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.