Saturday, August 27, 2011

He's Crawling....Sort of

It was a quiet Saturday morning. Mom was at the gym, Dad was at home, thinking about how nice it was not to be at the gym, and Jude was coasting across the hardwood floor like it was ice and he was a skate. He's been figuring this out for a couple days now, but it would seem he has officially figured out forward transportation. Time to baby proof this join. Here we go....

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

American English

It wouldn't be summer without a festival or 237 in Chicago. We strolled on down to one of our favorites, Retro on Roscoe, where some of our most favorite people host a small get together every year. Thanks Nick and Brigid Devries for always showing us a good time:)

But we tend to go to the festivals who have really good music. And what do you know, our favorite Beatles cover band, American English, was playing that day. So Jude needed a photo op.


The Groupies! 


Paul and George
 

Taking it all in. Hey Uncle Neil, we see you back there! You can tell it was a little warm from the look on Jude's face.


John, Mya (Kelly's little girl) & Lydia (Kristin's little girl). Congrats to both who will be bringing more little ones into the world again soon!
Grandma Kay Devries and the little girls. Those three are heartbreakers. And I think one might be after Jude. But which?


7 months and growing

Summer is almost over, sigh, and we have been so busy. Jude has shown us so many exciting things about being parents. He has shown us that a long time ago we were once attractive, stay-out-late, selfish people. He has made us realize that we actually did like to sleep in, eat 3 warm meals a day, and even enjoy being dry.

There is no book for parenthood. If there was, it would describe these phenomenoms. It would also describe that no matter how early it is in the morning, a tiny smile makes 3am seem like 10am. It would quote parents when they tell you "naps are wonderful, but even though you get a break...you want that child to wake up because you miss him already". Last but not least, when did you ever think that you would become a walking advertisement for the Disney Channel? The book should explain that people will ask you to stop humming the Mickey Mouse "Hot Dog" song in your work cubicle. AND that although it does get stuck in your head, you're so excited when it comes on because only your terrible dancing will make him stop crying.

Cheers to the teething, crawling, eating everything, growing into his own character summer that we as parents are so lucky to take part of!











Sunday, August 7, 2011

It's Paul!

Well, the day we have been waiting for long, long time finally came. July 31st, 2011 we saw Paul McCartney and his band in concert at Wrigley Field.

A lot of people have asked us since then what we though of the show, and we keep trying to find the right words to explain. "Best Show Ever" seems to come out a lot, along with "amazing" and "incredible". We have a DVD of one of Paul's concerts from a couple years ago, and the live show is almost like somebody is blaring his live CD through a giant sound system. Amazing quality, fantastic musicianship, great showmanship and some of the greatest songs that have ever been heard by human ears.

Hey played 35 songs both nights, playing for just about 3 hours each show. Most live acts play 90 minutes, or maybe 2 hours. Paul didn't take one break, and played two encores. His voice sounded rested and youthful. He still nails every note, and pumps new energy into songs he's played a million times before. It's truly inspiring to see that level of professionalism from an artist who does this because he loves to, not because he needs the money.

Wrigley actually booked Paul for two consecutive nights, and we were lucky enough to attend both shows. There were several song changes from night one to night two, enough to keep it fresh. He opened with 'Hello Goodbye" on night one and "Magical Mystery Tour" on night two. With all the hits Paul has had throughout his career with the Beatles, Wings and solo, the setlists for Night One and Night Two were packed with a ton of hits.

So, we've seen a Beatle in person. It was great, it was epic and it was once in a lifetime. Paul McCartney turned 69 this year, so he's got plenty of good years left, but who knows how much longer he'll be touring and playing these great venues around the country. Hopefully he'll come through town again sometime soon and we can bring along Jude in person this time, not just on a t-shirt.

We posted a bunch of videos from the concerts. Here's a couple: Let it BePaperback Writer, and.....


Paul McCartney Night One, July 31st, 2011
 Posing in our shirts before the concert, and Ash on the famous bricks behind home plate at Wrigley

 The view from our seats on night one, we were on the field, section B.  Paul hits the stage and performs Hello Goodbye

 Paul plays his famous violin-looking Hofner Bass, and then switches to another famous guitar for Paperback Writer

 He spent a good amount of time at the Piano for classics like "Lady Madonna" and "Let it Be"

And of course, one of our favorites of the night...."Hey Jude". He played this psychedelic looking piano both nights, just for this song. It was truly amazing.

Night Two, August 1st, 2011
 We sported our custom t-shirts for night two (had to!), and then Paul took the stage again

 Rocking a red overcoat, Paul had even MORE energy on night two

 The entire place was quiet as he launched into "Blackbird", and then a tribute to George Harrison

 The fireworks boomed as Paul and his band tore through "Live and Let Die". And then back to the psychedelic piano for another amazing rendition of "Hey Jude"