2020 Can...Suck it!

Little Man Is Not So Little Anymore!

Little Man is growing up...

It has been a great time sharing with family, friends, and the blogosphere the run up to, the arrival of, and the early years of Little Man, aka Gilbert Johnson. Unfortunately, some good things come to an end and after more than 900 posts and 1400 photos and videos, it is now official. Little Man in the Big City has come to an end.

Thank you for making this blog a part of your life! We enjoying sharing every moment with you!

Weekend Fun

 Our dear neighbors John and Jenna brought over donuts from a "fancy" donut shop. 
This was G's Thank You photo to John, nice G really nice.

 Junior League Fun Fair Saturday.  Gilbert loves SNAKES these days.  The balloon snake is super cool and still going strong, hiding in all sorts of places around the house.

 Close up of the Snake face paint.  Gilbert loved ooking in the mirror and scrunching his face because the snakes head would move. Pretty Cool.

A little hard to see, but these are 3-D glasses that have Snake frames.  He was taking them to school to scare all of the girls and lady teachers. 

So as you can see it's all snakes all the time...

Few and Far Between

It seems between work and play and facebook posting and downtime Little Man in the Big City is suffering. Patrick is more the Blogger, and in recent weeks he has taken on a larger role at work that has him quite busy (go PJ, I am very proud. I have attempted to blog, but it does not come easily for me and the photos I am getting of G these days are few. So I am not sure of the future of our page, but I can see that some of you are still checking in for a photo or 2.

I will do what I can to keep things out there, but can make no promises. Perhaps if I had an I-Pad that I could carry around it would make it easier so that when I am home I don't have to get back to a desk and a computer screen!

Here is a pic from a night out at one of G's favorite restaurants.

Lift Off

I love that Gilbert loves to be thrown around. I had a work meeting at the Trump Hotel. Kristen and Little Man spent the night and enjoyed the suite while I worked! Thankful for high ceilings and a comfy bed for Gilbert's sake!

Vacation Prep

Little Man and his parents are lucky enough to be escaping the cold for a tropical island vacation in a few weeks. In preparation for the trip we purchased a kid sized snorkel. G was excited to try it out. He is pictured here in his "dive-boat off the coast of Grand Cayman getting ready to go look for sea snakes" I love the imagination. (special thanks to Costco for the "Boat")

MLK Day

Kristen had to work. My firm had the day off and Gilbert's school is closed. The result is a Gilbert and Daddy day (self imposed, but still fun!).

I was actually organized and weeks ago booked Gilbert in a kid's cooking class (courtesy of a Groupon I purchased last summer!). The menu was in the spirit of the holiday and was rooted in Southern cooking; Hoppin' John and Peach Cobbler.

Gilbert clearly did not enjoy himself!

Also, we bought a new camera. You might notice the pictures are black and white while G's shirt is orange. A cool feature of the camera. I'm going to have fun with this!

Love

I arrived a bit early to pick up G from school yesterday. It is always a treat to observe children when they don't know you are watching. I had the pleasure of watching Gilbert move quickly from table to table wiping and straightening chairs after he and his friends had snack. I hope he will remember these skills- especially during the college years!!

My Look

Having come off of knee surgery a few weeks ago, I am dealing with some new wardrobe issues: I am finally able to wear my knee high boots again. This morning I am in mostly black (long wrap sweater, belted with tights, and tall black boots) I come out of the bedroom and Gilbert says " Mom, you look like Darth Vador" Great, just the look I was going for!
Happy Monday to all of you.

Would You Trust This Person...

with [insert here]? For all the great photos Gilbert has taken, getting a good headshot of him is more difficult than [insert your most challenging obstacle here]!

He just doesn't like to cooperate for a simple smile photo! So, this is what will be going in his passport. He wouldn't let us fix his severe bed head either!

Yep, his passport. We're heading to the Cayman Islands next month for a friend's wedding and Little Man needs a passport. Unless he gives me a better photo tonight, for the next ten years I can chide him for his passport photo!

Happy New Year!

How did you spend your evening? Your first day of 2012? For us, we ventured out to take care of some errands. Expecting a mob of people at the stores, we were pleasantly surprised at how desolate the streets were (not to mention the easy parking that resulted!).

Our camera broke so it was off to Best Buy to see what could be done. Got to love it when the 'fee' to look at the camera does not make it even worth exploring a repair. Such a scam to get consumers to just buy new stuff! Like moths to the flame, we walked $$$ lighter, but armed with a new camera and all the accoutrement's!

Kudos to Best Buy, though, for thinking of everything. To counter those long lines at the service counter was a nearby waiting area - filled with magazines and coloring books for the kids awaited. We couldn't get G out of there once we were done!

Christmas Presents...It is the Little Gifts that are best!

Got this in my stocking. How funny...a sushi stapler!

Santa was good to Gilbert. And Kristen. And Me. We had a fantastic Christmas and hope you did as well!

