Happy 77th* Birthday, Dadaji!

*We think. Due to a fire in India years ago, official records (like birth certificates) were lost. Plus, Ramesh was born in his grandmother's home, not in a hospital. The funny thing is, as a result of the lack of official documents, the United States has the wrong birth year on all of his papers, which makes him younger than his younger brother! Since there's no proof, no one ever bothered to fix it.

So, if Ramesh was born in 1939, we celebrated his 75th birthday today. However, if he was actually born in 1937, then we celebrated his 77th birthday today. Or something like that! (We didn't get a straight answer out of him today!)

Regardless, Shawn made him 2 birthday drawings. We picked up Chinese food on the way to his house (with plenty to leave as leftovers for a few days) and met Raj there after work. We didn't stay too late since he takes his sleeping pill around 7:30 and it kicks in pretty quickly.

The kids working on birthday cards:

(Check out her pencil grasp! Wow!)

Earlier today, I was working with Lilly on saying, "I love you!"
I'm glad she understands my message! She cracks me up! (She enjoys watching that as much as I do!)

Shawn 5th Birthday invite

Lillly's 1st birthday party

with a B.I.G bullfrog

2nd cousins

Sweets for the sweet: success

We got a cake. Phew! We went to The Sugar Path in downtown Geneva. (Tina, a harpist friend from U of I, plays there for special events and gave them a raving review when I put a message out on FaceBook asking for bakery help.) We'd been there once before and were deliciously pleased with our treats. It has a display case of very unique cupcakes. For example: the Beer & Pretzels cupcake (chocolate cake infused with stout beer, topped with stout beer infused buttercream and pretzels) or the Pancake Cupcake (buttermilk cake topped with maple swiss meringue frosting and bits of real bacon). Not your typical bakery! Plus, they get their fruits from local farmers (and probably other local ingredients, too), which I'm happy to support.

Lilly's first birthday cake will be pretty, yet simple, since it's hard to tell what her 'likes' are yet. (Shawn was mesmerized by airplanes by his first birthday, so I happily ran with it. Lilly is still discovering her preferences.) It'll be a round cake with white & chocolate layers, buttercream filling, and buttercream frosting. It'll be pink & yellow with "Happy First Birthday, Lilly" written on it. They said if we want to bring in decorations to go with the party theme, they'd be happy to add them, but they don't provide that sort of thing. I'm fine with that. They said they'd make it pretty and "Spring-y." It all sounds simple enough, but I really have no idea what it's going to look like! They're the experts and, from the treats we've had from there, I trust it'll be great. I'm sure that, while I didn't select extravagant flavors, it'll be perfectly tasty.

We couldn't possibly leave empty handed, so we brought home a Black + White cupcake (moist chocolate cake filled with dark chocolate fudge topped with creamy vanilla frosting and drizzled with chocolate sauce), a Peanut Butter Cookie cupcake (peanut butter cake, frosted with peanut butter frosting and garnished with pieces of homemade peanut butter cookies), and a PopCorn cupcake (buttermilk corn cake, frosted with a honey infused buttercream and adorned with popcorn). As we paid, the girl behind the counter complimented Shawn & Lilly's patience and politeness while she and I were figuring out the cake. Shawn beamed. Me too.

Dinner was pretty blah compared to the decadent desserts we shared afterwards! I'm ok with that, too. They were amazing.

Party at Monkey Bizness

See a story here.

An exhausting day

It's the first week that we're not going to Gymboree - it honestly feels a little weird! (I may need to find a class for Lilly!) Instead, we met our Gymboree friends at a Chik-Fil-A for lunch. The cow mascot came over to wish Michael a happy birthday & gave him a paper crown (cow head & party hat) and a plush cow. You don't see that at McDonald's!

