Levynn go bragh

Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade was downtown Saturday. It was another nippy winter day in the Windy City, but we hopped on the bus and the train to get there in plenty of time for a nice spot along Columbus Drive.



We did lose that spot after waiting in line for a port-a-potty just as the parade started coming down the street - Levynn had to go really bad! - but she found a perfectly good view atop Dad's shoulders afterward.



Shortly before we started to make our way out, a military academy marched past us and seemed to be guarded by a security detail. Check out the stern-looking fella in the beige trenchcoat.



But then an all-too-familiar disaster of a haircut moved into our view along the barricade, and we realized that the security had nothing to do with the military academy. It was for Rod Blagojevich, the (most recent) corrupt governor of Illinois. Oh boy!



We finally escaped the mob and walked north, first to get lunch at the food court inside Macy's on State Street and then to see the "green" Chicago River flowing under Michigan Avenue.



We were worn out long before we got back on the bus. But Levynn and Lincoln were troopers, Mom and Dad survived, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

All you need is books

We don't detail all of the wonderful words that come out of Levynn's mouth - not even close - but we do have to report another instance today.

She and Dad were discussing options for the next activity when she suggested a pillow fight. Dad asked, "How do you know about pillow fights?" She said, "I'll show you."

She walked to her bookshelf and, from her collection of 400 or so, pulled If You Give a Pig a Party. She put it on the floor in front of Dad and started flipping pages until she came to the one with, whaddya know, the pillow fight between Pig and her friends. She pointed to the words "pillow fight" and said, "That says 'pillow fight.'"

Dad looked at Mom and asked, dumbfounded, "Did you read that to her today?"

"No."

Another bookworm?

All you need is love

Levynn, that sweet thing, was chatting with Dad the other day and decided to list some of the people that she loves. Before she was finished she said, "And I even love naughty people. When I love them, that will make them nice."

Does anyone else think that's extraordinary?

All about our hair

The long-suffering ladies in the household finally shed their locks in Chicago for the first time this past week. None of us remember when their hair had been cut last, and even Dad was all for it. Contributing to the experience, Mom was able to pick between two salons within leisurely walking distance in our nifty little neighborhood.

The Newly-Trimmed

The Needing-Trimmed

The Not-Yet-Needing-Trimmed

Growing teeth

Lincoln has been working and working on getting his two lower front teeth to break through, seems like for weeks now. He's slobbery and gnawing everything.

Then last Sunday the one on his right came in. And then today, a week later, the second was through, too.

Now maybe those Cheerios will be more than just something to play with.

You have to look closely, but they're there.

It's OK, until the baby fusses

Sorry, Mom

No small variety of good eats have been avoided in our home since Mom and Dad first got together many moons ago. If one of us doesn't like it, well, the other's probably not going to get a chance to eat it, either.

Well, times are changing. Dad recently decided that Levynn was old enough to try one of his favorite dishes of all time, and she gamely agreed. So the two of us made an exciting purchase at the grocery store, waited for Mom to go to work one night, and cooked it to golden perfection.

And?

"Mmm, mmm, mmm," Levynn declared as she asked for seconds and thirds. "I love fish sticks!"

welcome inside

Welcome to our home

At long last, the tour by photo:



from sidewalk, our gated entry, above



ours is the door on the left, goes right into our first floor unit. on the right opens into stairway to upstairs owners/neighbors. looking north down our street, below



from the back yard, our deck is the lower one



path between our house and the neighbor to our south (front of ours faces east). path goes to our backyard, basement access this way, and straight back to garage and another gate to rear alley.