Taste of Chicago

Today we took David to the Taste of Chicago. For anyone who's not familiar, to make up for the horrific winters, Chicago has a tremendous number of festivals in the summer in an attempt to make you forget how much it stinks to shovel snow and not see the sun for 6 months in a row. The Taste is the biggest and Kevin's favorite. There are about 64 booths from various Chicago area restaurants set up in the middle of Grant Park downtown. It is a week and a half long tribute to large crowds and obesity. Kevin once went 9 of the 10 days, and, perhaps more impressive, we once managed to eat something from 40 different vendors. Anyway...today was David's first trip to the Taste, and Kevin was very very excited. We set up a blanket on the grass, and Kevin ran from booth to booth bringing us food. I watched David, who pretty much refused to remain on or near the blanket for more than 15 seconds at a time. Overall, it was a success. We ate fried artichoke hearts, vegetable tempura, pot stickers, spinach pizza, Greek sausage, an empanada, garlic cheese bread, ribs, a rainbow cone and cheesecake. David and Kevin also tried shark. Not bad for an hour and a half.

Totally psyched to go the Taste. David enjoyed his tempura.


In honor of his grandmama LaBorde. Finishing off his Taste experience with Eli's.

Goose egg

It was a rough day to be David today. He was practicing his walking outside when he fell and smacked his head on the concrete (see goose egg above). Later in the afternoon, we went to a birthday party, and he was attacked by a swarm of mosquitos that apparently bite only the face. He also slipped and fell face first into the kiddie pool, and when he got the nerve to go back to the pool, another kid threw water right in his face. Despite all that, he enjoyed himself most of the day. He had his traditional two donut morning at the farmers market, and he got to meet some cousins. The Courtneys--Mike, Cari, Lauren and Grace--came for a visit, and David made a triumphant return to the sprinkle park.
The rest of our week was busy as well. We went to the zoo, this time with David's friend Nick. I think David actually noticed a couple of the animals this visit, but he seemed to have the best time running through the primate house, holding my hand and ignoring pretty much everything else. We had a court date on Wednesday to readopt David in the US which, though not required, will provide us with a US birth certificate and make paperwork simpler for us and for him in the future. He also had one more blood draw and doctors appointment this week, which means no more shots, sticks or doctors until his regularly scheduled 18 month visit in August.

David would like to wish his aunt Leslie a very happy birthday!

David likes his slide in the back yard almost as much as Snoopy does.

Not concerned about water conservation or how we will pay our next water bill.

David disagreed with Kevin's decision to apply ice but made a full recovery.

Soaking wet, injured and covered in mosquito bites, David is revived by chewing on a chicken bone--yet another brilliant parenting decision on our part.

Weekend in review

Here are some pictures from this weekend. Yesterday was our block party. We have a great block with tons of kids. David had a lot of fun being able to run all over the place and steal the other kids' toys. He loves bikes and scooters--anything with wheels that he's too small for.

We spent this afternoon at Uncle Dave's baseball game and enjoyed a nutritious lunch of Portillo's with uncle Dave, grandma Maas, great grandma Lil and great aunt Vic afterwards.

David is clearly starting to recognize some English words. If you ask him where his ball is, he'll look around the room and then walk over to wherever it is. He'll do the same if you ask about Mommy, Daddy, Pete or Snoopy. He's also saying "mama" for me and sometimes for Kevin, too. I think he's trying to say "more" as well. He makes a sound something like "meh!" and uses it exclusively when he sees something he wants to eat.

Not sure why Dad thinks he should pee alone. Lifting up his legs to minimize contact with grass.

This car is stolen. Playing with chalk (note blue lips). Already better at golf than Dad.

Who doesn't enjoy a good shoe? About to perform CPR on Dad.

David with Kevin and uncle Dave. Checking out some new toys with great aunt Vicki.

He can hear

David has been keeping himself busy this week. We spent some quality time at a sprinkle park that has little fountains he can run through. The first time we went, he wasn't too interested in the water, but on Monday he walked face first into the spray and went back for more. He got so excited that he was squealing and running holding on to both of my hands, leaning forward at a 45 degree angle and bobbing his head from side to side. We're looking at a possible return visit to the sprinkle park this weekend when Kevin can join us.

We also applied for his social security card, which was surprisingly painless (I assume this means our paperwork will get lost and we will not receive a card), and made the long drive (over an hour each way) to visit Kevin at work and meet everyone there. We went through a lot of fruit puffs in the car, many of which David is apparently hoarding for his next trip as his carseat is full of them. Thursday he got a set of shots. He didn't sleep very well and ran a fever yesterday. (Public service announcement: I would just like to remind everyone who's playing along at home that a fever is 100.4 or higher and that ear thermometers are not accurate. I don't care what your school nurse or your mother says, 99 is a normal body temperature.) He was pretty whiny and pathetic, but we'll take that over H flu meningitis any day. He seems to have recovered fully this morning and is currently destroying the photobox from our trip to Italy.