Meeting with Santa

After the holiday show last week we took Gilbert and his grandparents out to lunch at Macy's on State Street. While we didn't make it into the Walnut Room, I did manage to snap a photo of G with the Great Tree. After Lunch and some shopping we had a visit with Santa (a first for Gilbert!) Gilbert LOVED meeting Santa and was sure to ask for his most most wanted gift for Christmas. We shall see if the Big Guy delivers on Christmas.

Ready for Work or Dressed for His Holiday Concert?

Still working on reminding myself to blog! Sorry for the week delay.

Love this picture? I sure do! Gilbert had his school holiday concert last Friday. Dress was dark pants and a white shirt. Little Man insisted on wearing a tie. I drove around too many retail outlets looking for a tie, but still could not find one. Kudos to Kristen's work colleague on having one already.

This has become one of my favorite pictures!

Today Was Not a Good Day

To wax poetic from an Ice-Cube song, Gilbert had a rough day at school. Kristen and I took a breath and reminded ourselves we all have 'those days'.

We had a nice talk, Gilbert explained it and we hugged it out. The best part was as I dived down like a police investigator getting to the truth, Gilbert responded with a "Well, what the teacher said was not completely accurate." I had to turn away and laugh. Who talks like that!

Little Man is Back!

Hi, folks. If there are still readers out there, my apologies for the hiatus. Feeling invigorated and moving forward, expect a few posts a week. Gone are the days of a post a day, but you can expect news from Team Johnson as it happens!

To get us started, we'll be looking back from the past few months.

I recently went to my first Bears game in the new Soldier Field. Yes, first game. I could tell you why, but that is another conversation.

During halftime, I walked around the stadium and took this picture. A melding of new and old!

Kid's Eat Free!

Wishbone is a great, fun food diner in Chicago. With one located near G's school, he and I had a daddy-Gilbert night out. And on Tuesday, kids eat free!

Wishbone has a special menu for the evening and drops a huge screen where cartoons and animated movies are shown. As you can tell, Gilbert had no interest in what was playing on screen.

Holiday Party

Gilbert spent a weekend recently with his grandparents in MI and was treated to a holiday party at Grandpa's work. He came back sporting a reindeer face painted tattoo and a reindeer balloon animal. Cool!

Our Big Boy

Columbus Day meant no school for Gilbert Monday. I used it as an opportunity to get some appointments completed. First Stop: The Dentist- Gilbert LOVES Laura and Dr. Bonanno. He did awesome and Laura said he was her Best patient of the day.

Next stop, Dr. Starr's office for the flu shot. G had the option for the nasal spray or a shot- he went with the shot! He did Awesome, not a flinch, not a tear. I could not belive it- I will give all the credit to the nurses at the pediatricians office.

And finally for a special treat for our very BIG BRAVE boy! Love You Buddy.

Apple Fest

Our Posts are few and far between these days, but I assure you Little Man and his parents are alive and well. Last weekend we went to MI for Apple Festival. Gilbert loved the rides.

Wedding

The purpose of our trip was to attend a wedding. And a beautiful wedding it was! Held at the Sebastiani winery in downtown Sonoma so many of our friends (current and some past) were present. It was great to catch up! The ceremony was outside followed by a wonderful hour of hors d'oeuvres paired with the vineyards wines. The wine floweth!

Kristen took a bunch of excellent photos and with a black and white setting, who doesn't look good!

In Sonoma

Foregoing the typical hotel stay, we used vrbo.com to find a pool house on a large property in the hills above the town. Totally awesome. Each morning I was in the pool. With the pool water temp at 70 degrees and the morning air around 60, let's just say it was a refreshing swim!






During the day, though, the temps were hot at near 90 degrees. We did the usual and not so common. Wine tours and tastings, drives in the countryside with a couples mud bath thrown in!

First stop was northern Sonoma County in a town called Healdsburg. Grabbed lunch and then went to the Ferari-Carano winery. We selected the vineyard for its Italian-style gardens and grounds which hearkened us back to our visit a few years ago.

The wines are fantastic too and we stumbled upon a reserve tasting room, that although cost a few bucks more was definitely worth it as the wines are superb. We definitely came back with a few bottles!

Next stop was a small winery called Foppiano. A quaint vineyard we selected due to having a train caboose and being one of the oldest still family run vineyards in the county. The Petite Syrah was tasty and we have some bottles at home of that as well!

An Adult Trip to California

Over the Labor Day weekend we got away for an extended adult weekend to attend a destination wedding in Sonoma! A fantastic trip. Gilbert was equally excited as it meant a weekend of spoils with his grandparents in Michigan.

They kindly came into Chicago to pick him up on Friday. He could hardly wait. All morning (and frankly in the days leading up) he was walking around telling us all the stuff he was going to do as he ticked it off on his fingers. "First, we are going to do this. Then we are going to go here. Maybe I will take a nap. Then this and that." You get the point!

When it came to good byes it was all we could do to get a half ass hug out of him as he was heading out to the elevator. In the garage, he jumped in and buckled himself before Kristen could get one last good bye hug. He was grinning all day long!

