But... he's been slowly warming up to me. And, just recently, like within the past few months, we've actually started playing together.
Today was a MAJOR day for me... I'm sure it wasn't for him, it was just another trip to see "gamma".
But... you know what happened today? You know what is going to go into my (recently faulty) memory today?
HE CALLED ME BY MY NAME.
Now... he can't say "uncle" yet, but to hear him call me "Mike" was a BIG THING for me.
We had bought Jack a Bob The Builder toy yesterday when we were at Fry's Electronics (wow, I love that place!)... it was a Packer Delivery truck... that came with (allegedly) scented crates of apples... so... he can say "apples" pretty well (OK, it comes out more like "appooo") but the "tr" in "truck"... well... not so much.
..and so.. Jack and Mike played with his "apple guck".
]]>Was a little dicey, though... with the Bears in their first playoff game after a bye... and they BARELY won.. as everyone was traveling to my sister's house in Bucktown.
]]>We hosted a small party of family and friends at the Weber Grill in Schaumburg. It was wonderful - the food was good, the company was great... Janie & Gary had just come back from their home in Santa Fe which was buried in the same snowstorm that hit Denver... but no one has heard about how bad it was in New Mexico.
We had everyone come over to the house for cake.. (and to open presents, as well). Carol got the cake from Deerfields bakery. It was chocolate with an off-white fronsting... with black pinstripes and the White Sox logo! GREAT GREAT cake... one problem though - we have NO idea what the black frosting is made of, but it stained our teeth.. it stained our skin (and yes - we could not was it off!) and stained our clothes. Gave us a good laugh.
Lots of great presents (mostly new shirts(?!)) and a great gift certificate from my sister Diane - City Segway Tours - Chicago! I get to ride a Segway around the museum campus this summer!!!
It was a monumental birthday for me, and it was wonderful to have people together... for me. It meant an awful lot to me. I don't think anyone really knew, but.. it REALLY touched me, even though it was just a small dinner, and cake, and a few gifts.
]]>It's hard to shake the feelings of Christmas Morning.. and the expectations when you were a kid... when you become an adult... and adult with years under your belt... Though you love every gift you get, somehow you feel like you're chasing the elusive excitement and joy of receiving toys as a kid on Christmas morning.
So... this year brought Jackson's first Christmas he could react to (last year, he was 14 weeks old, this year 15½ months). It's great seeing Christmas through his eyes... I can't wait 'till next year when he should be more excited.
An odd Christmas Day for us, part of the odd Christmas season I suppose - Diane, Melinda and Jackson took off after opening presents to drive to Melinda's family in downstate Illinois. The house was empty, except for me, Carol, and my mom. It felt... empty...
...except for my stomach, which feels bloated, tight, and cramping...
]]>This is our first year together where - it's only immediate family. We went to Diane & Melinda's for just a buffet of appetizers, very low key, no present exchanges (that's tomorrow morning).
Still... it felt odd... small... something I wasn't accustomed to... and I'm not sure I like it. I don't see that extended family much,, and I just missed them somehow.
The concept of an appetizer buffet is very bad for me. The appetizers were all setup on an island in the kitchen, and we spent our evening in the back family room.
Me - I spent my time in a continuous slow walk... around and around the island... using just a napkin and no plate, I grazed for what seems like hours, taking a bite here and a piece there... over... and over...
I know I'm going to pay for this somewhere along the line...
]]>It's also a big stressful day for me. I cook the turkey every year. Actually barbecue it on my Weber. This year, added stress: no more regular Kingsford CharcoalNo... I've decided to go with wood - Wicked Good "Weekend Warrior Blend" Hardwood Lump Charcoal. I just loved this whole idea of using wood charcoal instead of charcoal briquettes.
I heard that the wood burns faster and hotter, so I started the wood later than I have in the past - I started the first chimney at 1pm. The chimney lights fine (but I used 4 sheets of newspaper just in case), and seems to be completely involved a little faster, by maybe 5 or 10 minutes. and it's HOT... not just hot, but HOT. I threw the first chimney on the grill, started a second, added chunks to the first batch. The second chimney is done at the one hour mark from the start of the first, and both chimneys full of charcoal are in the grill, soaked hickory chips thrown over the top, and the turkey (18.3 lbs), in a rack, breast-down, on the grill at 2:05.
Pouring the chimneys into the grill was interesting. First, let me say that this is the best weather we've had on Thanksgiving in years.. and possibly ever... it's about 60 degrees. I don't need a jacket, and I had a fleece sweater on. Had. The charcoal was so hot, that when I poured a chimney into the grill and the heat so intense, my sweater started to smell as if it was starting to liquefy and melt. I really didn't need the sweater anyway.
2 hours and 10 minutes later, the turkey was off the grill and resting under an aluminum tent at Turkey Carving Central. Done.
