Greatest picture ever?

Matt thinks so.  I think it's more like EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE!  Either way I love it.

Except for the mountains of books and toys on the floor.  I got fed up a la Mama Bear and almost threw all of their toys away.  Our compromise was to pack some things away and to institute a post-dinner clean up.  EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIFE!

I like these guys.  They are funny guys.  So says El Guapo and so says I.  (That line often comes to mind as I deal with my own little 3 amigos.)

Lift Every Voice and Sing

I'm sorry, but who has time for Valentine's Day when it's Black History Month?  For real?  We live in an area that has a vibrant African American community and, particularly at Jacob's school, February is a big month.  It's a lot of fun.  The school is having an African American history fair (celebrating the Harlem Renaissance) and Jacob's room is going to be transformed into the Cotton Club for the event.  He is even learning the Charleston for it.  And you haven't lived until you've seen Jacob try his hand at this move.  I can't wait to see him participate with his class. 

In conjunction with Black History Month our church choir will be singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing", which is the official African American National Hymn.  I love this song.  The words are so inspiring.  It's a song about trust in God, determination, hope, and victory.  It's become very meaningful to me as we have lived here and I wanted to share it.  I posted this video specifically because it has the words in the video.  Follow along and enjoy!*




*A few disclaimers.  1.  This video has a lot of pictures of a lot of people.  I know who some of them are.  I don't know who all of them are.  I don't endorse anyone by posting this video.  2.  There is a photograph of a lynching in this video.  3.  The end is really cheesy.  REALLY CHEESY.   

On a brief Valentine's note, here is the card I gave Matt.  Ah, love.

Get out the beach balls and umbrellas!

10-Day Forecast for Chicago, IL (60615)

High / Low (°F)

Precip. %

Today Feb 11

Few Snow Showers

29°/27°

30 %

Sat Feb 12

PM Snow Showers

34°/32°

40 %

Sun Feb 13

Partly Cloudy / Wind

37°/33°

10 %

Mon Feb 14

Partly Cloudy

36°/28°

10 %

Tue Feb 15

Partly Cloudy

40°/38°

10 %

Wed Feb 16

Mostly Cloudy

41°/41°

10 %

Thu Feb 17

Few Showers

46°/38°

30 %

Fri Feb 18

Few Showers

43°/34°

30 %

Sat Feb 19

Showers

40°/31°

30 %

Sun Feb 20

Mostly Sunny

36°/30°

10 %

Do I spy some 40's in there?  And rain to get rid of the snow?  Aaaaaah.

 
(This is another pre-face diet picture.)

The Face Diet

September 2009 (1st day of preschool)













August 2009 (Cake face)













January 2011 (Ghost face)

The big boy is emerging...all gangly-like. Thin arms, thin legs, thin tummy, thin face and huge eyes.

Apparently a tan doesn't make you look thin and three bowls of cereal EVERY MORNING don't make you fat.

An end and a beginning

Long, overly-sentimental post below. You've been warned.

In two short months we are moving. From Chicago. Gasp. And we are moving to, um, to, um oh I'd better just spit it out...to Arkansas!

Matt is graduating from the University of Chicago in March and we are unexpectedly and happily heading south. We are so very grateful that Matt got a great job in Little Rock. A job that is just what he wants to do. A job that will allow him to come home by 5:30 most nights. And a job that will pay for a moving company to pack up my house and move us. Woot woo!

All that aside, I am still a little stunned about the, um, locale. I mean, Arkansas? It just has never, ever, ever been on my radar. When our friends, the Clives, got a job at the Walmart head offices and moved there (to an Arkansas city 3 hours from Little Rock) it crept onto the edge of my radar, but only the edge. Waaaay out there.

I really already wrote about this two years ago (below the pics of my bathing babies). And let me just say, for those of you who linked over and read that post, that the Arkansas news feels like New Jersey. A lot! It came from way out of left field. It's also missing the "cool factor" and the years long preparation that Chicago and Atlanta had so it's even harder to embrace it sight unseen.

But really, I think the hardest part is that I am someone who puts down roots, dang it! It almost hurts to think of leaving because I have worked hard to belong here. And to love it here. Not that I do either all that well... I can see myself in a cartoon form with a big hand pulling me out of the ground with a bunch of little roots at my feet. Each one is labeled with things I'll miss. And each is screaming in agony. (Drama!) Hyde Park Produce, the Metra train into the city, tree lined streets, cool old homes and architecture, the sailboats on the lake, the Museum of Science and Industry, the lake, the skyline, the restaurants, museum campus, the tot lot, the parks (oh, the parks!), our day to day rhythms and routines, apartment building living, Jacob's school, our church congregation, our community of friends, the view from our window, walking everywhere we go...so very much! The length of this list aside, it's virtually impossible for me to describe what I'll miss. But waves of emotion are breaking over me. Tears might be falling.

Additionally, with Jacob starting kindergarten and the birth of Benjamin, our third child, we are a very different family than the one that moved here. Matt and I are now thirtysomethings (young ones!). And our family is growing up. Cue more sentiment. Moving means we are moving into a new phase of family life. A phase I welcome, but that I can't believe has come. When we moved here little Nico had just barely learned how to walk. More roots screaming in agony...

A few pictures of our first moments in Chicago at the park outside of our building.




























