Shutterbug Mama

as some of you may know, i married into a family of beverage snobs, and i mean that in the form of a compliment. be it coffee, beer or mountain dew, these siblings know what quality liquid they want in their mugs, glasses, steins, 20 oz bottles, what have you. so when ted told me he'd found the best latte in the city, i was a bit surprised at how freely and unequivocally he bestowed such a title.

...and the recipient of said honor is metropolis coffe company, 1.5 miles from our home. it's right off the grandville stop on the red line in an up and coming part of the edgewater neighborhood. i was a little skeptical at first, and i'm really not much of a coffee drinker, but i will readily admit that this was the best latte i've had in chicago. it's a lot like the lattes they make at some seattle cafes.

...sunday morning was cold and rainy, but that did not deter cadence from insisting on a little game of soccer outside metropolis. we also ran into ted's former coworker sara from trader joe's. she's probably one of my favorite TJ crewmembers, and i'm sad that she's not there any more. she has the most pleasant face i've ever seen--big bright eyes, the loveliest plump rosy, dimpled cheeks all framed by a cascade of brownish blond curls. we chatted in the drizzle outside the cafe, when all of a sudden we were confronted with this image of cadence's behind. the poor girl! i keep saying how skinny she is, right? and this is clear evidence...she'd run around, and her pants kept falling down so she couldn't run any more, and she'd realize what was happening and try to pull them back up but couldn't quite get the hang of it. then the cutest frown and knitted brows would cloud her face and she'd fret, 'oh no! oh no!' until one of us pulled her pants back up for her...it was so funny we all busted out laughing.

...so yesterday was brew day in our home. dave came over in the afternoon, and the boys brewed a batch of IPA. once cadence woke up from her afternoon nap, we drove over to my mom's to stay out of the way. when we got home, the sight you see in the photo above is what greeted us. yowza! those boys...like i said...i married into a family of beverage snobs!

...as many of you know, the metra (chicago's regional train system) runs right next door to our building. cadence loves to wave as the train passes, squealing 'wain!!!' and 'byebye!' ted took her on a train ride a long time ago when we had to get our car fixed, but she probably doesn't remember that ride. so on saturday, i thought it would be fun to take a little field trip into the bucktown neighborhood, which is near the clybourn station, two train stops (around 6.5 miles)south of us. that was my train stop to and from work when i was single in the city a few years ago.

i knew that ted would be going to the brew supply store, which is a half block from the clybourn train station, after he got off work at 3, so i thought we'd surprise him by meeting him there. now when you have a toddler, you have to plan these things well, or you will fail miserably. for example, i thought that 20 minutes would be plenty of time for walking to the train station from our home, since it normally takes me less than 10 minutes. well, we'd only gone down one step when i caught a whiff of cadence's diaper (which i'd changed 5 minutes prior to walking out the door). great. she pooped in that brand new diaper. i dragged ourselved back inside, changed her as quickly as i could, washed up, and ran back out. 12 minutes left. cadence ran for the first block, but then i carried her last 3 blocks so that we'd make it. it turned out the train was running behind schedule anyway, so we would've had plenty of time.

fortunately, cadence got a real kick out of riding the train, so it was all worth the trouble. she marveled at the homes whizzing by and even recognized our neighborhood, although i doubt she could've picked our actual building.

...once we got off the train near ashland and armitage, we walked a couple blocks south to walsh park, which has a pretty large playlot. cadence chased butterflies and other kids and just ran around and around.

...cadence actually surprised me by showing an interest in the big slide. normally, she's a bit wary of going down the slide, at least while she's with me, since i've let her fall off of them a couple times.

...what i was NOT expecting was just how much static electricity going down that slide would generate. her hair was going just absolutely crazy! i mean, she totally looks like she stuck a finger in a socket. i have never seen anything like it. i couldn't stop cracking up. you can see a little video clip here if your computer lets you.