Did the new charcoal work? Hell, yeah! Was the juiciest bird we had ever had... the meat was still moist putting the leftovers away after dinner.
As I write this, the charcoal is still burning in the grill. All the vents are closed, it should kill the fire. No. That's how hot the fire was.
It was actually a great time. Jackson was so well behaved.. he just kept getting passed around from person to person and he was fine with that. Had a small issue with his dinner (OK, he threw up a little bit..) but he was great.
He only fidgeted hen they put his Happy Birthday paper hat on... he didn't like it, but he wore his cowboy hat most of the day (it was a cowboy-themed party). And he didn't like his Smash Cake (now, this whole concept was new to me.. having a "Smash Cake", which is just a very small cake, just for the birthday kid, so they can just smash the cake with their hands and smear their face in the frosting). It was his first taste of sugar... and he didn't know what to make of it.
He was great with the gifts as well... as a typical kid, fixating on a few items.. as well as boxes.
Fortunately, the party didn't go long into the night, because we had to take mom home, and then drive ourselves home... so we can finish packing, and get up at 4am.. so that we can shower, dress, finish the last packing, drive ti B&B's, pick them up, and drive to Midway Airport...
...because we're flying to Las Vegas for a few days for vacation!
]]>Happy Birthday to my sister Diane!
Happy Birhday to my buddy Barry!
]]>I haven't written to you in a while, but today I feel compelled to do do.
I haven't seen you for a few weeks. During that time, you were pretty sick with some kind of bug, and you have no idea how much trouble you put your mommies through. But, eventually.. it looks like you've made it through.
I was watching you today. You're crawling really fast now... you can almost stand unassisted. You've got at least two teeth that I can see, and you look pretty damn cute...
Actually, that's the thing I really noticed today.
Since the last time I saw you, you've changed. All of a sudden, I'm seeing the little boy Jackson and not Infant Jackson.. yeah, I know you're not even a year old yet... but now I can see your brain ticking.. thinking.. absorbing things.. reacting...
You're not the same Jackson that I knew.
Your face is filling out.. your hair longer and finally laying down and not sticking up...
I'm seeing these fleeting emotions on your face as you figure things out...
You seem quieter, more focused...
You're not the same Jackson... you are starting to grow up.. and turning the corner toward One Year Old...
I can't wait to see you in just a few weeks!
Love,
Uncle Michael
Today is Father's Day, so we went to a place that we always went to on Father's Day - Russell's Barbecue in Elmwood Park. We thought it would just be a nice way to remember dad, and with it being a Sunday night, we shouldn't have a problem parking or finding a table..
WRONG.
We had to circle around the lot twice to find a place to park. The lone was so long, it almost went out the north door.
My dad used to come here in the 30's when it opened and always came here since. I remember being a kid and coming here. It was different back then - there was no patio area, just the main building. They had tables outside the building as well as across the parking lot in a grassy area, with canopies. The main building inside and out was a cream color, with what looked like finished pine booths. The big thing for me as a kid was the metal Juke Box selector at each table, that accepted coins, and you flipped pages, like a menu or book, to find out what selections were available and made your selection by pressing alphanumeric buttons below the glass display of the flippable menu pages.
I remember the booths, the coat racks attached to booths. I remember a logo on the wall of a very happy hamburger that appeared to be dancing.
The place has changed a lot over the years, and yet it never changes. It's all dark brown now with a western motif, the tables outside replaced with an inside patio with skylights. (read the overview at CenterStage).
I waited in line almost half an hour to place our order, but it was served quickly in traditional Russell style.
While I was waiting at the counter, there was an older gentleman, perhaps in his mid 70's, more likely older. He was about the same height as my dad was. Balding as my dad was. He leans over to me, and in a raspy voice (like my dad had) says to me: "you picked a bad night to come here."
I just laughed. And then he said "I've been coming here since high school, and I an't never seen it this busy."
Just like my dad, coming since his childhood.
It felt good to be there, and the food was the same as it ever was.
]]>Sorry, Terry should have had it, not Aras.
We spent yesterday & today at my sister's house in Michigan, where - due to the crappy weather, we didn't do anything.
Which, I must say, is not a bad thing. Sometimes it's just nice getting away some place else, any place else, and she's got a great any place to be.
We had lunch yesterday at the Red Arrow Roadhouse, which you can't beat for price and quality - and it's now no smoking!
Diane grilled dinner (fillet's!) and celebrated Carol's birthday, and Carol made breakfast/brunch this morning (since she was the only non-mom in the house for Mother's Day).
The travel wasn't too bad yesterday on the Dan Ryan. Today we got off at Stoney Island and took Lakeshore Drive up since we had made a "Meat Run" to Falatic's and had to deliver some goodies to B&B in Wrigleyville (thank God the game was over, traffics was bad enough on Addison).