And while, again, it hurts to move we are honestly barely fitting into the life we built here two and a half years ago. Throwing the kids into the stroller and taking the train into town just isn't as realistic with a school aged kid, a preschooler, and a baby with unflinchingly rigid sleeping and feeding needs. Also, all sentiment aside, this growing family (when the mother is being realistic) is very ready to welcome the many wonderful things this move will bring. The least of which include a dishwasher, washer/dryer and back yard. Oh who am I kidding, and a garage, central heat and air, wall to wall carpet, a garbage disposal, and a garbage can that isn't 8 floors away. I'd by lying if part of me isn't thrilled to move.

But, when I research Little Rock I honestly wonder if they even have the internet. Information is pretty sparse. And then the panic starts. What is Little Rock like? Will the kids make friends? Will I make friends? Will our house be nice? Will we like the school? How long will we live there? WHAT ARE WE DOING?!?!! (gasp, pant.)

As I mentioned before, and I will take this to the bank, I remember when New Jersey didn't feel like home. I remember when Atlanta didn't feel like home. I remember when Chicago didn't feel like home. And I remember the beautiful moments when they suddenly felt like home. It's hard to believe that my Chicago life, that I was terrified to enter, is now my welcome, comfortable world that I am heartbroken to leave. Matt jokes that home is where your underwear drawer is. Not where you grew up, but where you're living right now. The place where you live, labor, love AND store your underwear. We are so fortunate to have so much to bring with us on our journey to Arkansas: family, the gospel, relationships, memories, traditions...so much! (Do I add an underwear joke here? Or is it too much? Hmmm.) It's just hard to realize that those things are enough. But, they are. Moving to a new city has a wonderful way of helping you realize what matters most.

And now, with no beautifully choreographed conclusion paragraph, and before I get too sentimental (too late!), I give you our Chicago Bucket List. A lot of it we've done before. None of it is terribly unique, but here she is:

1. Architectural boat tour (I've already done this, but Matt hasn't, and it was awesome!)
2. Adler planetarium (I've heard mixed reviews of this, but I think my space-centric kids will enjoy it. And somehow, we've never gone!)
3. Ice Skating on the Midway
4. Go to a taping of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me (Already bought the tickets! It's funny, when we moved here this was high on our list of things to do...two years later and we're barely squeaking it in.)
5. Garfield Conservatory
6. Our regular museum revisits: MSI, Children's, Notebaerte (I want to see if the kids are still terrified of the butterfly haven. Especially the ones "with eyes". The horror! They've shunned the haven every time we've visited.), the Art Institute, the Field, Lincoln Park Zoo. The Works! I don't know if this is a realistic goal, but I'm up for the challenge. Jacob might start really playing hooky.
7. Trader Joe's (This has always been at our disposal, but it's been a pain to go and so we haven't utilized it enough. If you can imagine, Little Rock doesn't have one!)
8. This restaurant (chilaquilis, pupusas, oh my!) and a few others both new and old to us
9. Buckingham Fountain one last time (when it thaws)
10. Millennium Park (another revisit, but this was a fairly regular haunt our only summer in Chicago...memories!)
11. Dinner in Chinatown

More things will probably crop up, but for now we'll leave it at that.

Thanks for listening. (sob.)

An extra, when we were driving into the neighborhood on our first day we told Jacob there was a park next to our building. He was so excited and when we got out of the car he asked, "Is that the park?!"


















Um, no sweetie. So cute.

Nico's Cute and Snow is Deep

While you might be expecting me to share tales of woe like what happened on Lake Shore Drive (truly harrowing)...



...the day progressed quite simply. The snow stopped. The sun came out. Nico and I went outside. We played and ate cake with friends in the inside tot lot to celebrate a little friend's birthday. (Have I ever mentioned the playroom in our building? That I love? It exists and I love it.) We had a super grumpy pre-dinner and a sweet, happy post-dinner. Kids went to bed. Ruby and Eva's dad, Cosme, came up to kid sit. Matt and I went on a quick evening walk. And voila. Snow day 2011 is come to a close.

And here are the pictures to prove it!













Count the snowdrifts!

























I love this series of pictures. The happy man and his snow.

























The serious man and his snow.













What a winner.













Layer of ice over playground grass.

























Poor car. Never saw it comin'.













Poor house. You used to be dark gray.













Cute hat. You were made by his mama. Who is now bragging.

























Yay Alabama! Matt saw this similarity...Nico just asked me to take a picture of his mittens.

























Snow + Kool Aid = A tasty winter treat! Thanks, Tracy.































Icy rail!













And now for the pictures of our evening stroll. To those of you who haven't come to our little neighborhood this might not be as exciting, but to those who have been hopefully you'll enjoy seeing some old (now snowy) haunts.













Diggers everywhere clearing up! (I have boys and have to point out all non-standard vehicles.)













Matt testing out his snow pants in the snow drift next to our car.













Hope the owners of this car don't have to drive anywhere soon. Eeeyikes.













And, whoah! What is this doing here?! Carnage in the snowstorm! We Hyde Park-ers like our snowstorms with a touch of evil. (We still wonder what that red substance was. I dared Matt to go smell it, but he wouldn't! Crazy.)













To the far right is the main street, which has been plowed. Matt is standing at the edge of the through street that is unplowed.













A view looking down said unplowed street.













Because of the crazy wind, the snow is only a few inches in some areas and up to 8 foot drifts (according to the university) in others. You can see the snow level increase down the sidewalk.













These are the snowed-in stairs to some spooky-ookie houses that always seem deserted.













I commented on their spooky-ookiness to Matt (who agreed) and then saw this. It's inhabited!!!













Also, here are the update pictures on the views from the last post. Snowier roof!













Snowier cars!













And so ends our snow day. Oh wait, just kidding! School is canceled for Matt and Jacob tomorrow! Woot woo! Things just keep getting better!