Dinosaur Freak-out

One of our favorite places to take little man is to the Chicago Children’s Museum.  He loves running around and playing with all the great exhibits there and it always seems to wear him out.  We had decided last spring to become members of the museum; it was cheaper that way and also gives us discounts at other museums.  Every time we go to the museum it’s amazing to see what Little Man is interested in this time since it seems to change as he grows.

The museum has several different rooms and we try to get little man into all of them.  The first couple of times we went he could care less about the fire display but this time he found it fun to play on the truck and we even put a fireman’s coat on him to play in.  This time he only wore the coat they did have boots, pants and helmets for the kids to wear but we figured it was enough with the coat.  He played there for some time and he probably could have played there the entire day but his Mimi and Auntie Jea Jea were with us and we wanted to make sure they saw the entire museum as well.

Up to the second floor we headed for more areas for him to play.  The water room is still one of his favorites and I must admit mine as well.  At the entrance to the Water room they have raincoats for the kids to put on before they go play.  I’m not sure why we take the time to put the raincoat on the best thing is just to bring a change of clothes since he always finds a way to get wet.  I think this room will always be fun for him since its fun for us.

Jame inside the shoe

The other rooms include the backyard room that has giant flowers and a big shoe to climb threw.  The backyard sort of reminds me of the movie Honey I Shrunk the Kids.  They also have a city area with a car and a bus to play on and a toddler crawling area that used to be his favorite but he has outgrown that area.  The car and bus still get his attention since he loves cars and steering wheels so much.  The other room is an outdoor room that has a tree house and a river threw it and he still likes this room because he still has a chance to play in the little stream.



Fist visit to the Dino Dig



They also have a dinosaur dig room that is the reason I’m writing about our adventure at the museum.  In the past he has enjoyed the room you can go into the dinosaur pit and dig through the rubber mulch and uncover dinosaur bones.  The last few visits to the museum we have spent a lot of time in this room playing in the mulch and using the brushes they give to help on your dig.  In the past we have had to take him out of the room crying because he wanted to stay longer and play but, not this time.  We entered the room and he went right over to the archeology truck they had for kids to play on. I grabbed him and took him over to the entrance to the dig area when I noticed a bit of hesitation and sure enough Little Man freaked out as I tried to get him to go into the dig area.  We all had a good laugh but something had him freaked out.  Before long we discovered it was the rubber mulch for some reason he thought it was dirty and icky, oh boy now what to do normally one of his favorite places to play and he did not even want his shoes to touch the ground.  I did what every dad with my sense of humor would do I picked him up walk right into the middle of the pit and plunked him down walked away and had a good laugh.  Little Man screamed tried to run but the realized how much of it was around then stopped screamed some more until I had my good laugh and I picked him up and carried him out.  I think this was the first time he left the room without crying to go back in, he left and did not look back.  I thought it was kind of cruel to place him in the pit but his Mimi and Aunt Jea Jea carried some of the pieces out just to pull out later to get a reaction. 

SUPERBOWL

Game Face

Last year at the Superbowl Little Man spent most of the time in the arms of family and friends that were over, he did a bit of crawling but mostly he was cuddled up with some one.  What a difference a year makes from last year’s Superbowl to this one, it was hard to believe that it was that same cuddly kid to this year a kid on the move.

As always the preparation for the Superbowl started early, I began cooking the day before getting the Chili and my now famous pot stickers ready.  The entire time with one eye on the food and the other at Little Man running around and taking out toys and destroying areas we had just cleaned up.  He does help clean up a bit now but it’s still faster just to do it yourself and kick off was only hours away at this point.  I did my usual stressing about getting everything ready on time, this time so much I could barely eat  my stomach was so upset and in knots.



Outside Gitmo



Luckily Little Man took his nap early on Superbowl Sunday, almost as if he knew what was going to happen.  He did something that I do not remember now but it was what we refer to as a “Gitmo Offence” and we place him in a fenced area we have.  I think sometimes he acts up just so we will put him in there and he can take his nap.  Just about a half hour away from guest arriving he was napping quietly in “Gitmo”.  The first guest arrived and we were more than happy to wake him up.  Little Man does not wake up like an angel he is just like me kind of irritated that he is waking up. 

All the guest arrived and Little Man was in his glory playing with everyone and showing them all his toys and the new places we had put them.  He is really good with playing with people and other kids it may take him a bit to warm up to them but before long he is going to everyone and laughing and playing.  I was in the process of finishing up the food in time to watch the game luckily Jynx who had been cleaning all day had time at the end to bail me out.

As the game wore on and it looked as the Packers were going to win.  Little Man decided it was time to entertain the crowd.  I had placed several of my footballs around the seating area, just to add to the atmosphere of the Superbowl.  I know, I know go ahead and call me Marty Stewart.  He grabbed the ball and began to run around with them, the crowd began to cheer and he loved every minute of it.  Little Man would run a few steps then give the ball a toss, I’m not sure if it was a pass or a spike but, the crowd would cheer and he would laugh.  The Little Man game became more popular than the Superbowl, the Puppy-bowl and the Lingerie-bowl combined.  Who know what next year’s Superbowl will bring for him but I hope he enjoys it as much as he did this year.