I really enjoy being up there - really want to do it again soon - with better weather, though...
]]>South of the city got hit by rain hard. It was a real trip getting to and from Jane's house. Jane had the front door open all night and you could hear the ongoing deluge going on outside.
We had a good time (though Diane, Melinda, and Jackson weren't there - they were with Melinda's family down south). I missed Jackson at the family gathering. I felt like there was something missing all night long.
Trying to figure out what to eat was a real trip tonight. I've got no guidance on what to do until I see a dietitian in a few days. Dinner was great and I felt the need not to do much about dessert. Since there were a lot of sweets involved, I knew that couldn't be good.
The traffic on the way home really picked-up. People were all going home from wherever they were during the weekend.
Boy, these were two long days...
]]>Actually, about my nephew Jackson and my sister Diane.
Diane has made the leap into blogging - blogging all about Jackson, her son.
Even though she'll probably never link to me, please go over and visit her blog and check out the great pictures of Jackson!
I've already added her site to my Blogroll...
So, go to a little ditty.....
]]>I know you may think it's just another Sunday going to that Grandma's house, but it was a big day for me. At least, it felt like it to me.
You know why? Well, there's two reasons, one of which you just don't know anything about yet. Tonight is the Season Opener for Major League Baseball. This is a big deal for me, because baseball is my most favorite sport. What made it more special was that tonight there was only one game being played in all of baseball. Baseball decided that the Chicago White Sox, my favorite baseball team, will start-off the whole baseball season. What makes it even more special. is that the White Sox won the World Series last year for the first time in 88 years, and they were going to raise their Championship banners before the game. Thats a real special thing if you're a baseball fan. Now, normally, Auntie Carol and Uncle Michael would both be at that game, but this year we're here with you. We're watching the game on TV, but we're here with you.
Tonight, I was on the floor with you for a while, and even though you never smiled when we were together, at least you let me stick around and we hung out. I consider that a big deal.
The really big deal for me came after dinner. Because I'm always standing up and walking around because of my leg twitches, your mommies came up with an idea. You had eaten as much as you were going to eat of dinner, and you didn't have a nap, so the next thing I knew, you were being handed off to me, so I could walk around and hold you, and hopefully you'd fall asleep.
Well, guess what? Yep, you fell asleep, and you slept for almost an hour! I didn't mind holding you at all. It was kind of cool. I mean, you weren't awake so you couldn't exactly reject me, so you just slept quietly and soundly the whole time.
Now, I have to admit that, when you finally woke up, you really had to look around to figure out where you were and were your mommies were. And then, you had to figure out what the heck was holding you - me. Well, you started to fuss and I had to give you up - which was probably a good thing because between the two of us, somebody was generating an awful lot of heat. I mean, we were both sweating. Your hair was all wet, my shirt was all wrinkled.
Still, I really enjoyed holding you and you really aren't rejecting me like I thought you were, and that makes me feel good.
Yesterday when Auntie Carol and Uncle Michael were out shopping, we got you your first official baseball cap. It fit you really well, and I was so surprised and happy to watch you wear your hat without a problem! in fact, it almost looked like you liked wearing it! You never once tried to take it off.
And you looked pretty damn cute wearing it, too.
Maybe someday we'll get a chance to watch a baseball game on TV, too. It's just so hard watching TV at grandma's house - there's always just too many things going on.
See you soon, Jackson!
Love,
Uncle Michael
When I saw you today, I saw something that I had never seen before in my life. Mind you, I haven't hung around people your age. At all. Ever. So, every time I see see you, I see something new, somebody new.
You are getting older, and you're still changing - something that's going to happen for years.
But I saw something that I just don't know how long it will last. And your mom's have better start videotaping you. In close-up.
While you are playing.
Because I have never seen the emotion of pure happiness when you're being played with. You scream and howl with such delight. But the kickers are your expressions in between each outburst, as you wait for the next silly face or tummy raspberry or whatever. You almost know what's coming and you just can't wait for it to happen. And you don't know it, but you do something with your mouth that makes you look like E.T. (maybe someday you'll get to know what a movie is and who E.T. is).
But the screams, the noises, there's just an untouched purity about them. There's no worldly knowingness that, oh, here comes mommy again, oh yeah, that was fun, what else do you have to make me happy.
I don't know how long this will last. I know it won't last forever. But we have to capture this. Wouldn't that be great? Bottle it - to open in the future when your giggle is needed to cheer someone up.
I'm doing my part, using my iRiver to grab some MP3's of your sounds.
It brightens up anybody's day if they can hear it. It's wonderful.
Try not to lose what you already have that we all want.
With love,
Uncle Michael