Pieces

Ella is my little shadow. She follows me around "helping" me and talking my ear off all day, everyday. Sometimes I think it's going to drive me insane. Today Ella was sick with a fever and slept most of the day. I thought it was going to drive me insane. I missed hearing her little voice and tripping over her little feet and seeing her little hands reach up to help me with my laundry. It got me wondering what I ever did without her. Deciding to have a baby can be such a scary thing. You never know what you are going to get. Some are easy, some are hard. Some are quiet, some are loud. Some are resilient, some are sensitive. But, as I take that leap with each new child and watch them grow I am reminded that God has a plan. It may not be my plan, but it is the best plan. I am so grateful for each of my kids. As I watch them grow I am amazed at how our family comes together like pieces of a puzzle that perfectly compliment each other and fit together to create a bigger picture. I have no idea what that picture will look like when it's finished, but I love watching it progress. I hope our sweet Ella is better tomorrow because the world is not as bright without her.

How cute is this?

I love driving in the car with my kids. There is something about the physical restraints, the lull of the engine and the mundane scenery that turns them philosophical. All of our best talks have been in the car driving to school, Gramma's or some other frequently visited locale. Yesterday, on the way home from preschool was a prime example....

Abe: Mom, why don't I remember when Gavin was in your tummy?

Me: Because you were still up in heaven.

Abe: Mom, I don't ever want to go back to heaven.

Me: We all go back to heaven eventually, but it won't be scary because Mom and Dad will probably already be there waiting for you.

Abe: Can you and I go together, at the same time?

Me: Probably not.

Abe: Then, I'm not going.

Me: Well, you don't need to worry about it now. You will live a long time and so will I because we eat healthy and exercise and take care of our bodies.

.... about an hour after we got home I caught Abe running in circles around the kitchen and when I asked what he was doing he said "I'm running like you do at the gym, so we can go to heaven at the same time." And once again my resolve to never give in to the DVD player in the car trend was strengthened. Love that kid!

Happy Presidents Day!

Gavin always has high expectations for Presidents Day. This year he announced that it is his favorite holiday.... even more than Christmas! Talk about pressure! I am sure outsiders who meet him probably think that he hails from a family of US history buffs or political activists, but that could not be farther from the truth. History was always one of my worst subjects.... almost everything I know about presidential history I learned from Gavin. So, to properly celebrate Presidents Day we decided to rely on the professionals at the Chicago History Museum in Lincoln Park. They had all sorts of fun things planned.... face painting, crafts, reenactments, etc. First we took a tour of the traveling Abraham Lincoln exhibit where we saw lots of old documents and furniture that I'm sure had something to do with Lincoln, but to be honest the joyful look on Gavin's face distracted me from paying much attention. Then we went inside to a reenactment called "Faces of Mt. Rushmore" where they had guys dressed up as those dudes from Mt. Rushmore (again, history not really my thang). Gavin thought it was fascinating and even laughed out loud several times at jokes the rest of us clearly did not understand. Next, we headed off to the children's area where they had interactive displays and crafts..... 

Gavin's Barrack Obama print

The kids inside a Chicago hot dog

The Ella dog.

Abe pretending to be at a Cubs game.

Matt posing with a Frank Lloyd Wright window.
Chicago toys.

Gavin with the Lincolns.

After exploring all there was to explore at the museum we headed out to Nookies Diner in Lincoln Park.....

What a fun day! Gavin keeps us thinking outside the box. I don't think we would have done this without his prodding, but I'm glad we did. Now, what are we going to do next year?

The grand finale

So, our 6 week birthday marathon has finally come to an end. In case you don't already know, all 5 birthdays fall within a 6 week period. It's a season of fun, but I'm always relieved to see it come to an end. Matt's b-day was yesterday, so here are the highlights....

Bowling...

Gavin still CANNOT look at a camera.....

Abe happy to discover a new sport....

Party girl enjoying a cupcake...

Mmmmmm red velvet!

Bookworm

Gavin is the ultimate bookworm. It is hard to catch him without a book in his hand. I try to encourage him to broaden his horizons and play with other things, but it usually doesn't last long. Today was the first warm day of the year (for those of us in Chicago who consider anything above 40 degrees to be warm). It was the perfect opportunity to send the kids outside to play and get some exercise. I got them bundled up and sent them out. Five minutes later I looked outside to see this....

Matt and I are always saying things like "Gavin no more studying today", "Gavin you are not allowed to read right now", "Gavin time to put the encyclopedia away" and then commenting on what a surreal life we have. I never thought I'd have a child who would consider having his reference books taken away to be the ultimate punishment or whose favorite Christmas present would be the classical composer of the month club (I'm not making that up). They call children with Asperger's the "little professors". That pretty much sums him up! 

Future blackmail shots

Poor girl got her mommy's unruly hair.