He also had his audiology appointment yesterday, and his hearing is normal.

We made the switch to cloth diapers a couple of weeks ago. Anyone who tells you they're just as easy as disposable is a liar, but they're really not too bad. Here is David modelling his diaper cover in the closest thing I could find to Duke blue. Don't worry, Illini fans. He has an orange one, too.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day, everyone! We (appropriately) celebrated Kevin's first Fathers Day with a very busy weekend. Friday evening, David got a haircut--his first with us, but I'm sure not his first ever given how much hair the kid has. I was surprised with how well he tolerated the whole thing. He looked a little befuddled, but he didn't cry. After that, we had dinner with Kevin's parents and hit the road for Galena, where we spent Friday night and most of Saturday. David spent the day yesterday playing with his soccer ball and practicing his walking skills. We also took a boat ride, which David really didn't enjoy. He could not have hated his life jacket more, and even after he stopped screaming, he had sad silent tears trickling down his little face until near the end. On a positive note, he didn't drown, and we saw a bald eagle. Because nothing says good times like driving with a tired toddler, we drove home Saturday night so that we could spend today downtown. We visited Millennium Park again, this time David had his swimsuit and was ready to play in the fountains there. After some serious running and splashing, we had a snack and walked by the lake and by Buckingham Fountain before driving out to Roselle to eat with Kevin's parents, Uncle Dave and his girlfriend.

Very confused about what's going on. Looking smooth post-haircut.

Playing with grandpa Maas in Galena

Various pictures of David miserable in a life jacket, including one with 3 generations of Maas.

The pictures you've been waiting for. David and Jackie boy, my mother-in-law's first baby doll. David checks Jackie out and then shows him who's boss.

Playing in the fountains in Millennium Park

Buckingham fountain

There are more good pictures and video, including some that people have emailed us. (Thanks!)I'm going to try to get as much of it up this week as I can. Stay tuned...

I beg to differ

If you don't think David looks that into vacuuming...

Peek-a-sneeze

I'm not sure I have much to report. Life is getting back to normal. Kevin is trying to figure out how to maximize our time in the city. Snoopy is eating nonfood items. Pete is wallowing in the mud and ruining furniture and floors. I am foolishly trying to clean up faster than they mess up, now with a toddler in the mix.
David still prefers the security of a hand when he walks, but if properly motivated he can walk across a room. He has been giving tons of kisses recently to me, to Kevin and to the dogs. They are very wet with his mouth wide open. It's hysterical (also a little gross) to watch him kiss the dogs right on the nose. He has taken an interest in the swiffer and the vacuum, and I'm trying to figure out how to take advantage of that. He also initiated a game of peek-a-boo the other night. He would crouch behind the table and pop his head up. At first he smiled when he resurfaced. Then he screamed and laughed. Then he came up and sneezed very enthusiastically. He also loves playing with the kids on our block. Whenever they're outside, he runs to the screen door and shouts "oh!" and "yo!" Once we get out there, he does what all toddlers do, which is mostly ignore them and do his own thing unless they have something he wants; but he always has a great time.

A toddler right of passage. Opening his bear in a can from grandma and grandpa's cruise.


The dogs are very attentive at meal time. Doing some spring cleaning.


David is very disappointed by my love of hooded towels with animal faces.

Why it's really better if we nap

Sound asleep in the high chair

Slow wean

I'm trying to gradually space my posts out to a more reasonable once or twice a week without killing my parents. We'll see how this goes...
Tomorrow will be our Gotcha Day monthiversary. Time is really flying. We'll be celebrating with our first postplacement visit with our social worker Jacque.
Things continue to go well for us. David is adjusting to his new home better than we could have ever hoped. He is such a happy, loving little boy. We've had many people comment that he is lucky to have us, but it is definitely the other way around. He is such a joy and a blessing. It's hard to remember what it was like without him. We are very grateful to his foster family. It's obvious to us that they loved him very much which is a huge part of why he is thriving today.
He has ditched the bottle and is drinking only from sippy cups, though he's still pretty particular about what kind of cup. He can take a few steps on his own but prefers to hold on to at least one of our hands while he walks because he can move much faster. He is getting bolder and bolder with the dogs. Recently he discovered that he gets a great reaction from Snoopy if he gives her food, so that's our latest game to play. I know we shouldn't encourage that behavior if we ever want to eat in public again, but it's hilarious to watch him give her Cheerios and laugh and laugh.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Maas!

David would just like to wish his grandma Maas a very happy birthday today. He spent the day enjoying the beautiful weather. He went to the park with Kevin this morning and kicked his soccer ball around. We went back to the park this afternoon with great aunt Vic, John, great grandma Lil and uncle Dave. David loves an audience, so he decided to show off.

If you haven't already, and if you're a fan of nothing but David pictures, check out his China slideshow on youtube.