The Adventures on Pepper Road

Running of the Bulls

lzpepperpot — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:18:40 +0000

We took Evan to his first Bulls game on Jan. 17, 2012 against the Phoenix Suns at the United Center. The Bulls won 118-97. Carlos Boozer scored 26 of his 31 points in the first half. It was never close as the Bulls were up by 20 at halftime even though D-Rose had to sit the game out with a sore footie. Evan loved that the Bulls got the W and the much, much more:

- turning the lights off for the player introductions
- seeing Channing Frye because he knew him from his trading card book
- halftime show with the Amazing Sladek and his Tower of Chairs – Evan was so nervous that the guy was going to fall off of the chair he couldn’t even look (he had his fingers over his eyes)
- jumping on his seat when the Bulls scored
- a nice ice cream cone
- shouting “Nice Job, Bulls” or “You’re doing good, Bulls”
- waving his long, red balloon most of the second half. We were behind the basket, so it was our responsibility to distract the Suns with all the balloon waving when they were attempting free throws.
- cheering for the Bagel in the Dunkin’ Donuts race (for the record, the donut won, beating out the coffee and bagel in a tight one)
- watching the big screen on the scoreboard
- asking if Rodney McCray (who is also in his trading card book) was one of the retired Bull players featured in the pregame video montage
- the big Benny inflatable flying around the UC; and then the real mascot running down the aisle, tripping and spilling popcorn
- the fireworks during the pregame intro.
- being close to the court in the first level (thanks, mom, for the awesome seats)
- dancers and drummers
- Do you see (Brooke Lopez) on the Suns…he has crazy hair!
- How excited he was to change into his Bulls shirt (with his dad) before the game
- Kept pointing out people with Jordan jerseys (not sure he realizes that guy is a legend in Chicago…at least he doesn’t realize yet)
- About three quarters into the game he asked his mom why D Rose wasn’t playing….as if they wouldn’t play their best player if he wasn’t injured?
- How he kept consulting the gameday page containing the rosters for both teams to see who was playing for each team
- loving every minute, from the basketball to the circus in between. His focus on all the activity was locked.

It was a real treat to take Evan to his first Bulls game. I live and die with the Bulls at this point. While I want him to develop his own interests, I’m not going to deny I’m enjoying that he’s taken an interest in the team that plays in the Madhouse on Madison.

Christmas in the City

lzpepperpot — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:50:20 +0000

Last year I never got to the post I was going to write about our first Christmas weeked in city (December 2010). I’m not to be denied this year.

Here’s what I had started to write a year ago: we had a very nice weekend in the big city. Evan loves getting his suitcase ready to go to a hotel, jumping on the beds when we’re there, seeing all the lights and stores, etc. He was totally exhausted by the time his head hit the pillow on Sat. night. He couldn’t take a nap on the way down because he just kept asking when he’d see the tall buildings. It’s so cute. We also caught him staring out the window at the snow coming down on Sat. morning. He wanted to get out there, so we went and had our first snowball fight of the year.

Breakfast with Santa was a treat as all the kids were dressed in their Christmas best to see the man in red. Evan told him he wanted Hungry Hungry Hippos and later was worried that was all he’d get since he only thought of that one thing to tell him. We reassured him that Santa knows he wants other things, but he especially knows now about HHH.

That’s as far as I got for 2010. For 2011, we had two active participant in our trip. Evan, of course (as he likes to say), was ready to have fun, but another little friend named Nora was also ready to experience the big city. For example, as Nora’s just beginning to repeat words back, she would say “Hotel” in such a cute way through the trip. She, like Evan, also loved riding in the cabs (no seats belt!), staring up in wonder at all the tall buildings. As for the hotel, it goes without saying that the beds and chairs got a workout in from all the jumping on them!

During our trip we made it to the Shedd. Everyone was mesmerized by the dolphin show, Evan loved the 4-D Dora movie and Nora showed a soft spot for her beloved belugas (who we sing to her about often – thanks, Raffi). They also had a ball in the Polar Play zone area where there are kiddie slides made to look like ice ramps. They are actually super-slow, so when the kids went down them, they sort of resembled penguins, gradually winding their way down the chute. Evan was very good about holding Nora’s hand up high and helping her to the slide. He can be a really great big brother when he wants to.

Later Saturday, I took Evan to the hotel pool where he hung onto my neck for dear life. He couldn’t stand in the pool and I couldn’t help but treasure these moments where his feet were just unable to touch the bottom. He hugged me tightly after frequent plunges from the pool deck and made me proud when he stayed afloat on his own for five seconds. While riding quite an independent streak these days, which gets me more upset than I’d like, it’s so interesting to see how that all goes out the window in those situations and you remember he is 5-years-old.

