Philadelphia

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” -Declaration of Independence, 1776

Sometimes in the middle of an election year and in the same year that a wildly popular musical about a lesser-known Founding Father comes to Chicago, you need to go back to where it all began. Thanks to some of our best friends moving to Philadelphia, we had the timely opportunity to visit the City of Brotherly Love.

The vacation was fantastic for several reasons: Adaline was a terrific traveler, we had fantastic hosts, and it was new territory for both of us to explore.

We arrived Wednesday evening and quickly caught up with the Robinson’s over, what else, cheesesteaks. The next day they had work and school so we loaded up the stroller and discovered that the city was fantastically walkable. They lived near the Schuylkill River but it was a short walk to some of the oldest buildings in the United States. We saw Masonic temples, town halls (with the William Penn on top), and LOVE signs. Turns out the Liberty Bell had been rung more than once (why did Mr. Bluth think that it broke on its first ring? Did “National Treasure” say that? Beats me). Grabbed tickets to a tour of Independence Hall. Saw the building where the first Supreme Court met. Saw names from textbooks and names from the aforementioned musical all over the place: Lafayette, Hamilton, Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington.

Our tour guide gave a fantastic and thought-provoking tour of Independence Hall. We were reminded that there was a lot of doubt and uncertainty going into the creation of this new nation. Also reminded that this new nation was not a rising sun for everyone that lived within its borders. Another park ranger put great perspective on Washington’s last action in office. By leaving office peacefully, he was teaching the nation how to say goodbye. People didn’t just give up power back then. And that message was spread through the rest of the world.

I could write entire posts about food. Let’s just emphasize a few things:

-Donuts. Chicago is a donut city. The Pennsylvania Dutch donuts in Reading Terminal rival anything in Chicago.

-Cheesesteaks. Glad we tried them.

-Food carts. Why do we not have these in Chicago?? They were fantastic and so cheap. Hotdogs or chicken over rice. I’m a simple man and these carts were perfect.

-Waffles. One with chicken, one with Nutella, one with Oreo. And loaded potatoes.

You know what we did in Friday? Kept exploring! Yes Philadelphia is small compared to Chicago, but there is so much history. We met up with our hosts at their work/school at the University of Pennsylvania for some food cart lunches. Some of the buildings were older than our country. We walked up and down the central quad and avenue. The students were out and there was learning in the air.

Soon we wandered back towards the birth of our nation downtown where we found a park with sparkly, Shakespearean clothed musicians. (Or maybe they were sparkly musketeers?) We found Benjamin Franklin’s home. Strangely they also marked where his privy out back was. We found the church where many of the Founding Fathers worshipped. We remembered the sacrifice of many at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Washington Square. Did we go back for more donuts? I wish we had. Instead we got some blueberry bread that we used for French toast on Sunday.

Saturday: See next blog post.

On Sunday, we attended the local branch which was in a brand new building which was across from the brand new temple. There was no carpet on the walls in the church! It helped remind me why we invest in these expensive and beautiful buildings. Because it eliminates distractions and fosters a great environment for more introspection and soul-searching. After another cheesesteak, we found Rocky’s statue. The line for a picture with the statue was much longer than the line to enter the museum that the iconic stairs lead to. And after wandering the riverwalk, our trip came to an abrupt end. Too soon.

We are grateful for the opportunity to pursue happiness and we’ll be back!

9 Months

How is it possible that our baby girl is 9 months old?! Lately our hearts have been bursting as she is really becoming her own and she is wooing us with her personality. A few of our favorite things are listed below about our strong willed Adaline:

-JT. I can't believe that we have neglected to mention Adaline's love for JT (Justin Timberlake). When I say love, I mean the strong and deep kind of love. For months now she has been obsessed with his song "Can't Stop the Feeling" from the movie Trolls. There have been times when the only thing to calm her down is to play the music video. If we start playing the song, she dramatically stops whatever she is doing and starts dancing. My mom heart has been melting as I have watched her start twerking ever since she started crawling. She gets so excited and will run to the iPad or phone that is playing the song and dance and smile. She dances to other music, but there is something special about this one song.

-Talking. Okay so it is really more the baby babbling, but she loves to have control of the conversation and will just keep talking. 

-Mimicking. We may have a future class clown on our hands. She loves to mimic those around her, especially her parents. She waves, claps, and changes the range of her voice to match the person who is paying attention to her. Mr. Bluth had a very proud dad moment when he was walking home and wearing her in the baby carrier one evening. He kept making a sing song noise for her and she would repeat him and they continued this for the walk home and every passerby was enamored. 

-Crawling. She crawls everywhere and is walking around all over while holding onto furniture. I think we actually have some time before she decides she wants to walk. She has the strength to do it, but just like everything else with Adaline, she has to do it on her own when she wants. We try helping her stand up and practice walking, but she refuses and sits down or just picks up her feet. She enjoys standing and letting go, but as soon as I show any ounce of excitement, she decides she is done. 

-Underneath Mrs. Bluth's chair. Her favorite place in this world is underneath her mom's chair. As soon as she is put down, she scoots underneath her mom's chair to play. Sometimes she plays with the tags and sometimes she just rests her arms on the chair supports and lounges. It's her little safe space.

At her 9 month check-up we saw for the first time some stranger danger. She loves people and she loves attention, but she did not like the doctor picking and prodding. It will be interesting to see how she responds when we go to the pediatricians office again as I have been warned that she will remember the place and will remember negative things such as shots. She has continued to grow the same and is about 75% in height and 25% in weight. 

We love this little girl and are grateful for her patience with us as we make countless mistakes. I sometimes worry about her inability to be controlled, but I am soon reminded that our job is to love her and help her grow and develop using the personality and characteristics that she possesses. I am excited for the future, although sometimes I just want time to stand still and for my baby to stay little.