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Went to the Oak Park Farmers Market this morning. We ate homemade donuts, listened to some bluegrass music, ran into some dear friends (Amy, Pam, and Karen) and neighbors (Ben and Maureen) and joined in a drumming group. What a great way to start my birthday weekend! Be sure to click the the photo or the title of the blog to see all of the cutie pics of Francis. I mean, really… you need your daily fix of her don’t you?       As a new parent, I wondered how Francis would respond to things that frightened her. Would she cower and cling to her daddy? Would she face her fear and bid her opponents to do their worst? Turns out, when faced with the horror of fireworks, Francis did a little of both. The Brown Family came out to Oak Park and joined us in watching the city’s fireworks display (pretty impressive for a town this size). We were on a high school practice field across the street from the stadium, where they were launching the missiles. As I should have foreseen, from this viewing location, the display was very loud. With the first BOOM, Francis panicked. She cried, and tried to climb up my front and into my shirt through the collar. I tried to comfort her, and handed off to Sally when I failed. Francis clung to her mom tightly, peaking out one side and then the other before renewing her tears and burrowing deeper. Finally, I took Francis behind a utility building on the field. The booms and hisses were still above us, but she didn’t have to look at the fireworks directly. Instead, she could peak around the building and see them. Francis found bravery in concealment. Under this cover, she immediately calmed down and started watching the show. We walked back to the rest of the group, and she started laughing and pointing at the fireworks, which were no quieter or dimmer than before. I think there’s a lesson in this experience. If you ever see something so scary that it makes you want to cry and climb inside your daddy’s shirt, you should just find a spot where you can reevaluate the situation. Maybe whatever it is won’t seem so frightening after that. This past weekend I flew to Nashville for a baby shower for Katherine and Tom Petillo. Katherine is due early August and is having a baby girl, Lola Rose! I couldn’t be happier for them and selfishly… I couldn’t be happier for me. It’s going to be so fun to watch Lola and Francis grow up together.
July 9, 2005 - 4:34 am
it was great to have you in nashville!! Sally and I were bombarded by nostalgia at Prentice Hospital last night when we went over to say hello to little Anna Charlotte Breit. That’s where we first saw our Francis. The place hasn’t changed much. We were honored to watch two-year old Noah meet his sister for the first time. Anna showed prodigious intellect by having a gift for Noah to unwrap (a remote control car). The gift broke the ice, and Noah was all kisses after that. He’s going to be a good brother (especially if Anna keeps it up with the gifts). Here’s to you, Breits!! Postscript: we used to call Anna’s mom “Hennessey-Breit,” because we met her as Lauren Hennessey. I’m struck by the similar sound of “Anna C. Breit.” Coincidence? Click on the title of this post to be taken directly to a set of 69 photos of Baby Breit and her family. Some of you may be familiar with the TLC show called Trading Spaces. For those of you who are not, two neighbors trade homes and with the help of a designer they remodel a room in their neighbor’s house. They have 48 hours to get it done and the whole thing is filmed and packed into an hour long episode. Well, guess who’s Trading Spaces??? Not us. There’s no way I’d let Doug Wilson or Hildi in my house! But there are apparently some suckers in our neighborhood who would. They finished up tonight and I heard one of the home owners telling her children “Kids, there is no way in hell I can live with a Chinese themed dining room and I know you hate it too, but you need to stop whining about it and be nice. This is the best thing that’s happened to us in a long time.” We just walked away smiling. For the record: Hildi is our least favorite designer. Don’t get me wrong, she’s great entertainment (best known for putting an 8 foot portrait of herself on a home owners wall and covering an entire bathroom with artificial flowers). Doug Wilson, who happens to be our favorite, was also there. But we missed him by a few minutes.
July 1, 2005 - 3:38 am
well, just got caught up with the gulde's. I do not advise anyone to blog backwards, the Wallace Shaw thing threw me. It wasn't until a few entries earlier that i said oh, okay now i get it. anyhoooo
July 1, 2005 - 4:08 pm
That is an astoundingly well taken photograph. Bravo to whomever took the picture!!
July 1, 2005 - 7:56 pm
An award winning photographer took it. What a keen eye you have. |
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by Sally
Kristen - I have to say Francis looks like a cartoon character here…think Peanuts.