Then we caravanned to the other side of the parking lot to Little Monkey Bizness for his party. (It's an indoor play center with climbing structures, plastic playground style equipment, a bounce-house... And a cafe.) We joined his non-Gymboree friends and the kids had a blast. Shawn had a run-in with another party guest who he claimed was being a bully and not playing nicely, but who I also saw Shawn karate chopping. Arg. The other boy's mom & I had them apologize to each other and kept closer watch anytime they were near each other. Shawn was quick to get defensive if the other boy even looked at him. He didn't like the fact that this boy used foam blocks to make a 'gun' and was pretending to shoot the kids he was playing with. (I tend to agree, Shawn, but he was definitely into a role playing game and I don't think he was really trying to hurt anyone.) I had to explain that it's okay if the other boy wanted to play something he didn't, but that Shawn couldn't interfere with it. Anyway, once we got past that, it was a great time.

I randomly bumped into another former Gymboree mom, who was not there with the party. Her daughter and Shawn used to be in Gymboree Art together 2.5 years ago! Small world.

The party ended in time for us to get to karate. After all of the running around at the party, I'm amazed (& relieved) that Shawn didn't pass out in route!

Karate:

Rotations with different assistant instructors: high kick, ax kick, 1-2 punch-thrust kick, high block (Shawn gave me a proud look back when Mr. Flight complimented his progress with his high blocks since Monday.) Obstacle course: roll under, jump over, step through rings, 1-2-punch, run through path, duck past chopping bar, high block!

A particular young man is going to sleep well tonight!

Sweets for the sweet, but not today

The bakery in downtown St. Charles that I went to a few days ago, but found closed, has actually closed-closed, as in it's gone out of business! What a shame! We saw it very much in business after the St. Patrick's Day parade, but that must've been their last hurrah. Now the display cases are empty & the walls are bare. It looked like a very tasty place and we never had the chance to try it. Damn.

I remembered seeing another bakery on Randall Rd., a very big road with just about any restaurant and shop that you could possibly need, not too far from our house. We drove over hoping for better luck than our first stop. Nope. It's closed & for sale signs are plastered in the windows. Strike 2.

I couldn't recall seeing other bakeries in the area. My phone / internet searches where bringing up the two I just tried, in addition to place like Panara, The Corner Bakery, Bakers Square, etc. Not exactly helpful. (I know that grocery stores, Costco, etc. can do cakes, but I'm hoping to support a local business. Plus, Shawn's past cakes have been over the top amazing, that I'd be a bit disappointed to get Lilly a generic sheet cake that anyone else could also get. Those are perfect for other occasions, but I'm trying hard not to use them for her first birthday.)

In an effort to get *something* accomplished today, since ordering a cake was not happening, we found a toy store and picked up a present for Shawn's friend, whose birthday party is tomorrow. It was a tough decision to settle on just one thing, but we thought he'd like a superhero Lego kit and added a few dozen things to Shawn's wishlist, naturally.

Glad we got something crossed off the to-do list. Geesh!

Happy Birthday, Shawn!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHAWN!

Again, there was no rush to get out of the house this morning. I did think ahead last night and left the blinds and curtains in Shawn's room open so the sun could wake him naturally rather than me doing it. It worked nicely. Even though he had a very hard time going to sleep last night knowing that today was his birthday, he woke an hour earlier than normal and, most importantly, smiling and in a great mood! He was even awake early enough to see Raj off to work. Shawn's breakfast wasn't photo worthy this morning, but he was thrilled to have blue eggs and muffins (fudge and chocolate chip).


Once everyone was fed and ready to go, we headed to the Children's Garden at Morton Arboretum.  After coming almost half a dozen times already this year, I went ahead and got a membership to the Arboretum. If I had gotten it earlier, it would've almost paid for itself by now! Oh, well. We'll keep coming back. Maybe one day, we'll actually see what else is there besides the Children's Garden! Not today, though.


