Meet the Raggedies

That's Raggedy Ann on the left and her brother, Raggedy Andy, on the right. Aren't they adorable?

Yes, after two dress rehearsals (for Levynn, who went to school in costume on Thursday), it finally was showtime today. The kids made their first Halloween appearance for a special storytime at the library in the morning and then led Dad on a trick-or-treat trek around the block in the evening.

And the weather, well, it just couldn't have been better, with the sun shining throughout the day and the temperature still above 60 degrees at dusk.

To be honest, Dad wasn't sure what to expect in the neighborhood tonight. But our first Halloween in the city wasn't much different than any of our Halloweens in the "burbs" (as Chicago makes Louisville feel to us). There actually were more kids on the street here, young kids and not teens, which was comforting. Yet no one came to our door after 6:30, and it was dead quiet, so to speak, after 8. So Dad was pleasantly surprised, as it turned out.

Lincoln didn't collect any treats, but Levynn came home with her best stash yet in her four years. Even better, most people recognized her as Raggedy Ann, and she happily explained it to those who didn't.

Happy birthday, MK!

Let's hear it for the (32-year-old, but shh...) wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, aunt, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, granddaughter-in-law, and whatever else she is!

Dress rehearsal

There were several Halloween-related family events downtown today. So we decided to get the kids into their Raggedy Ann and Andy costumes six days early and have some fun.

One of the options was a short parade to Daley Plaza, where a costume contest would follow, but a wind chill below 40 degrees convinced us to head indoors.

We went to the Chicago Cultural Center, at the corner of Randolph and Michigan, for Fairy Tales: A Halloween Celebration. There was a bunch to see and do, including stage performances, craft tables and even a costume parade and contest. (Sorry, no photos. We forgot our cameras, but the building was poorly lit - intentionally, for effect - and you're not allowed to see the kids in costume yet anyway!)

Levynn made a wand and a crown, picked up a bag of treats, marched up stairs and through halls in the parade and then won another bag of treats for placing among the top five in the costume contest. She should have won the top prize, tickets to a show, but the mob screamed loudest for two kids in straight-from-the-store Ghostbusters outfits. Fortunately, she didn't seem to know the difference.

We have more Halloween fun planned. So stay tuned.

Keeping her chin up

Levynn's stitches were removed at her pediatrician's office on Tuesday, and her chin is healing nicely. Thanks for all the well-wishes.

From book to stage

Dad and Levynn saw one of our favorite books, Duck For President, staged as a musical at Lifeline Theatre today. After the show, Levynn snagged Farmer Brown's autograph on the back of her ticket.

She "flicks her hands"

More for the scrapbook

How many other 4-year-olds can boast of a life experience like Levynn's?

From Louisville's suburb-like sidewalks to Chicago's Magnificent Mile, few small children walk on their own in public, but Levynn has been doing that almost as long as she could walk at all (you should see the strollers here!). She has been inside the Baseball Hall of Fame. She has watched horses run at Churchill Downs. She has slept in a tent. She has sat in Wrigley Field. (What else?)

Now she can say that she has been treated in an emergency room twice (in four months!) and has come out of it swinging both times.

Just before dinner yesterday, Levynn was involved in a hazily-detailed incident with a large toy truck. She now says she lost her grip on it as she was pushing it and smacked her chin on the floor. All we know for sure is that she opened an inch-long gash under her chin, and it was wide enough that Dad thought it looked like a bloody mouth.

So, before the nursemaid's-elbow-incident (did you know about that one, back in June?) even had faded from conversation, Levynn was back in Children's Memorial Hospital's emergency room receiving five stitches last night.

But don't worry. She's doing fine.

A Cookie (cutter?) Kidsfest

Didn't we just remind you about the heat wave in Louisville last October? Well, it's suddenly hot-tober here in Chicago. The temperature cracked the 80-degree mark today.

So what did we do? We spent a chunk of the afternoon in a climate-controlled building, just as we had planned for Day 2 of our weekend.

We were one of the few lucky families (thanks to advance registration) to get into Cookie Magazine's Kidsfest Chicago in the swanky River East Art Center that neighbors Navy Pier. A lot was packed into a very small space: mural painting, button making, block building, snack tables, a music stage and more.