After Mass at Holy Name, Saturday night found us on Michigan Ave. without a care in the world. We walked the shopping district with our path lighted by the trees. Without any real snow in Chicago yet, the weather could not have been better. Sunday morning soon came and we all got our fancy clothes on to see S.C. at Macy’s. As we pulled up to the front of Macy’s to embark, Evan said, “Look, Elk Parking.” The “S” in Self-Parking was actually obstructed from our view, so it made sense to Evan (why wouldn’t it?) that the elves has place to park right across the street from where their boss was making an appearance. Meanwhile, Nora looked liked a little angel in her pretty dress which was adorned with a flower as a big as her personality.

The breakfast with Papa and Grandma was good as usual. Evan went right the balloon artist line and Nora tagged along. Evan came away with a sword and Nora had a Rudolph balloon. Since both balloons were on sticks, they quickly both turned into swords with E and N swashbuckling their way throughout the morning. Evan got in a few requests to Santa while Nora stayed on Santa’s lap for a few brief moments. She wasn’t crying like a year ago, but she wasn’t ready to make herself at home quite yet. Evan later had his face pained with sports balls, two on the cheek and one on the forehead. Too cute.

This weekend trip is becoming such a special one for our family and can only hope it continues for many years. As everyone gets older, it will take different forms and I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

In other news:

- Evan has returned in the mornings to help me pack my lunch. He had been doing it a little bit about 6 months ago but, when weighed against Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, his interested started to wane. I’m not sure if he’s back now for the short-term (it’s always interesting to think about why he does what he does every morning), but I’m glad to have the assist anytime.
- Nora was helping to hang ornaments from the tree in her own way by sort of tossing them onto the branches and seeing what stuck. Amazingly, even Uncle Walt’s horse wedged itself in there. Nora must have been thinking to herself, “Who needs hooks?”
- The decorating of our tree has become another wonderful tradition. Ali takes her time removing the ornaments frmo their wrapping and both E and N gather round to see what’s next. They then carry the ornaments over to dear old dad for me to find some short-term homes for them on the tree. Evan even insisted this year on hanging the angel. Our tree reaches up to the ceiling, but Evan had made hold him up while i was on the step ladder and he proudly dropped the angle in her place of honor. It was a special team effort by our family and the 2011 tree looks beautiful.
- Evan is taking showers by himself now. So big.
- Last story: After we had finished the tree, Evan’s great imagination came up with a piniata game where he would take objects and place them in a tupperware container. He would then blast the container with his big, foam Dwarfs hammer, have everything fall out of it and let the mad scamble begin. It got more interesting this past weekend when he decided to put holiday M&Ms in the container as part of the booty. Nora, who likes the bite-sized treats, was locked on playing the minute the M&Ms were added to the mix. And as soon as Evan locked everything loose, you’ve never seen N-bo move so fast, grabbing up as many as she could and eating them as fast as she could. It took me taking her to wash the chocolate off her face for her to stop motioning to play the game again.

A Bear’s Bear

lzpepperpot — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:39:59 +0000

Yesterday Ali took everyone to Build-A-Bear. It was the first time Evan had been there since laying his binkys to rest in his first-ever bear from the store. They came home with such cute creations. Evan was proud to show me his “Bear’s Bear,” a so-cute furry friend full-clad in a mesh Chicago Bears uniform jersey and pants, plus the most darling plastic helmet you’ve even seen. It strikes me how much Bear’s Bear can be a friend to Evan, someone he takes pride in taking care of. I noticed when he went to bed that he was making sure Bear’s Bear was sleeping comfortably in his home – the Build-A-Bear box. It is very fun for me to see at this age how much of a connection Evan makes with his many animal friends. Because his room was patterned on the theme of a safari, Evan’s been exposed to everything from bears, to lion, to leopards, to tigers, to giraffes and the like. He’s got to the point now where not only knows all of them but he has also coined names for most. Each night now, he requests a certain number sleep with him in his bed. We go through a roll call of who’s reporting for duty, and he just loves it. He likes capping off the whole thing by running to his bed, and while leaping into it, shouting “Evan Villinski reporting for duty.” He loves Bear’s Bear like I love him.