Shawn and Abby knew exactly where they wanted to go (usually together), while Opa and I tried to keep track of them. They worked their way through the Backyard Discovery Gardens and the Adventure Woods. In the Discovery Gardens, I think their favorites are the Curiosity Garden with a small waterfall and polished bronze frogs spitting water into a pool of smooth rocks as well as a tunnel and bridge that leads to two log cabin play houses and Every Which Way which is a playground looking area with a mass of cement tree roots to hide beneath, steep slides with a mulched cork wall to climb, a water pump to operate and guide the water down multi-tiered canals (though the pump has been removed), and a play structure with rain sticks to spin and a Plexiglas dome to ogle through. Of course, every single garden area also had a bright red water pump that was irresistible. They had no hesitation to stand directly under the spout while the other pumped the handle - possible trying to get a drink, but get doused in the process! (It's a good thing it was warm and dry today. I'm sure the water pumps helped cool them off.) In the Adventure Woods, their favorites were the Wonder Pond, which is swarming with tadpoles (and people trying to get a closer look at them), the tree house / rope net bridges that make up Under the Trees, the man-made Grotto and Secret Stream (though Opa and I would cringe every time a child would splash a small boulder into the water, hoping that no toes or fingers would be squashed in the process), and the Evergreen Walk and Lookout with another tree house / rope net bridge that led to view finders and staged critters in the trees. We stopped for a snack and drink break at the Lookout point before working our way back out of the Children's Garden. We did stop at the Central Plaza to marvel at the giant ball of granite (approximately three feet in diameter) with various leaves carved into the sides and spinning on a fountain of water. The kids had fun trying to change its rotation and felt very strong when they were successful.

Back at the car, we had another snack and changed the kids into clean, dry clothes. I was absolutely certain that they would be snoring by the time we drove out of the parking lot, but they were still chatting away when I made a detour to pick up some newsletters for Mothers & More. Abby was fast asleep minutes later, while Shawn somehow stayed awake the entire drive home! I was even able to transfer Abby to bed without waking her at all. An hour later, I let Shelley know that Abby probably wouldn't be waking on her own at her usual time because of the extensive outdoor playing we had done, so unless she needed to be awake, there was no reason to rush home to pick her up by 4:00 pm. Shelley agreed and said to let her sleep. Bill came to get her at 5:30 pm and she reluctantly woke from her three hour nap.


In the evening, we walked to our local Frontier League baseball game to see the Schaumburg Boomers play the River City Rascals.  We picked a spot to sit on our picnic blanket at the top of a hill in the lawn.  Nearby was a kids’ area that had a bouncy tent obstacle course and inflatable slides.  Shawn ran through the course dozens of times and used a Boomer’s blanket to add some slip to his his slide.  While he was burning some energy, the New Jersey Hardwicks called to sing him Happy Birthday.  Raj arranged for the announcer to broadcast that it’s Shawn’s third birthday today.  We didn’t catch it displayed on the scoreboard, but we definitely heard it.  The game didn’t end in our favor (L 12-3), but the fireworks show made up for it.  Too bad that Shawn fell asleep moments before the pyrotechnics began.  The incredibly full day exhausted him to the point that he slept through all of the booms and bangs and half of our walk home.  I had hoped he’d stay asleep to I could put him directly to bed, but I knew better.  Shawn had just enough of a rest to keep him up well into the night.

On the plus side, he got to open a few birthday cards when we got home.  One card revealed that we are going to Disney World in a few weeks!

Happy Birthday, Shawn!

Posted on FaceBook:

Having a wonderful day celebrating my little man's 3rd birthday! Happy Birthday, Shawn! We love you so very much! — with Paul Demmert and Rajiv Puri at Schaumburg Boomers.

Mandy Nye, Sara Bellini Pandolfi, Mona Mann, Kristen Weller, Katie Stump Holt, Nicole Roof Robinson, Gina Kawell Snow, Edward Demmert, Reena Uppal, Leslie Demmert, Melissa Rubalcaba Riske, Kenny Thor, Carolyn Wilke Wojtal, Toni Marcinowski LoVerde, Jonathan Demmert, and Evelia Krzysik like this.

Shelley Veloz Powell Happy Birthday Shawn! Hope you guys are having fun!

Leslie Demmert Go Boomers Go doesn't quite ring like go Cubs Go, but I hope they win for you.

Joni Demmert Anderson Happy Birthday Shawn! (PS I like your shirt!)

Melissa Bujak Dresen Happy Birthday little guy

Lorinda Oertel Anderson Happy happy birthday Shawn! Have a fun filled evening ♥ Conrad & Miss Lorinda

Deborah Johnson Clemons Happy Birthday Shawn!!

Sara Bellini Pandolfi happy birthday!

