Category — Uncategorized

My guess is that this will not come as a surprise to any of you. Solely based on his parents tendencies to march to their own beat and ignore what looks like a logical progression of events, why would Reily be any different! It appears that he is not interested in the standard progression of learning to crawl then to walking.

He has absolutely no interest in crawling! This may be in part to the physical challenges that it poses for someone who is rounder than he is tall. So, if he wants to bypass this for the time-being and concentrate his efforts on standing upright, then we will encourage him – despite the dangers of having a little, mobile bulldozer! And things may change after he takes a few big spills; which currently render him unfazed.

So here is a quick video of him practicing some life skills that proved invaluable for his father…as you can see, just like his dad, he’s a natural and has moves so progressive that it leaves others mystified by his shear magical movements.

6 days and counting!!!!

In less than one week’s time, we’ll be watching as all of our worldly possessions are loaded onto a truck and ready for transit back to Chicago.  All that will remain will be hailing a cab, wrangling up the cat, and occupying a 5 month old with songs and books.  We’ll pull up to LAX and about that time is when we’ll be flooded with emotions as we realize that one chapter is closing and another is opening.  The settings are familiar but by no means will the story be the same.

Los Angeles will be missed and I really do like this city.  When you strip it of all the distractions – the traffic, the quakes, the paparazzi, the Lakers – you have a fantastic city.  The diversity is amazing, the landscape is jaw-dropping, and the weather is just short of perfect.  I’m grateful that we’ve agreed to keep the business here and subsequently will be back frequently to visit.  Christine and I agree that Los Angeles is a city of youth; and that we probably would have enjoyed it more when we were younger.  A time where memories were fuzzy, scheduling of events always ended in -ish, and when we had so much more to prove.
But life is about change and the one thing that will be coming back with us to Chicago this time (in addition to Reily!) is a new found love affair with ‘change.’  An acceptance and embracing of a lack of permanence.  Recognizing that the only constant in our life is that it is inconsistent.  Our tastes change and we are now ok with that.  Our dreams are bigger; our expectations higher.  Our needs are less material and more experiential.  And we are hungrier than ever!

The cities are different; and that is good.  The people are unique – and that is an understatement for Los Angeles!

And we prepare.  Trading thongs (as in sandals!) for boots; swapping sunblock for scarves.  Gas expenses migrate to subway fares and shitty pizza gets replaced with gut-busting deep dish!  Greeting strangers with hugs is thankfully replaced with meaningful handshakes; and local pubs are within walking distance and don’t serve neon drinks.

But buyer beware.  A quick warning to the windy city – Reily is coming!  And he is almost mobile and completely fearless.  He has a furious appetite and an insatiable need to shove everything in his mouth – regardless if its still attached to you or not.  He is not concerned with clean and is a true hunter.  He is isn’t quiet and uses high-pitched shrills to confuse his opponents just before he attacks. You’ll know its him by his trademarked spit-drenched outfit and the disarming smile that is plastered across his face.  Don’t let this fool you.  Take heed Chicago – for he is coming and he will not be denied in his quest to conquer!

He arrives in one weeks time!

Reily is Ready

Yesterday, Christine and I took Reily for his two month checkup. And that is where we learned where our growing boy measures up against the rest of the ‘baby population.’ Here are some of his latest vitals:

• He weighed in at 13lbs 11.1oz – which puts him the 90th percentile for his weight
• He was measured at 23 3/4 inches long – putting him in the 75th percentile for his height

And before we all get too far ahead of ourselves, the doctor clarified that we can’t make any predictions on his future height until he is around 4 years old. So until that time, he is restricted to dominating on the other little babies and I’m encouraging him to talk just a little trash now because its highly unlikely that he’ll be able to do it later in life when it comes to matters of height!

And while we were there, the whole family got some shots. Christine and I got the flu shot – which I’m completely against injecting yourself with a known bug in an effort to hopefully fend of it later in the season but because of the little guy, I decided that it was better for him. (Amazing how your personal views can change when your love for self is over taken by a love for another!) And after much debate and research, we decided to get Reily vaccinated.

We had numerous discussions on the topic – much around the latest thinking that vaccinations are tied to an increase likelihood of autism. We did our research on our – spoke with our doctor – and then decided that it was still best to move forward with it. We believe in a parents right to choose and that the decision, either way, should not be one out of fear. Personally, I believe that much of our health problems are more likely to stem from our poor dietary methods than from any drug that we introduce into our body. (I am a strong proponent of a dominate raw diet ~ Christine, who claims variety is the spice of life, insists that we eat something other than bananas, nuts, and lettuce for every meal! Me – give me a schedule every day! But I really like bacon — and butter! Oh, and cookie dough…and of course, reese peanut butter cups!)

And back to the shots – I’m not really sure who cried more. Reily or Christine from having to watch Reily get his shots! We had a big group hug afterwards to attempt to make everything better but it was certainly not an enjoyable experience. But on a positive side effect, he did sleep most of the afternoon and despite being incredibly irritable while awake, he slept for most of the night as well! He needed some major rest! On that note, I’m being summoned to his room. The prince has woken from his slumber and sounds as though the other servants are not attending fast enough!

Enjoy your Thursday!

Given that we spent almost all over our lives east of the Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon Line (Quick geography lesson for Christine when she reads this post – ‘The Mississippi’ refers to the Mississippi River and the Mason-Dixon Line refers to the imaginary boundary often used to denote the division of free states and slave states prior to Lincoln abolishing slavery!), it would be difficult to classify the recent weather in Southern California (SOCAL) as cold. It has, however, been a nice break from the repressive heat of the past few weeks where we’ve seen unseasonable high temps often north of 85 degrees.

The recent chill has been a blessing and brings back some memories from the fall days that we knew back in Chicago. We have always said that Chicago in the Fall is the best place to be – the humidity has left from the summer and taken the thunderstorms and the winds of winter have yet to blast the walkers on Wacker. Here – we have experienced our first season of the Santa Ana winds! Not fully understanding, which instantly tells you that I never appreciated, the challenges that a regional shift in the wind direction can cause was quickly snapped into reality when ‘Fire Season’ was upon us! The air becomes drier – which is incredibly impressive given that Los Angeles is set in the desert – and with it comes some heat. And I’ll say – its a dry heat which is always (YES ALWAYS) better than heat accompanied by humidity. (If you want to challenge my assertion on this one – I will sell you one of two properties in Akron, Oh. Neither have air conditioning and thus you’ll understand my point around July of next year!)

So we’ve had the Santa Ana’s and news stories of the fires in the areas. And this, like earthquakes, appears to be taken in stride by the locals. And since we’ve lost our gentle breezes rolling off the ocean, which gives Santa Monica a mediterranean climate that often has year round temps around 70, the heat crosses on the verge of being oppressive. But there are many positives of these winds. Like we are guaranteed to not have any slush for Thanksgiving. Or a humid drenching that only make things wet but fail to cool anyone off.

That is why this recent wave of cool weather is such a welcome change. It brings us some nostalgia of Falls past. AND….And gives us an opportunity to dress Reily in some warmer clothes. And with memories of this image burned in our hearts, this temporary ‘cold snap’ will be anything but short-lived.