In other news:

- Nora came away with a pink bunny as her firt friend from Build-A-Bear
- Nora likes stomping her foot a lot, especially when dancing
- Evan just got two football helmets from Grandma Nor, one that sort of fits and another without a chin strap that he’ll need some time to grow into. At first, he didn’t like the way it felt on his head, but that was just the first hour. Since then, he wants to make sure the helmet’s on his head whenever we throw the pigskin aroun the house. When he scored one of his many touchdowns yesterday, he wanted to make sure I slapped him on top of the helmet, just like he sees when watching games on TV.
- Nora also decided to see how one of the helmets fit her little melon. What a scene! It was hard not to believe the sheer weight of the helmet didn’t bring her down, but she managed to stay on her feet and tried to walk forward while…wait for it…it was on backwards. Because of the helmet’s color, it almost looked like a crazy pumpkinhead was on the loose.
- Evan is leanring songs about colors. He knows ones now about blue, red and yellow. He’s found tunes he likes to sing and does a great job a remembering the lyrics. Hearing him singing loudly at this age is just a great joy for Ali and myself.
- Nora can’t get enough of reading in her pink chair at night. Her current faves are Baby Beluga, Ten in the Bed, Peek-A-Moo and 10 Little Caterpillars.

Next weekend we see the man in red. Oh yeah!

Objects of Her Affection

lzpepperpot — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:38:11 +0000

Nora just turned 21 months and already knows us by the different things we use each day. She points to the white towel – Mama. She points to the green towel – Dada. The black car – Dada; the green car – Mama. Certain shoes, certain clothes, etc. She’s really starting to become her own little person and make these connections. If roles were reversed, I would point to her toy food, muffins, cute dresses, oversized pink chair and washable markers and say Nora.

In other news:

- Everybody loves art. We brought back my old drawing table just so that everyone could have a kid-size place to color and draw.
- Even at 5, Evan will still come find me after initially going to bed and ask me to go back to his room to sing him a song and rub his back. How can I say no?
- Nora is also starting to like being sung to. Recently, after a round of “You are My Sunshine” at bedtime, she got up on her knees, balled up her hands and crashed them together, indicating she wanted more. It may have been the first time anyone’s ever asked to hear more of my singing and it melted my heart.
- Evan’s love of sports knows no (out-of-) bounds these days. He’s naming positions on the football field, wondering when the NBA lockout will end and dreaming of when our entire family can play a baseball game together.
- It’s Thanksgiving time, a perfect time to allow gratitude and grace to center all that we do. So before Nora doesn’t want to sit at the Thanksgiving table for more than 5 minutes and Evan begins forcefully waving off turkey for some chicken nuggets, it’s good to have this opportunity to remember how these two little blessings continue to enrich my life.

Going to the chapel

lzpepperpot — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:20:42 +0000

The final wedding for Ali’s immediate family was over the weekend, and with it (and the events leading up to it), came its shares of ups and downs for the Pepper Rd. crew. The ups are below. The downs will remain in the our vault of parenthoood woes.

- Nora getting to meet the East Coast relatives and throwing dice with AJ
- Evan shaking hands with all the new people he got to meet
- Evan recieving business cards at the Trump that said, “Master Evan in Reisdence” (not to mention milk and cookies, cotton candy and a hat)
- Having in-room dining with my two favorite little people when we arrived at the hotel
- The maginficent view (Evan spotted the Golden Arches first, of course) which had E and N pressing their cute little noses against the floor-to-ceiling window to see
- Nora wearing her dazzling pink faux fur coat and how a passerby commented on a windy Friday in the city that he wished he had that coat (and that he was being carried); Sam made this same comment the next day as we took pictures in chilly Lincoln Park
- Ali’s speech at the rehearsal dinner about the lessons (funny and serious ones) she’s learned from her sis
- The groom’s sister speaking from the heart at the rehearsal dinner
- The video finishing strong with great pictures of the wedding couple to Coldplay
- Laughing and goofing around with Sarah, Patrick, Emily and Mary Pat on Friday and then also Erin, Tom and Maggie on Sat. night
- Watching heads turn in the main bar area at Hub 51 as I walked a 19-month old out of there at 10 pm
- Being reminded of how much Evan loves his Uncle Mike and Auntie Deborah
- Dressing Evan in his cute little tux – the small shiny shoes were just the best
- Seeing Evan walk down the long aisle at Holy Name with his pillow (our little ring-barrier)
- Taking pictures on Trump Terrace and seeing Evan love the view from a different vantage point
- Goofing around on the trolley to the Church (and capturing the “screen saver” shot of Evan and uncle Mike having a laugh about “Is this Trump water?”)
- Sitting with Evan and Mike at the wedding and waving to Ali on the altar
- Being proud of Ali getting to stand by her sister’s side (and looking gorgeous doing it!)
- N-bo running non-stop and shaking her stuff at the reception
- Dancing to Toast & Jam after the kids left
- E and N running down the hallways of the Trump, chasing after each other, in the their jammies on the morning after (Nora has pigtails!)