...anyhoo, we wandered the neighborhood a bit, got some juice and water, and finally ted drove up to the brew supply store. he was pretty surprised to see us, since i'd called a couple times and had pretended to be home. it was a happy family reunion, but i was pretty exhausted by the time we got home. so was cadence, but we kept her awake until bath time, and she went right to sleep afterwards so that we could watch the first half of harry potter #4, which we won't watch while she's awake for fear of triggering nightmares in her sponge brain.

...i am happy to report that cadence is all better now. she didn't even go into the doctor's office on wednesday. her fever went away overnight tuesday, so even though the doctor on call had told me to bring her in the next day, i had ted just monitor her temperature the following morning, and it stayed normal, so i figured why mess with a good thing?

...my cousin ben and his wife rachel were in town this week. ben's being transferred to chicago from CA, and we're excited! they signed a lease on an apt. in south evanston, which is just a couple miles from us. they'll be moving here the 1st week of july. woohoo!

well, it's hard to believe, but cadence is going to be 21 months old tomorrow. she's got quite the personality, that little one does. she can be OH SO VERY FRUSTRATING at times, but mainly she's a super kid. i have to admit that sometimes i worry whether we're doing enough for her. the pressure these days to have your kid sleeptrained, pottytrained, and reading and writing by a REALLY early age is somewhat daunting. i have to keep reminding myself that she's not even 2 yet. and so what if the dooce's toddler already knew the entire alphabet and could count to 17 by the time she was cadence's age? so what if cadence answers 'yellow' any time i ask her what color something is, even if it's turquoise? so what if most of what she says is still total absolute gibberish? at least she says it with gusto and like she means it.

it's all too easy these days to compare your kid to other kids constantly. parenting is the new black, and it's become a dominant way of keeping up with the joneses. i just have to remind myself that ted and i are NOT playing that game...

...this is a sweet yet pathetic sight. you see, cadence has had a high grade fever since sunday evening, and this is the state i found her in around dinnertime monday night. since cadence seemed to be playing well and wasn't acting sick, i didn't know how bad her fever was until i took her temperature later in the evening, and by that time it had shot up to over 104 degrees. i freaked out because i couldn't remember when she had such a high fever before. we administered the tylenol (not without a struggle) and put her in a lukewarm bath. at first, she was excited about taking a bath, but her enthusiasm was deflated when she got in and realized the temperature was not up to her comfort standards. nevertheless, it was successful in getting her fever down a few degrees, and i put her to bed.

...at 3:30am, however, i found that she was burning up again, so i took her temperature and she was back up to 104.4. not only that, she had sweated so much that the sheet was quite damp. we started the bath again, and this time, i had to get in with her and hold her to get her in the water. and then of course she thought that it was time to get up and play, so after her bath she started demanding various activities, none of which had anything to do with going back to bed. somehow, we all managed to get back to sleep, but i had to wake up all too soon again to go to work.

her fever was better all day today, according to ted, but tonight i took her temperature again and it was back up to over 102. so she got yet another bath. her 3rd in 24 hours! now i was worried because the fever had been present for over 48 hours and she had no other symptoms that i was aware of except that she wouldn't eat. so i called the doctor on call at her pediatrician's office. i was told to bring her in to the clinic tomorrow to rule out an ear infection. i really don't want to because i know she does not enjoy going to the doctor, but that fever worries me...

...on a brighter note, after her bath tonight, she suddenly decided that she was hungry and actually asked to sit at the dining table and be fed. luckily, i had some seaweed miso soup with tofu left over from dinner (actually it was brian's, ted's best friend, who was over for dinner) and she left me feed most of that to her, as well as some bananana and a half cup of cheerios. i can't tell you the relief and joy i felt at watching her eat. i just hope this means she's kicking whatever bug she's fighting.