The highlight for the boys was the fake Cookie Magazine cover shoot, a let-a-monkey-climb-on-you photo op. The little primate, a kind of capuchin, sat on Dad's shoulder, reached out and tapped Lincoln on the nose. Lincoln didn't care for that at all, of course, but he was obsessed with the monkey for most of the rest of the time we were there. Mom and Levynn got their picture taken, too, but Lev didn't like the monkey from the word "go" and seemed to forget all about him as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, we only have hard copies of those shots. Maybe when we see you next...

The highlight for the girls was much more sedate. Most of you know that Levynn's had her toenails painted, right? But her fingernails had been untouched until today, when she experienced a professional manicure. As Mom described, "It was clean, file, clip, base coat, two color coats, top coat (with OPI's O'Hare and Nails red)." Levynn loved it.

And she held out her fingers until we got home, kind of like this:

She's a character.

It all was a tad tacky, though. Every station had a relevant corporate sponsor with obvious signage, like Playskool offering the blocks. But it was free, it was well-run (there even was a stroller check-in!), and it occupied the kids. So who's to complain?

The wonderful park of Oz

We've planned a busy weekend of fall festivals, and it started today with the city-run Pumpkin Patch at Oz Park.

Yes, that Oz.

In fact, here's Mom and the kids standing with The Scarecrow. If you're curious, click on the link above.

Anyway... Levynn got her face painted while Dad stood in line for tickets.

So that the kids each could pick a pumpkin from the patch.

Then we decorated them.

The kids also pet some animals, like cows, geese, goats, llamas, pigs - and oddly hairy chickens like this white furball. Don't worry, we cleaned our hands.

As you can see, it wore out Lincoln. (It also wore out Mom, not pictured.)

A field trip

Thursday was the great fire station adventure with Lev's preschool class. Mom chaperoned and walked with Lev and her friend a few blocks away for a tour of the station. We learned that there are two different kinds of trucks: one is for rescues and one is for putting out the fire. It was a gorgeous day for the visit and we're excited for more fun preschool activities!

15 months and growing

UPDATED

Lincoln visited his pediatrician for a check-up yesterday, and the good news is that he's on the same track as he was at a year. But that's not meant to suggest there is any bad news; thankfully, there is none!

His height is in the 90th percentile, his weight is between the 25th and 50th percentiles, and his head still is off the charts.

So he grew almost 2 inches to 32 3/4, and he gained almost 2 pounds to 23 pounds, 4 ounces.

He also got four shots, including a flu vaccination. Levynn lucked out and was offered the nasal spray flu vaccine.

Here's Lincoln six days earlier, moments before leaving the house with Dad to catch the bus for his first storytime at the library.

Kids (and parents) and kites

Have you guessed that there has been a lull in our family-on-the-go activities since the summer peak? It's true, and it has a lot to do with Levynn's school schedule. (Speaking of which, four weeks have come and gone, and she loves it!)

But we snapped out of it in a big way today.

We started at Mayor Daley's Kids and Kites Festival in Lincoln Park, which was terrific. The city provided free materials and booths so kids could make their own kites, and ING Direct also gave away ready-to-go models. There was a huge area to fly the kites, including a hill that Mom and Dad each ran down with Levynn.




(Look at that kid behind Levynn above, and look at Lincoln below.)



This is the view from the hill, which is about 1 1/2 miles north of us.

There was more to do at the festival than make and fly kites. But we decided to hustle back to the main road and catch the two buses we needed to get back to our neighborhood so Levynn and Dad could see the Mad Hatters perform at our local library branch. The Mad Hatters are a Junior League of Chicago group of goofy-hat-wearing women who promote reading to children, and they acted out silly stories as they were read aloud. They also asked the kids to shout "Change your hats!" after each story, and Levynn was the star of that effort. (Lincoln and Mom read books in the children's department.)

Look at those babies

Time to break out the foot jammies here today. Coldest day since May was the prediction, and it was 48 degrees on the way to school this morning. Funny, this time last October, we were in the middle of a heat wave in Louisville, remember? Wow, and look how they've grown!

A few weeks ago we got these monkey jammies, and our two little monkies were right at home wearing them after the bath tonight.