Summer images 2011

lzpepperpot — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:00:35 +0000

In my younger years, summer always was a time to make so many new beautiful memories. That hasn’t changed now with two young ones at home…who are still keeping me young. It’s something about the warm weather and a little bit of a slower pace which allows for water parks, trips, decks, fairs, baseball, hot dogs, etc. If you’re lucky enough to feel it, you know love is at the heart of all these things.

More memories:

- Evan standing on the edge of the backseat of my car, surveying the scene at the LC Fair, shouting, “I have a great view, dad.”
- Evan recalling, minute-by-minute, everything that happened at the fair (how about winning a goldfish on the first ping pong ball thrown!)
- Nora running up and grabbing Nana’s leg at my birthday brunch as she was going to be more food. Nora wanted to take a ride to the buffet line in Nana’s arms.
- Nora pointing, pointing and pointing some more. Pointing at dogs, pointing a walls, pointing at the butterflies in her room. Even pointing at the new Eric Carle caterpillar shower curtain in the bathroom.
- Nora waving goodbye – to everyone. She’s transformed into a social bee in a lot of ways and, it seems not matter what mood she’s in, she’ll always muster up an ear-to-ear grin and a wave when she’s bidding someone adieu.
- Nora loving splashing in water, whether it be the sand and water table, a rain puddle or a pool.
- Evan really starting to like baseball after his first T-ball season.
- Evan draining a 40-ft. putt on my birthday at the putting green. Left to right, sloping putt. He didn’t even measure it up. He simply drained a putt he might never make again…and he’s not even five. I danced a happy jig while throwing him up in the air and turning him upside down.
- stoller rides with Nora around the neighborhood, trying to see the things she’s looking at as if I’m noticing them for the first time like her
- bounce house craziness in Milwaukee
- Nora fighting her way through kids more than twice her size to go down water slides and climb into bounces houses
- Nora ready to have a play picnic at any time by galloping out of the laundry room with her pink basket
- receiving a birthday card from my two monkeys that remind me of how I so cherish them still being small enough to take a ride on my shoulders.

On a final note, today is the last day my parents watch Evan before he starts a third day of school in Jr. Kindergarten next week. After 4.5 years, Evan’s Mondays from here on out will now be occupied with learning from teachers and classmates. I’m so grateful he got these years to learn from my parents. The time they have spent with him is so special. Such a wonderful bond between him and his Nana and Papa V. has been built. They’ve shared so many fun times together. He makes them laugh and I know they’re starting to make him laugh, too (albeit unintentionally sometimes). They will still see him now, but it will be different. Today they gave him a “going-away” t-shirt gift with a note that said they hope he will do well in school. No matter where he goes, he’ll carry lots of “Monday” love from Nana and Papa V. with him always.

The Quotable Evan…and Summer Fun

lzpepperpot — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:04:06 +0000

As Evan keeps becoming a real boy right in front of our eyes, we are witnesses to our own edition of “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” We keep saying we’re going to right this stuff down in a quote book we have, but since no pen has been put to paper yet, the archive starts here. Seriously, you’d had trouble making this stuff up or believing someone who has yet to reach five years of age said it.

- “Let’s have a yard sale. No, we need to wait until I’m seven because I still like my toys.” – Thinking this has something to do with one of the Toy Story movies.
- “Are you happy?” – Evan likes to hit me with this one when he knows something he’s done has clearly made me less than happy.
- “My tummy says it wants to have fun.” – A reference to his stomach speaking to him, telling him it wants to go to McDonald’s to have nuggets and then play on the playground.
- “For your anniversary, I want to make one picture for you with mom and then make one picture with mom for you…I thought of that all by myself.” – How cute is that?

A couple of other cute moments from this summer:
- After really beginning to grasp horse racing following a trip to the track, Evan decided to set up his own track in our backyard. He determined the starting gate would be under our pine tree. He then had me say “And they’re off” and he raced out from behind the hosta plants, using a stick as a whip, and rode his pony around the entire outside of the house. All seemed well in his new world of horse racing until the overgrown hostas tripped him up a few times in subsequent races.
- Evan knew I had reached a boiling point recently and he did something I’ll always remember. As I was putting Nora to bed, he got out a sheet of white computer paper (he’s got a lot of this around lately since he began drawing and coloring many pictures) and drew me a “rainbow wand” to make me feel better. The picture is now hanging in my office. The wand will always be in my heart. I need to remember to give it back to him one day when he needs it.
- Driving home on the 4th of July, I needed to keep my eyes on the road. There was precious cargo in the back that needed to get back home safe. However, it was the precious cargo that was distracting me. Nora had fallen asleep in her cute red, white and blue onesie dress. She had walked all around in that outfit during the day, enjoying the great weather and exploring as far as her little legs would take her. By the time the sun had set late that day, our little firecracker had flamed out. And as I continued to steal glimpses of my special girl, I felt how privileged I am to be a father.