They left so quickly, we found ourselves with an hour to spare before we had to leave for the airport. You can imagine what we did. Oh jeez, not that, get your mind out of the gutter!

Virgin America is a new airline (distance sister to Virgin Atlantic) courtesy of Sir Richard Branson. Touted as the cool airline, when it secured its single gate at O'Hare, we took advantage of flying deals and roundtrip for both of us to San Francisco was under $400. A damn good deal.

The airline is just plain cool. From the leather seats to the lounge mood lighting and the attire of the flight crew to the free Google Chromebooks with wi-fi, the airline is definitely hip to making travel fun again.

Once landed and in the rental car it was off to Sonoma. To be continued!

My First Trophy Since High School!

Yep, I won a trophy. Took first place in my division at a recent golf tournament.

http://www.amateurgolftour.net/chicago_tour_pages/default6.asp

Here is the funny story. I sent a picture of the trophy to Kristen. She and Gilbert along with a classmate and parents are at a food truck fair in Chicagoat the time. Very cool (but that outing has a story all its own that Kristen can post)!

Anyway, Gilbert calls me and yells "Congratulations!" Made my day.

Back at home, we are talking about the trophy when he tells me to win another trophy next time. Yeah, sure. Easy to do. Jeez, no pressure! Then when I do win to tell Mr. Tiger Woods that it is okay he didn't win. Seriously! So, either Gilbert thinks I am playing the same golf as the guys on television or he knows that Tiger is playing so bad he is now down to my level. Either way, I was a hero for a day to Little Man. What a great feeling!

Oh yeah, it didn't hurt that I filled up my trophy with three different kinds of M&Ms. Gilbert asked if he could have some for breakfast today!

Face Painting

At a recent friends birthday party there was professional face painting, a first for Gilbert. He sat very still and was so excited to show me the finished result. While the majority of the boys got Pirate themed beards, and the girls got butterflies and rainbows- Gilbert opted for his favorite:

It was a lovely train, and then he added a blue beard and a skull and cross bones- Quite a look (sorry no photo). As we headed home, he tripped on the sidewalk, scraped his knee and what the tears didn't wash away my White T-Shirt caught.

Old Blue Truck

Last weekend Gilbert and I visited my Dad and Kathy in Michigan. My dad is restoring a 1970 Ford truck for fun. Gilbert got to do some "pretend driving" before we headed out for a short ride. One highlight was that G got to sit in the front seat with only a lap belt- and can you believe it- we made it home safe and sound!

Grampa wanted to show Gilbert something special- The old Round House where the Trains go when they need to rest and get cleaned and fixed. Now this was something to see, I never knew my home town had a round house- but the BEST part was the old turntable that the trains sit on and spin until they are pointed to the correct door at the round house.

What you don't see pictured are all of the "Private Property- No Tresspassing" signs. I guess my dad thinks with a cute kid in tow he can get away with a short visit.

Tall Ship

Gilbert had a kit to paint and assemble a Tall Ship. He was in the mood to paint this past sunday. I think it turned out well. You will notice it is missing its sails- funny story.
The material that was for the sails looked EXACTLY like fabric softener sheets, being the multi-tasking mom that I am- while Gilbert was painting I was doing laundry.. well you can figure out the rest, Yes I am Mother of the Year!

Self Entertained

Last weekend I took the car to the golf course forcing Gilbert and Kristen to hitch a ride from friends to soccer. Car seat removed, Little Man wasted no time to entertain himself while waiting for his ride.

Eyes Closed

You tell me is this a typical kid thing or a Gilbert thing??

When falling asleep Gilbert does not close his eyes. Instead he just kind of stares off into space until he is actually asleep and then his eyes close. Is this typical? On our ride home from Gram's this weekend I told Gilbert to close his eyes and rest, I turned around and he had this pained look on his face. I don't get it, do all kids fall asleep this way?

Little Man's First Trip to the Driving Range

Kristen is out of town for a few days. I wanted to hit golf balls, but have Gilbert tethered to me. Solution! Take him to the driving range!

Little Man has not been overly interested in golf, but he loves an 'urban adventure' so it was worth a shot. He was fantastic. Incredibly well behaved he watched me hit balls and then finally piped up it was his turn. What fun!

His golf swing resembles more of a hockey slap, but it is a start! Seeing his face light up with a smile when he hit the ball was incredibly gratifying for me!

Bowling!

Got to love Groupon! I purchased a bowling Groupon awhile back and it was time to introduce Gilbert to rolling the rock.

We had a blast! Gilbert was enamored with the ball return machine, but also liked to throw the ball. For one hour we spent a whopping $10 with shoes and the lane. We had a great time!

Houston Trip - At The Pool

With Gilbert's cousin, the two had a great time at the pool. All they wanted to do was swim and jump. Each day at the pool Gilbert progressed dramatically and by the end of the week, he was diving off the side of the pool without assistance (from me or his arm floats) and swimming a good 10-15 feet under water to either me or Kristen.

Now back home, our goal is to keep it going!