We were able to celebrate at the Lincoln Park Zoo with my parents and a friend (and local celebrity) Rick Hall.  We had fun looking at the animals and Reily even communicated with the monkeys!  Reily also had his first and only taste of sugar, loving every second of it.

G-ma and Poohbah came to celebrate Reily’s birthday and let Dan and I go out to celebrate our 6 year anniversary.  Of all the wonderful gifts Reily got for his birthday, it was a close tie between the Rody (inflatable mule) and his new snow boots.  He insisted on wearing them inside our apartment and out on the town….that is why he is not wearing pants

 

Our friend,Rick, is a local radio personality for Lite 105.  During a recent endorsement for an Insurance company, he mentioned us as people he knows he can rely on.  What a great compliment and a real hoot to hear our names on the radio   So as a small thank you, everyone we know should be listening to him everyday!

It has recently gotten cold!  Ok, by Chicago standards, it is cooler weather, but by California standards, it’s freaking cold!  So we have had Reily bundled up with mittens while he played on the slide and swings today.  He loved running around the park in his new Transformers light up shoes.  He’s become so grown up and continues to impress us with his logical problem solving ability.  It’s almost as if you can hear him saying “now if I want to get up there, I can pull this box lid over to get me up on the larger toy and then climb to the top of the mountain, I mean, ottoman.”  And he does, time and time again, up then down, then up, then down…

Reily enjoys his favorite books and cartoons on repeat.  And recently G-ma gave him a book that says “Trick-or-Treat! Ha ha ha ha….”, which Reily presses again and again and again.  When is Halloween over?  G-ma says she has a turkey one for Thanksgiving, but I think it might get lost in the mail

Yes, Reily continues to grow up faster than we are comfortable with, but I think that is every parent’s delima.  We just continue to spend lots of time together as a family, enjoying the city.  And as the weather starts to get cooler, we just get excited for the Holiday fun around the corner!

Reily continues to be an absolute joy and FULL of energy.  He continues to teach us life lessons about simplicity, positivity, determination, shrugging defeat and always pushing forward.  I often find myself amazed by his ability to pick himself up time and time again and continue to go after what he wants.  It’s time for us to figure out where we are going in life and make it happen

Oh, and rest assure. Things here have been fantastic. There isn’t a single thing that has worked out as I outlined but that has been part of the beauty. I’m done forcing life; from here we will simply try to follow her lead!

All our best – and stay tuned!

Living proof has presented itself – and the answer is quite simple. All you need to do is let someone know that they are missing some photos of their grandchildren because they aren’t a member of Facebook! See, Christine and I take loads of photos and videos of Reily – I mean loads! [So much so that we've had one person comment 'We get it, you really love him. And he's smart and cute in all but I got the point after the first 3 minutes of him laughing on the video." (And now we'll see if the person who said this still reads our blog! ] And most of those go straight to our Facebook pages so that everyone can see them without having a massive email list. But there are always stragglers who still need the email and while we try very hard to send as many photos to them as we can, sadly some simply don’t make it.

Then, it dawned on me. Why don’t I just tell those people that they are missing some of those photos. The result?

You got it! Look out – Rhonda Stummer has joined facebook. And then in traditional Stummer fashion, she began to leave a trail of dust. At current count, she amassed 28 friends, recruited two other family members to join, and uploaded a photo album of her grandchildren! All in less than 24 hours.

So my mom will no longer be missing any photos of the little one! And I venture to say that she’ll probably become more ‘popular’ than both Liz and I in no time at all. These are some of the photos that she’ll no longer be missing:

Or my latest favorite…

So, if you are interested in see more like this, perhaps you’ll join Facebook as well. Or just call my mom and she’ll send them on over to you!

and it’s Brilliant Sunshine…

to the Urban Jungles of Opportunity,

and the Confidence of Layers…

WE ARE HOME!!!

The last box has been unpacked and broken down; a process that seemed to take longer than expected given that one member of the family wasn’t too interested in putting stuff away as he was with putting it in his mouth. And if anyone thought that putting together baby gear was tough straight from the box, they should really try doing it without the instructions and having the movers shove all the pieces of every toy into one box. (Much appreciated fella’s – a little piece of advice for the Los Angeles service industry – ‘Try Harder.’)