Father-daughter weekend

lzpepperpot — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:17:49 +0000

This past weekend it was just me and my girl. It was endearing and exhausting all at the same time. Especially now that she’s up, walking, exploring, discovering, I’m equal parts tour guide and playmate. For me, to be able to have such rich interaction with her helps me get to know her and, in getting to know, helps me love her more. It’s a love that comes from having a certain familiarity, feeling comfortable with each other. Nora is her own little person now at 14 months and I was able to see the on full display this weekend:

- less than a month since she took her first steps, she can now spring off the landing at the bottom of the stairs and basically waddle very quickly into my arms
- she loves giving out high-fives
- in giving out those high-fives, she has the cutest little giggle when you return the five
- she continues to love meatballs
- at one point, she grabbed both her pop-up books, plopped herself in my lap and sat for as long as a 14-month old can while we uncovered what was hiding behind all those fun doors
- her smiles continues to dazzle and amaze all who meet her
- she fusses something fierce when having a dress put on, but looks beautiful when she’s finally got it
- she’s getting quite brave, trying to escape the cry area at Chruch and head through the main doors out to the general assembly. If she made it, I have no doubt she would be able to entertain all in attendance.
- for some odd reason, she ejoys being chased by the handheld vaccuum
- she loves (LOVES!) her pink, oversized armchair with her name on it. She regulalry does a faceplant into the big, cushy seat as if to start a game of peak-a-boo and/or hide-and-seek. It’s one of her best moves at the moment.
- finally, at one point, she walked over from the coffee table while I had my back turned and gave me two pats on the back. I like to think she was telling me, “You’re okay, dad.”

She’s more than okay in my book. She’s my little girl and I love her to pieces.

The Funny Things They Do

lzpepperpot — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:47:25 +0000

Two whirlwind weekends in the Wisconsin Dells and with Nora’s 1st birthday party have been the story of February 2011. With things move at a frenetic pace, I had to jot down a few memorable moments:

Evan
- he was so happy in the Dells, especially in this spash area that could not have been more suitable for a 4-year-old. The slides were exciting, but he could navigate them himself. There were stairs. Bridges. Water shooting everywhere. Kids screaming. Somewhere along the lines, I saw him do his happy dance. It really is a happy dance because you know he’s in his happy place when he’s doing it. He alternates swinging his arms high in the air while high-steppin’ it to his next location. He’s bursting from within.
- he loves the Dells so much that when we got back home, he let his imagination run wild we we played “Fair” and pretended we were back at the water park. What got me, though, was that every time we pretended to go down the slide, he measured himself to make sure he was tall enough to ride the ride.
- despite not being connected to any of the above, I do want to mention that he built the cutest little airplane at school last week. He told me the propeller didn’t move. Didn’t matter. It flew around the house beautifully.

Nora
- now plays this game where she buries her head into the carpet or lap, waiting for us to say “Where’s Nora?” Sometimes she keeps her head down for close to a minute. But soon enough, her head slowly rises, we say “There she is!” and the smile to end all smiles appears. It’s a smile so full of joy you wish you could bottle it.
- That smile also appeared at the Dells when she was splashing around in the baby pool. And at her birthday party, as she pulled the string on all the balloons and yanked them toward her. She seemed to want to hug them, but each time they gently bounced off her and floated off. She was ecstatic about this dynamic. For her, that was party enough.

Riding the wave

lzpepperpot — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:28:44 +0000

Goodbyes are always hard, especially on Monday. This morning, though, I got the kind of goodbye from Nora that lifts you up. She literally lifted herself up to give it to me. Up until this point, she has been working on waving farewell to mom and dad as we head off to work, as well as other family members when they’re leaving. She’s really getting good at it, and it seems it’s even become a fun thing to distract her from the fact that she’s 11 months and she should really be having a tough time with this. So this morning, I was at the bottom of the stairs letting everyone know I was about to head out for the day. Ali was at the top of the stairs with Nora, who, slowly but surely, was making her way over to see down the stairs. For a few minutes, as she pulled up on the gate, she had us thinking she just wanted to stand up like she’s been known to do as of late. However, in one sweeping movement, she got to her feet, hung on the rail with one hand and let go with the other, using her right hand to give me the sweetest little wave before topping it off with her signature smile. I waved back to her and then went on my way with an image that I’ll carry in my heart forever.