My 1-year-old son's first Cardinal game was this past weekend. It was the perfect game...gorgeous weather, good seats and several great plays. Apparently, that just wasn't enough for my son - since mastering walking, sitting still is quite the chore. So, by the third inning I was forced to leave my seat and walk around Busch Stadium with little man in tow.

After aimlessly walking around the perimeter of the stadium, I remembered a co-worker had tipped me off about a playground located "under the scoreboard" at Busch Stadium. I actually had immediately searched stlcardinals.com for information on it, photos, anything...but failed to find the information.

But now I was desperate. I decided to seek this evasive playground and headed toward the area beneath the giant scoreboard. AND SCORE! There it was in all its glory....it actually took me a few minutes to notice it on a slightly lower level behind the lady selling tickets for the batting cages area.

So little man and I spent a good two hours playing among 20+ other 1-7 year olds within a confined carpeted play space for kiddos....they call it a "Soft-Play" Play area. I wasn't sure Ethan was going to be game for it since it was full of kids bigger than him, but he got in there and mixed it up - no problem! He was so excited to be able to run around with all the other beasts, and I was excited to have a break from his fidgeting. There were TVs airing the game plastered all over the place, but of course I couldn't take my eye of the my fast moving target of a child.

Here's what I found out about that little slice of parent heaven: It's called "U.S. Cellular Family Pavilion" - definitely worth checking out if you're a parent with small child in tow at a game.

The U.S. Cellular Family Pavilion is located on Level 1 between Gates 6 and 1, on the northwest corner of Busch Stadium. The Family Pavilion presents a variety of interactive games and activities for the whole family.

The U.S. Cellular Family Pavilion is open 2 hours prior to each game and continues operation until one-half hour after the game. All guests with a day-of-game ticket are admitted to this area free of charge. However, there is a fee to participate in some of the games and activities. The following are some of the activities that are featured in the U.S. Cellular Family Pavilion:

• Batting Cage
• Speed Pitch
• T-Ball Cages
• Soft-Play Play Area
• Pennyman
• Rawlings Making the Game
• Seating Area (100)
• 2 rows of tables and chairs
• View the game for a maximum of 2 innings