Rather Nice Saturday!

We went back up to the Chicago Botanic Garden earlier this evening - the weather was absolutely lovely. Overcast and a bit on the chilly side.



There's been a lot of "peek-a-boo" around these parts lately:







But no more pulling up to a stand just yet (although he's really interested in trying to pull up on the toilet...).

Craziness on the Fourth of July

While we were away in South Bend, Indiana for the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson/John Mellencamp concert, my mom watched Boy Friday for the evening. As far as we know, everything went just fine - he was asleep when we got back, amazingly enough considering the war-like conditions just outside (I mean the noise from fireworks everywhere). Apparently, it's crazy here on the Fourth of July. On our drive back from Indiana, there was haze and fog and smoke, as well as an occasional firework here and there. Of course, we had no idea that when we got home, the haze and fog would be so much worse than we'd experienced the whole way home. WOW. I have never lived anywhere before where fireworks were legal (apparently I still don't. crazy!). Um. It's somewhat frightening (especially for Tyger), and I think it makes fireworks much less "special" than I always thought they were. The woman next door just told me yesterday that she found a bunch of firework-debris in her backyard, but didn't know who had been setting them off (it was across the alley). In fact, I was STILL hearing fireworks go off until last night (sure, just a few, but really, people - how much fun is it?).
Taken by pantagrapher, but you get the idea what it looked like here...



Here's Boy Friday in his holiday outfit, sent by his Grandma in Florida.

Asserting His Independence.

You'd think the little guy were into the terrible two's already these days... Seriously, if you take something away, he'll scream his head off (really wonderful at 6:30 this morning, after I explained that no, he shouldn't be shoving things into the oven door). And there is NO WAY that he wants to change his clothes or diapers. NO WAY MAMA! And what is the deal with getting only 8 hours of sleep last night (he woke up at 5:30 a.m.)?? Crazy little guy - mama needs to sleep, too!

It is fun to see what he can do. When my mom was here last week, Boy Friday started a fake "sneeze" (apparently expecting a "bless you!" in return). It's just hilarious! I keep wanting to get that on video, but I haven't managed it yet. He can sort of "stand" on his knees now (without holding onto anything), so his core strength must be getting better. Friday's crawling is quite fast, too - turn around for a second and perhaps he's trying to turn on the computer, sitting on Chester, or attempting to check out the cat's litter box. We have a gate on his bedroom (to keep him IN not out), but he'll often grab the bars and scream/cry/whimper as soon as he realizes he's trapped.

I posted more photos on Flickr, but here are a few from our recent trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden, as well as a couple from the swings at Portage Park.





Seems to enjoy the swings!







We got to see mama and baby ducks, too! So cute.

Three Months Old Already!

Boy Friday is actually 3 months old! And he's already getting close to doubling his weight. He smiles, makes all sorts of fun noises, and is doing a great job holding his head up. It looks like he's about 14.6 lbs now (according to my scale - yes, that's with diaper and all). As you can see, he's been enjoying sitting on the couch.

Although he had trouble with all the driving on Wednesday and Thursday (he decided he needed to scream all the way home during rush hour traffic. awesome), he did just fine Saturday when we took a little jaunt down Milwaukee Avenue to the Wicker Park neighborhood. It's been very chilly here - and it's supposed to freeze Monday morning - so we had Friday all bundled up.

Well, I'm off to sleep now - it's late and Friday's been asleep for three hours already...

So Halloween is Coming...

And there are some amazing decorations out there... I think someone actually spray painted a high chair in that last photo. Some serious thought and effort has gone into this!

Welcome to October

Home of post-season baseball. Our American flag was replaced last week with this Chicago Cubs flag - the day they clinched the National League Central Division title.  The first game is today, here in Chicago, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. There is so much team loyalty here! It's definitely a "culture," even. I'm not even sure that I can root for the Dodgers in this atmosphere... 

But, here it is October and I was expecting the leaves to have changed color... Still green, but the air is quite chilly today. Baby Friday's hands are cold, and I'm a bit cool in the house, too.

And, just for fun - a happy baby with kitty guard from two days ago:

A Trip Downtown

Friday and I actually had an adventure today - we took the train downtown to visit with Mu and Papa (my grandparents) who were on an Amtrak layover. Chicago (and maybe other places, too) is not easy to get around with a stroller, I've discovered. There are steps everywhere! The trains have steps, the stations have crazy revolving doors, and people give you dirty looks if you get in their way with a massive stroller contraption.

So, I didn't take the stroller. I tried my luck with one of those baby carriers. Not super easy to get around, either - but much more convenient than a bulky stroller. I couldn't fit my camera in the little bag I brought with me (not that I'd have been able to manage taking photos of us anyhow).

Our first trip on the train, first real test of the baby carrier, first diaper change in a public restroom. What fun!