...so father's day dinner at yia yia's was fun. ted's parents, grandma carol, yia yia, jason, david, becki, cousin vikki and her daughter mackenzie, uncle bob, ted, cadence and i were all there, and lauren even joined us from sweden over the phone. it's always nice to get together with family...

anyhoo, i'm exhausted, and i have to go into work tomorrow, as opposed to my usual work-from-home arrangement for wednesdays, so i gotta hit the hay. i just hope there are no middle-of-the-night baths needed tonight...

happy father's day to teddy and all the dads out there!

...today turned out to be hot and humid as promised. cadence still begged to go outside ("side?! shoes?! go?! side?! side?! side?! shoes?! side?!") so we went out early before the sun got too brutal.

...cadence defiantly resisted taking a nap today. normally, she'll have taken one by mid to later morning, but today she waited until almost 1pm for her first and only nap. and then she only slept for like an hour, which gave me barely enough time to take a shower and clean the bathroom.

...when ted came home midafternoon, we did take her as promised to indian boundary park, which is about a mile from our home. they have this wading fountain for kids to play in, and i thought it would be perfect for such a hot day.

...i assumed that because she loooooves taking a bath so much, that she would be thrilled to splash around in the fountain. boy, was i wrong. she's a little scaredy-cat and wouldn't go near the water unless she was in daddy's arms.

...all she did was goof around and look all cutesie in that bathing suit of hers. and i had gone through the trouble of altering the suit so the straps wouldn't fall off her bony shoulders. that's right, i actually threaded a needle and pricked myself a half a dozen times, and i may as well have put her in her sunday best since she didn't get a drop of water anywhere on her bathing suit.

...oh well...but she was still so absolutely adorable in that little swim suit, so it was worth it...maybe next time she'll dip her toe in the water's edge.

...cadence did however thoroughly enjoy running through the green green grass...we had to keep steering her away from going after other people's balls.

...besides, we had our own soccer ball, and ted and i kicked it around for a bit. cadence joined in, and as you can she, she's got quite a kick! although it's hard to tell whether she's kicking the ball or doing ballet.

well, tomorrow is going to be a father's day/grandma day extravaganza at grandma sophie's. in addition to the siblings and cousins and grandmas, the parents will be there as well. should be quite the party, although we'll be missing lauren, who's having a ball in sweden.

...i hear we’re gonna have a sizzler this weekend, and i ain’t refering to the red meat variety. after a pretty mild, sometimes-cold june we’re finally getting hit with summer weather chicago-style this weekend. i’ve already asked ted to turn on the a/c this morning, as i had trouble sleeping last night in the mugginess.

i think i’ll take cadence to indian boundary park this weekend, where they have a very lovely sprinkler for kids to cool off in. i just need to convince teddy that it really will be a good idea and totally worth it to leave the comfortable confines of our centrally air-conditioned walls to stand around in the hot, sticky miserable oppressing sunshine just so we can witness our wee one dance with glee through the wetness. i might even take the big fancy camera for that one...

...here's something cadence likes to do. she'll rapidly blurt out a long narrative of gibberish with a totally straight face like she's telling a story that makes perfect sense.

...then after a pause for dramatic effect, with perfect comedic timing, she busts out laughing 'AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!' as if she's laughing at her own punch line. she'll repeat this several times, like she's doing a stand up comedy routine. it's really hilarious. we need to get it on video one of these days.

well, i'm happy to report that cadence didn't get sick on sunday after all. i don't know what that fever was about. i think she may have had a tummy bug or something because she had about the worst blowout diaper ever on monday. that would explain why she wouldn't eat on sunday.

ted's show w/ tim lowly and gang went well on sunday, i hear. i got to eat dinner w/ ted and matt ganong, the keyboardist/pianist, before the show. we like matt. he's really nice. he and ted talked a lot about beers and homebrewing, ted's favorite topic.

the group that played after tim was called ash in pensacola. it turns out that their singer, mindi, is ethan's girlfriend. that would be ethan d'ercole, guitarist for watchers (ted's former band) and the mannequin men. he's also a great dj. i have fond memories of hanging out with ted late saturday nights at the get me high lounge on the bucktown/wicker park border listening to ethan spin. it's hard to believe we used to stick around past last call. good god. i can't even imagine being out that late any more. anyhoo, ted and ethan always loved making music together, and i hope they resume contact...

