Best Shot(s) Monday--The Easter Edition

Every Easter since Cadence was born (actually, since Ted and I have been together), we go to Ted's parents' house for Easter dinner. Cadence seems to have developed a little tradition of her own.

Here she is playing Grandma & Grandpa's piano on her very first Easter. Does she not look like a natural?

Here she is at last year's Easter dinner tickling the ivories again. A little more hair this year--enough to warrant a barrette (barely).

And here she is at this year's Easter dinner, getting ready to carry on her yearly Easter performance. This year, she has enough hair for PIGTAILS, not juste a barrette.

She's also able to climb onto the piano bench all by herself now. Not to mention, she looks HUGE compared to the previous two years.

Just take a look at those dangling legs! She looks like she's big enough for piano lessons (not gonna happen). Well, if she keeps practicing her little Schoenhut, maybe she'll have a big piano someday. But probably not one as big as the one at Grandma & Grandpas. Unless she plans on sleeping underneath it every night. Excuse the fragments please.

Well, being big enough to get on the piano bench by herself also means she doesn't have to stay on there helpless while her mama takes endless photos of her. Oh well.

Go see other folks' Best Shot Monday here.

so this is how ted gets cadence to nap

i come home from work just an hour later than usual, and this is the state i find my daughter in...

buses, farmers, beer and friends

I'm emerging from a very busy weekend, and I can't get my brain to produce a coherent post because I'm still somewhat discombobulated. I think I'll have to resort to bullet points.

Saturday

* Cadence and I took the Metra to our church for the Fair Trade Market. Berry (our church) is a member of the Chicago Committee on Fair Trade, and we host one of these markets at least a couple times a year. Most of the folks volunteering at the booths were folks we know from church, so I felt comfortable letting Cadence just roam around while I shopped and visited with folks. To me, that's a clear sign that I'm feeling more at home at Berry.

* We took the Lawrence bus and Clark bus back home. Luckily, I had brought a sling, and Cadence fell asleep snuggled against my chest while we were waiting for the bus. This is the 3rd weekend in a row that Cadence and I have taken public transportation, and while I was standing on the corner of Lawrence and Clark, holding Cadence close to me, I thought about how meditative the act of waiting for a bus or train can be. You get to see the world around you, standing in one spot, letting it soak in, as opposed to zooming by a blur at XX mph. It's been liberating to not feel confined to our home just because I don't have the car on Saturdays. There are so many places we can go, and it all starts with a 2 minute walk to our bus stop.

* Saturday evening, Ted, his brother Dave, Cadence and I attended a potluck/presentation at church with our Community Supported Agriculture provider. CSA links local farmers with consumers who can buy subscriptions for a delivery of fresh, in-season produce on a weekly basis. This provides the farmers with a somewhat reliable source of income, and it gives the people in the communities a chance to develop a relationship with the people who grow their food. Tony Ends, the owner of Scotch Hill Farm and Executive Director for the organization Churches' Center for Land and People (CCLP), talked to us about the philosophy and practices behind CSA. He is an articulate, passionate speaker, and we were all moved by what he had to say. Ted, Dave, Dave's fiancé Becki and I are going to share a CSA subscription this summer. We hope the weekly delivery of fresh produce, grown with so much respect for the earth and for humanity, will encourage us to cook meals together with that food and increase the community amongst ourselves.

Sunday

* My new friend Holly visited our church with her breathtakingly beautiful almost-2-year-old daughter Helena. If I told you all the coinkidinks that tie Holly and me together, you would freak out. Go read her blog. She is awesome.

* Ted and Dave painted our living room all day Sunday. I rewarded them by taking them out to Gruppo di Amici, a relatively new Italian restaurant that specializes in Roman-style pizzas cooked in a woodburning oven. As soon as I told Ted about their $3 draft beer Sunday special, he was sold. The restaurant is in the newly revitalizing Jarvis district, right off the Jarvis stop of the Red line in Rogers Park. It ain't no hole in the wall, either. The owners definitely spent money on decorating this joint. Still, the waitstaff were friendly, and we got no dirty looks when we walked in with Cadence in tow.