Blizzard 2011

It was the second day of the great blizzard and I was preparing to head out again and shovel off the porch one more time.  I had shoveled it about 3 times the night before and used the bobcat to clear the drive but every time when I would finish it would look as if I had never touched it.  I told Jynx that we would have to get Little Man out in all the snow that had piled up and she agreed.  You can’t have a weather event of this nature and not head out into it for some fun and you know me I needed to get some pictures.  Not to worry I only took about 700 that I still have to go through again.

We put Little Man into his snow suit, I had to laugh it reminded me of the scene from A Christmas Story where Ralphie comments that it was like going deep sea diving.  Ralphies little brother finally gets all suited up and cries I can’t put my arms down.  Little Man was able to put his hands down and he headed out into the snow.

Mother Nature had hit us with about 20 inches of snow and we were getting some more lake effect snow.  Normally I just run the shovel along the porch until it falls off the edge, no lifting for me but this time the snow piles built up and up.  At one point I was wondering if it would reach the top of the light we have next to the porch that stands about 5 feet.  I also had problems with the drive getting the bobcat stuck a few times until I realized that no one was coming down are normally busy street.  I think we had more snowmobiles down the road than cars.  I pushed the snow down the drive and across the street since no one lives there and it’s just a low water area anyway.

Little man came out and loved the snow, he headed down the ramp and right into the deep snow where he had trouble walking and fell into the snow a few times.  We placed him in the piles of snow off the porch and he got a big kick out of it.  We played in the snow for a bit and I even tried to show him how to make snow angels but he just had fun being out of the house, since we had been in for a good day.

Jynx got his sled and took him for a ride in it but it seemed the little sled had a bit of a problem with all the snow.  He still loved being pulled in the snow on the sled.  Jynx got a bit worried about him being out so long in the snow and the few times he fell and got snow on his face had her deciding it was time for little man to go inside.  Of course as a dad I would have let him stay out longer but as usual mom was right and he had his fun and needed to head in for a warm up.

His new snowsuit did wonders and mom reported outside of his face he was nice and toasty warm inside the suit.  It’s just too bad that by next year he will have outgrown the suit.  We did get him one for next year on sale of course that should fit him good for next year. 

I went back out in the snow the lake effect was winding down and the great dig out began.  I spent the next several hours in the bobcat pushing snow to clear the drive.  Normally the bobcat does a great job but at the beginning of winter one of the hydraulic lines got a clog from being frozen so you can not lift up the bucket.  You can tip the bucket but it won’t lift off the ground.  Our mechanic promised to fix it in the spring but who knew we would get such a blizzard in the meantime.

Dad's Home

This definitely was not my first road trip since Little Man was born but it is different now that he is a bit older.  I love the fact that his eyes light up when I arrive home from work and it breaks my heart when I need to leave for work and he’s crying for me not to leave.  Although I do miss the days when he was just a baby this new toddler stage is great fun.

I left for D.C. for work with the thought that I need to bring him something back and the hope that in the few days that I was gone he would not forget me.  Driving to D.C. and stopping at different gas stations and truck stops I kept looking for something to bring home to Little Man but I found nothing.  I remember when I was a kid and my dad would sometimes come home from work with a candy bar for us and my Grandmother who did a ton of traveling would bring us something home.  I know that I could have stopped at a gumball machine and bought him a toy for 50 cents and he would have been happy but I put the pressure on myself to find something he would like and that was fitting for the trip.

After traveling all the way to Washington and finding nothing I was feeling the pressure to find that perfect gift.  We arrived late into Washington and I had an early call in the morning.  The next day we arrived at the location for the shoot and I could tell it was going to be a long day, but we managed to get threw it with some time left in the evening.  I looked at the gps to realize my travels had us close to the White House.  I had never been to Washington D.C. or seen the White House.  I convinced Chris and Michelle the other two people I was traveling with to swing by the White House.  We parked the car and began the cold walk to the White House after a few minutes of taking pictures we headed for some place warmer.  We walked across the street and found the White House gift shop.  I was sure to find something here.

It took me a few minutes of walking around to find the perfect gift for Little Man.  I was looking for a Presidential train since he is into trains right now but no luck.  I kept asking myself in the store why was I putting myself threw all of this why not just get that gumball gift he’s not going to care.  I just about had myself convinced that I was not going to find anything when I saw it.  No it was not a train but a toy Air Force One that was the perfect toy for Little Man.  The toy AF1 would light up and if it bumps into something it heads the other direction, this was it my search was over and I could relax on the ride home knowing I had found a good dad’s (home) gift.  I’m sure to make many mistakes as a dad but at least this one I was able to accomplish my dad job on this trip.

I arrived home from the long drive back and to my pleasure Little Man had not forgotten who I was.  When he saw me his eyes light up again and came running to me for a big hug.  I gave him the airplane and he stared at it in the box for a bit and then let me take it out.  He ran around with it and then kept pointing to it as it bumped its way around the floor the whole time lighting up and making noise.  I had a great time watching him play with his new toy until I realized my new dad mistake; next time get a quiet toy that does not require batteries.  Oh well he loves his new plane and I think he plays with it as much as President Obama plays with his. LOL