...so our weekend started on a pretty good note. i met up w/ my old friend michelle and her son benjamin (who's a month older than cadence) at the skokie exploratorium, which is like a big indoor playground with numrous hands-on exploratory activities, like water fountains, dress-up costumes/stage area, climbing tubes and tunnels, building blocks galore, arts and crafts area, etc.

...i highly recommend it for a rainy day. it's even great for infants. lots of things to explore and touch and crawl around on, and it's pretty clean compared to some other kids' activity centers i've been to. i only had to pay for myself ($4 for non-skokie resident adults) and cadence was free cuz she's under 2. it's not so huge that you have to worry about your kid running off into oblivion, but there's enough space and stuff to keep even the most active kid (i.e. cadence) occupied for a good amount of time.

...sunday, on the other hand, was not such a good day. cadence woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and by the time we got home from church, she was sporting a lowgrade fever and coughing occasionally. she was so wiped out that one minute, she was crying in my arms (after hitting her head on the dining table) and the next minute, she was already drifting off to sleep. she slept until about 2, but then she was so tired that she fell asleep again in my arms at around 3:30 and slept until 5. i gave her some tylenol, and that seemed to make her feel better (well, at least her fever went away), but there seemed to be no antidote for the crankiness.

...ted was playing a show tonight w/ tim at the heartland cafe, and we had to be there at 7. i was skeptical as to how the night would go because cadence was so cranky. sure enough, as soon as we got there, cadence just wanted to wander the neighborhood. she had absolutely no desire to sit down with us for dinner, which meant someone (e.g., me) had to chase her around so that she wasn't a menace to the other customers.

...by the time ted and tim and the gang got up to play around 9, cadence was virtually unmanageable. even though the photo above was taken on saturday, it pretty much sums up her attitude the whole evening. i gave up and took her home after the first song. there was more drama when we got home because she didn't want to wash her hands, but now she's finally sleeping, and the only sound in our home is that of my typing. i am pretty spent...

i'm kinda bummed i had to leave early cuz so many people from church showed up, as well as our dear friend john from montana and uncle dave and aunt becki. but i know i wouldn't have been able to enjoy myself anyway, with such a cranky cadence crying and screaming in my arms. well, since i've self-medicated with some chocolate chip cookies, i think i'm ready to collapse into bed.

...a new side of cadence is emerging in our household. i guess you could call it 'conversational cadence.' she is stringing more words together and actually making sense.

...for example, this evening, as i attempted to extricate her from her beloved playground, i placated her by asking her if she wanted to take a bath when she got home. she immediately calmed down and asked, 'with a duckie?' 'yes, with a duckie,' i replied. 'with a froggie?' cadence asked. 'yes, with a froggie,' i confirmed. then she couldn't get home fast enough so she could partake in her favorite activity (besides watching blues clues)--being naked in warm water with a tub full of foam letters and various rubber animals that shoot water out of their orifices.

okay, actually, what she said was 'wadsa gockie?' and 'wadsa f*ckie?' but since i did carry her around in my innermost being for 37 weeks, i knew exactly what she was talking about and am able to translate for you all who have not yet been initiated into the intricacies of the cadencean language.

...and that's not all. i was sitting by the tub reading my big fat biography on truman capote (such a big volume for such a little man...anyhoo...) which ted got me for my bday. that's when i overheard the following conversation between cadence and her froggie:

cadence: more?
froggie (played by cadence): otay (trans.: okay)
cadence: here you go (as she pours froggie a cup of water)
froggie: tang cue! (trans.: thank you!)

...and here is a picture of her at the park yesterday, pointing up at the sky saying, 'it's a mooooooon!' and sure enough, there was a white half-moon sitting high in the sky. i love how she says moon.

come to think of it, i love how she says just about anything...