Some pieces are missing and a few are damaged but we are moving on and feel a sense of calm again. A feeling that never seemed to resinate while we were in Los Angeles – it always seemed like we were on vacation there. Not here though – from the moment that we left O’hare and headed towards the city, a feeling of serenity blanketed us with the feeling intensifying as each mile clicked off. And then the sight – it is my absolute favorite visual – coming around the bend from O’hare on I-90 just when you get the first glimpse of the city skyline. It looks like something straight out of a Hollywood set where the building look so small and wonderfully aligned as if some set designer meticulously placed them. And its best viewed at night; where the periodic lights of individual offices replace the night stars and the city is trapped by a warm glow.

[Incidentally, Christine's favorite view can only be seen at night as well except she needs to be in an airplane! She is in love city's grid - the orderly array of streets and parks that are lined with rows of street lights illuminating the endless adventures that the city has to offer.]

So we will rest for a few days as the events of the past week have really drained us…

But fear not as we are getting back to normalcy and so updates and photos should become more frequent again…

It is my birthday. And nothing feels different from yesterday nor from last year and yet certain things are monumentally different…and others haven’t changed a bit. For example, I was up at 3am today. Now, I’ve been up at 3am on past birthdays as well. And like past birthdays where I was up at 3 am, I did have someone screaming at me. But this time it wasn’t the bartender indicating that it is was really last call and that we needed to leave; it was Reily anxiously wanting to be the first one to wish me a happy birthday!

And again, like past birthdays, I got sick last night. But this time it wasn’t due to the over-consuming of the nectar of the gods. Just a reminder that my stomach can no longer handle undercooked meat followed by a bag of reese peanut butter cups. And like past birthdays, I remind myself that it shouldn’t take ‘milestone’ events to occur for me to be reflective upon where I currently stand in this world. I would be better suited if I just incorporated it into my daily routine – add it to the list.

But today is different. I got up like normal at 3 am being that I lack the ability to fall back asleep like my other 3 roommates possess; and I was able to walk the city. There is just something amazing about the city before it is inhabited with routine. And likewise, I seem to find myself embracing the brisk morning air regardless of the temperature when its enjoyed in solitude during the early morning hours. Yet my perspective on the weather changes dramatically by evening as the once refreshing breeze is replaced by the harsh, winding wind that seems to enjoy battering any exposed skin that it can find. What is so different between the two occurrences besides the timing and my perspective? And there I have it – that is the difference!

Not one for change, I’m slowly learning to accept that the only constant is change itself. With that, I’m welcoming my 31st year (and here is where my father will argue that I’m in my 32nd year but that is for another discussion and one best enjoyed 5 beers deep!) and learning that timing and perspective are the secrets to this life of mine. Life is about details ~ and that is where the beauty lies. For when we go through the motions of our days then we forget the wonderful moments that are right before us. And I almost missed an amazing one this morning ~ something that yesterday would been looked at as routine. But not today; for I got to hold Reily during the first moments of my birthday – feeding him as he drifted back off to sleep next to his mom. And that is where my perspective changed!

A myriad of emotions are running through each of us right now but, by and large, the excitement of being back in Chicago, a city we’ve come to love through the separation, is running wild through our bodies.  Reily is oblivious and Belle is suspect – somethings must just come with age!

We’d like to take a quick second and thank all the wonderful people that we met out here – and even those that weren’t so wonderful!  We enjoyed all the time that we had and would love to take a few of you with us but our guess is that you wouldn’t be able to survive the first time you felt the wind circle back off the lake – its nothing like a gentle ocean breeze!  And as expected, over the past few days, moments…moments…brief moments of doubt crept into our heads; wondering if this was the right decision.  And that seems to last only as long a few breaths when we both long for our urban home.

We’ll be taking back a number of ‘lessons learned’ and allowing this experience to really enrich our lives.  Many of which are geared towards simplifying our lives – and maybe it has more to do with the speed at which Reily seems to grow up.  Regardless of the origin, we are looking to drastically simplify our day-to-day life and embrace each moment for what it has to offer.

And the clock continues to tick….33 hours 26 minutes 19 seconds to wheels up…but its LA and nothing seems to leave on time!  But we’ll make it there eventually – with a pen in hand to begin writing the next chapter of our life.  33 hours 25 minutes…

-The California Stummer Family signing off…

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!!!!

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