure."

Astrid pulled off her left sock.

Free at last. Free at last. Delighted to have her free foot hanging out in the wind.
She looks so cute staring at her white sock like it's the most fascinating thing on earth.
I ended up taking her other sock of as well. It's a special treat for her to be barefoot outside.
This is my view from the back of the stroller. There's a clear plastic shade that I can peek into to see what the baby's doing. But in this case it's the baby looking back to see what mommy's doing.Here's another shot close up. She loves to turn her head back and look up at me.

Astrid enjoyed all the sights and smells around the Rose Bowl (and the feeling of the wind on her bare feet) and as always it's a nice little workout for me too.