A week of firsts

David has had a big week. On Monday we went to his first hockey game, which he absolutely loved. He insisted that he needed a jersey like Kevin's and refused to take it off until the following morning when he managed to get poop on it. Even then, quite frankly, he did not give it up willingly.
The next night Kevin and David went to a Bulls preseason game. This was not David's first Bulls game, but it was the first time he wore the Jordan jersey I bought for Kevin as a wedding present without crying and screaming.
Matching father and son hockey sweaters. David ready for bed still in his jersey and taking in the Bulls game.


On Wednesday night we hung out chez Derdozo. This is nothing new, but the picture below does mark baby Finn's first (of many) appearances on our blog. David and Evie had a great time. They spent most of dinner time running in circles and tackling each other. Please note, after poop removal, David is back in his Blackhawks jersey.

Thursday afternoon we flew out to SC, and Friday morning we took our first family trip to a national park. Congaree National Park is just 25 minutes from my parents' house. We took a beautiful walk around the 2.5 mile boardwalk. David, who insists on walking whenever we are in a hurry at the airport, refused to let his feet hit the ground the entire time we were there. We learned that the forest there has the tallest canopy (130 ft.) of any deciduous forest in the world. Who knew? (I mean, besides my dad.)
Various shots of me lugging David around, though Kevin did most of the carrying, including David shooting the camera man with 'Ramma's mini-flashlight.

The boardwalk and surrounding loveliness. Cyprus knees.

Saturday, Kevin and David got to experience their first state fair. We rode rides, ate large quantities of fried foods and checked out the animals. We are very much looking forward to our next trip to the fair when David should be taller than 36 inches, which will open up a whole new world of rides.


That's right. Deep fried Pepsi. Of course, Kevin had to get some. The second picture is David taking a bite. Next time we're sticking with elephant ears.

Saturday afternoon we went to a get together with a bunch of my friends from growing up, graciously hosted by Alexa. We used to be the kids. Now we have the kids. It was a really good time and so much fun to see everyone there. Many thanks to Alexa for letting us take over her house.

David refused a nap after the fair, fell asleep in the car on the way to Alexa's and was completely out for the first hour we were there despite children climbing on and around him and making lots of noise. The girls and our children. David and his buddy Braeden.

David has really taken to telling people that he loves them recently. Sometimes he grabs my head, says "I love you mommy!" and then kisses me over and over. It's very sweet, but he does the same thing with his new stuffed monkey he got from Nahnee and 'Ramma. He was having pretty extensive conversations with the monkey on our flight home, asking him if he wanted to come home with us, asking if his belly hurt and rubbing it for him. Right now George the monkey and David are ready to watch the Bears with Kevin downstairs.

Morton Arboretum and other fun stuff

I had to work last weekend, including Friday, which is usually my day off. My loss was Kevin's gain. He took the day off, and he and David had a very good time. They went to Mandarin class and learned about xing zhuang (shapes). After that the plan was to head to Daley Plaza for the Olympics announcement. That was a bust for obvious reasons (darn you, Rio!), so they went to Millennium Park instead. Turns out that godfather Steve's office is right down the street, and since on a busy day Steve sees about five patients, they stopped by for a visit.

On Saturday while I was working hard for the money, David and Kevin picked up GG and headed for Shedd Aquarium. Their newish children's area was a big hit with David. He also enjoyed the whales, dolphins and especially the turtles. Afterwards, he had a photo shoot outside the aquarium where there is a fantastic view of the Chicago skyline.

David thoroughly enjoyed himself this past week. Sabrina has been on fall break, so she came with Alma several days. One morning he asked me if Sabrina was coming, and upon learning that she was, he told me, "Go to work now!" So nice to be loved.
This weekend we mostly stayed at home. It turns out you can get a crazy amount done if you are neither working nor out of town for the weekend. Weird. While Kevin cleaned out our utility room, David took full advantage of the dogs crates (which are now disassembled and stored in the garage where they will probably stay until we move 30 years from now). He insisted that he get to climb in. He pretended to be a puppy and drink from the bowl. The he asked for his blanket and pillow and pretended to sleep. Finally, he asked for his stuffed puppy, who also ate and drank from the dog bowl.
Here's a picture we won't be sending to David's former orphanage with our next update.

This morning we went to Wiggle Worship. I'm not sure if I've mentioned wiggle worship before, but it's a service at our church for families with young children. It is a full service. There are songs and prayers. Kevin and I enjoy the Wiggle Worship Prayers of the People equivalent. When we get to the part about someone who is sick or has died, there is usually a battle royale between the older kids to name the most dead pets. Hilarious. The priest reads a version of one of the readings (usually the gospel unless it is "too yucky" that week) in language the kids can understand. Then there is a children's sermon to explain what the heck Jesus was talking about and, finally, Communion. The children take turns each week doling out the bread and wine. David got to do the bread last week. In the true spirit of our Lord and Savior, he saved the largest piece for himself.
After today's service, we drove out to Morton Arboretum and met up with Uncle Dave and his fiancee. They have a huge children's garden, and this time of year they also have a caramel apple bar where you can pick your own apple toppings. David went with M&Ms and sprinkles. I had a Snickers apple. It was a good time. We closed out the weekend with a family nap and a brinner of eggs, hashbrowns and bacon.
The Davids Maas checking out various spheres in the children's garden.