They only have two beers on tap, but we discovered that they only stock fine quality craft beers. When Ted found that out, I knew we'd be back on many a future Sunday. Anyhoo, on this particular evening, they had the Tripel Karmeliet and Veltins Pilsner on tap. Ted ordered the first one, and when I saw the beautiful creamy head in the gorgeous goblet they served it in, I had to have a taste. One little mouthful, and I was totally hooked. This was the yummiest beer I had ever laid my lips on! It was so smooth, more like a dreamsicle. I immediately called over the waiter and ordered my own goblet. Unfortunately, they'll be replacing this beer before next Sunday, so next time I'll have to pay full price ($7)at the Hopleaf to get it on tap. If you like Two Brother's Cane and Ebel, that's the next beer that will replace the Tripel Karmeliet on tap @ Gruppo di Amici. I highly recommend going there on Sundays for their $3 draft beer special. Plus the food was yummy! A little on the expensive side, but overall a lovely experience. It also really helped that Cadence was happy as a clam eating ice cubes the whole time.

Monday

* I took a vacation day Monday because I happen to follow the weather, and I found out it would be the only warm and sunny day of the week. We took Cadence and her little buddy Rudden to Brookfield Zoo, where we have a membership. Rudden's parents Brendan and Amy are friends of ours from church.

I remembered from our previous visit that you could rent those plastic wagons at the zoo, and so rather than lug two toddlers in and out of strollers, we opted for the wagon. It turned out to be one of my smarter decisions in life. The kids loved riding in the wagon, which meant a) we only had to pull one vehicle at a time; b) we didn't have to constantly chase down two toddlers to put them back in strollers; c) we had a place to put our stuff; d)it was easy to take the kids in and out of the wagon without fussing w/ buckles.

Cadence also enjoyed pulling the wagon. Yeah, she may look scrawny, but don't let her size fool you. It's all pure muscle.

Don't get me wrong--we didn't keep them totally confined to the wagon. They got plenty of chances to run and hop and jump and climb and basically be two-and-a-half year olds.

It was so cute when they both fell asleep in their car seats on the way back home. All in all, it was a lovely outing. Seeing Cadence interact with Rudden gives us a peek at what it would be like if she had a sibling. They are good enough friends that they can fight and then laugh within the same minute. It's actually quite fascinating.

another monday, another photo...

...well, it looks like if it weren't for tracey's Best Shot Mondays, i wouldn't ever get around to posting anything any more. anyhoo, this one's one of my faves from the past week.

...winter seems like it can't make up its mind about chicago--'should i stay or should i go now?' seems to be the theme song lately. we had a couple warm days last week, which we took advantage of. then it was back down to the 30s. and maybe today it will get back into the 50s. you really have to check the weather forecast if you don't want to be caught freezing your ass off or sweating like a pig.

...i have to say that i'm really digging the fact that cadence's hair is long enough to put in ponytails pigtails. for the longest time, she resisted having anything done to her hair, even though she looked like she was going for a cousin itt look. now that she'll tolerate her hair being pulled back in a barette and ponytails pigtails, i think she realizes how much more comfortable it is to not have stray strands poking her in the eye all the time.

...now that she's not so bald any more, she's looking more like a kid and less and less like a baby or even a toddler. she amazes me all the time by her capacity to learn new things. she's like this big adorable sponge right now, and i feel like i'm short of breath trying to keep up with her...

best shot(s) monday--yay! warm weather!

...this is my pick for My Best Shot Monday for Picture This. as you can see, chicago was graced over the weekend with a respite from the bitter winter we've been having.

...luckily, ted took saturday off to extend his birthday celebration, so we got to enjoy the beautiful weather as a family. since we weren't expecting it to be so warm, we had originally planned saturday morning to take cadence to an indoor playroom near goose island, where we were going to go for lunch. fortunately, the playroom was closed for a private birthday party, so we were forced outdoors!

...we were near our old neighborhood on the wicker park/bucktown border, so we headed to walsh park on ashland just north of wabansia. the playlot is fully exposed to the sun, so even though it had rained cats and dogs the night before, everything was pretty dry, and we just had to watch out for the mud in the grassy areas.

...as you can see here, ted and i enjoyed being out in the warm weather as much as cadence did. it's been such a dreary winter here in the midwest that we really needed a break.

...i believe the last time i got to take photos of cadence at a park was during thanksgiving weekend, over 3 months ago. i think it's safe to say that we've all been suffering from major cabin fever around here. i hear we're gonna have a gorgeous couple of days and then it's back to the reality that is a chicago winter...

...oh, well. at least we got a little reminder of how lovely chicago can be when the weather isn't giving us a thrashing. hopefully, spring will choose to show up in MARCH, when it's supposed to, and not in MAY, as is typical in chicago...