More of David at Morton Arboretum. Note the winter coat. It's freezing here.

Nahnee Surprise

Last weekend we had our fall block party. The block party combined all of David's favorite things: lots of kids to play with, toys strewn about the street, an abundance of food and a bouncer right in front of our house for two consecutive days. It really doesn't get much better than that.

David (and Fiona) eating all the neighbors' food and enjoying the bouncer.

Sunday morning, the kids couldn't stand waiting for the grown-ups to lift the very very heavy bouncer and put it back in the street, so they attempted to move it themselves.

David got a very special surprise last night. A visit from Nahnee, who found out Monday that he would have to fly up here yesterday for work. He stayed the night with us and managed to squeeze in a considerable amount of choo choo time as well as a trip to Oberweis.

Nahnee and David working on his train

South side David

David continues to grow, learn and amuse. He has lots to say but some interesting sentence structure. Recently he has taken to exclaiming "My oh gosh!" He has also clearly memorized parts of his favorite books and now declares "Day or night, never stop working!" in a sing-songy voice when we open his truck book. (The first sentence is "Day or night, trucks never stop working.) I'm catching more and more snippets of Mandarin now, and when he's not bouncing off the walls, he is a good little student.
We are giving potty training a go, though I wouldn't be surprised if it's another 6 months or so before we actually declare victory. He is a boy, after all. He made it all the way through today in underwear for Alma and proudly told me that he got candy (one M&M) for going pee on the potty, and after she left promptly peed and pooped in his underwear for me and Kevin.
His latest adventures include a trip downtown to Millennium Park and the Art Institute where he and Alma ran into our friend Dalia and her son Gabe. Both boys were apparently very excited to see each other. We're going to see Gabe again after Mandarin class on Friday.
Checking out the choo choos and the Crown Fountain at Millennium Park

Wednesday night we went to the Cubs game. In addition to our usual ride on the green line, we got to take the red line which goes underground. This has pretty much ruined the green line experience for David as he's asked about going underground every time we've taken the train since.

Kevin and David at various spots in and around Wrigley. Please note that David insisted on wearing his White Sox shirt to the Cubs game. He is very south side.

We made a repeat trip to Millennium Park on Saturday. David frolicked in water that I could barely stick my toes in for fear of frostbite.

A few shots from David's Cloudgate ("the bean") photo shoot

That night we went to fireworks night at Sox Park. Such a fun park to take kids. David had the usual--a few innings of baseball until the junk food ran out, Fundamentals where he practiced his base running and fielding, more food, then back to our seats for fireworks. This time he made it about 15 seconds in to the fireworks display and decided he was done.

Recruiting visit

Last April, we went to NC to visit friends and my alma mater. In the interest of equal time, we took a trip down to Champaign this weekend to show David the University of Illinois and take in a football game.
We arrived Saturday afternoon and headed to Kevin's old apartment. Very scenic. We walked around a little while and purchased new Illinois shirts for everyone. David also conned us into a mini-football which hasn't left his hand since. We walked to the game. David enjoyed the marching bands and was into the game until he ran out of nachos. He and I spent the second quarter running around the stadium, and we left relatively early in the third quarter due to toddler exhaustion. Fortunately, the game was well in hand at that point, so even Kevin didn't protest.

David and Kevin at apartment 16. The 3 of us outside Memorial Stadium.

David and Kevin at the game

Today we continued on our quest to make ourselves feel old by checking out the dorm where Kevin lived his freshman year. Fifteen years ago. We walked around campus some more and saw the quad and the Morrow plots which are America's oldest experimental corn field or something like that. The library is built underground so as not to cast a shadow on the corn. I'm not making this up.

We capped off the visit with the purchase of several more orange shirts and a delicious lunch at Zorba's where the gyros aren't particularly authentic, but they are gooooood.
Kevin's freshman and sophomore dorm.

Shots from around campus including the Alma Mater (scary) and the quad

A corn field (doesn't every college campus have one?) and a gyro

Last but not least, video of David practicing his I-L-L at the game.

Labor Day weekend

David had a full schedule this Labor Day. On Friday, he made his triumphant return to Mandarin class after the two week break between summer and fall sessions. He was fired up to say the least and spent a good portion of the class shouting into the teacher's toy microphone and running around like a fool.
Saturday Kevin and David left me behind to tend to colds, diaper rashes and other nonemergencies while they went to Galena. They stopped at the Oak Park farmers market on the way and met up with our friends, Ann and Andy, and their daughters, Veda and Neena. Then they hit the road and surprised Grandma, Grandpa, GG, Uncle Dave and the rest of the group at the Galena house. David thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the family and gorging himself at the corn roast. They came home Sunday afternoon, and we enjoyed some family time at the park and Oberweis.
David and Veda at the farmers market. David purchasing a sunflower.

Taking quick nap before eating his body weight in corn.

Boat ride with Grandpa and story time with Grandma

We had a low key Labor Day. We did manage to invite ourselves over to Steve's place for some bbq. It was a very exciting trip for David, who got to see his beagle buddy Linus, a new puppy Creme and all 3 of Steve and Allan's Rock Band guitars. Plus we hit the local frozen custard shop. It doesn't get much better.

For Nahnee