Liz Ri Many sweet Happy Birthday wishes!

Edward Demmert A big happy birthday to Shawn from the CA Demmert's!

Hema Puri Happy Birthday Shawn, God Bless You. We will see you soon.

Bm Bär Happy Birthday, Shawn! Greetings from Germany!

Stacey 'Dunlap' Porter Happy Birthday Shawn! Congrats Shannon -sounds like a lovely time

Debbie Fairbairn-White Happy birthday Shawn. Hope you had a great day.

Mona Mann Hi Shannon wouild u please give Shawn a big hug & some kisses from me tell him I wish him a day fill w/ fun, balloons & a big cake to taste Happy Birthday Shawn I love u bye baby

Cantigny Park with Opa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHELLEY!
The morning started off very slowly. Shawn moped and whined about waking up at all and had a hard time getting going. Abby was in a fine mod, but she wasn't interested in eating more than a few bites at breakfast. Meanwhile, Shawn's breakfast inadvertantly greeted him back!

English muffin, cherries, &
scrambled eggs dyed blue

Once we finally got moving, we successfully wore out both kids fairly quickly.

We spent almost four hours walking through gardens at Cantigny Park, admiring flowers, plants, and trees. Shawn and Abby had a fantastic time dodging (well, not really) sprinklers and fountains, following different paths made from rocks, stones, pavement, grass, wood chips… you name it. Opa was an amazing guide through the gardens.  He found wild strawberries that we sampled (though they weren’t very flavorful).  He also introduced the kids to the characters inside the snap dragon flowers.  Abby loved roaring and snapping the flower, but Shawn didn’t like the idea of a dragon biting his finger and kept a watchful distance instead. We found a crabapple tree whose branches formed an almost perfect dome to the ground.  Shawn and Abby called it their ‘Tree Tent’ and could have played in its shade for hours. When we eventually coaxed them out, we found the Idea Garden with all kinds of fun things: a person made out of flower pots, a Big 10 container garden with flowers that matched the schools’ colors, areas designated to the four seasons as well as others planted with the five senses in mind. After all the gardens that we did see, I can only imagine how much of the property we didn’t get to!

The dangling bandaid on Abby's knee couldn't hold on any longer as her pants rubbed passed during a potty break - she was upset for a millisecond, but wasn't concerned about it any other time throughout the day. In fact, she ran and played as much as she did before her fall and did so with no limping, favoring, or even tip-toe walking! There were plenty of distractions to keep her occupied.


We took a break back at the car and enjoyed a picnic lunch under a shadey tree. Even a snooping ant joined us - typical! We used grapes to perfect our chipmunk cheeks.

 

 

Afterwards, we strolled through a an outdoor exhibit of tanks and artillery cannons that Abby and Shawn got to climb all over. Abby was more interested in the pictures on the informational signs and the clovers, sticks, and rocks she collected from the ground than the actual tanks and guns, but she found plenty to captivate her attention. Shawn liked exploring the military machines as if they were playground equipment, in addition to the clovers, sticks, and rocks along the way.

While they were both drained from our walks through the gardens early on, they were thoroughly exhausted on the ride home. Shawn was fast asleep and transferred to bed without batting an eye. Abby opened her eyes as we opened her car door, but just long enough to change her diaper and wipe off some of the dirt that she had magnetized during our adventure.

Meanwhile, Opa treated Baron to a short walk, which he was grateful for on such a nice day. While the kids napped, Opa and I enjoyed our own (well-deserved) 'quiet time' and snack.

When Raj got home, we took Opa to Shawn’s favorite restaurant – Pilot Pete’s. We pointed out the comedic ‘$100 hamburger’ on the menu, though none of us ordered it.

A $100 hamburger trip typically involves
flying a short distance (less than two hours),
eating at an airport restaurant, and flying home.
"$100" originally referred to the approximate
cost of renting or operating a light general aviation aircraft
for the time it took to fly round-trip to a nearby airport.

- Wikipedia

Shawn pointed out the variety of aircraft hanging over our heads and displayed in glass cases. Even when we don’t have a view of the runway, there’s always something to see at Pilot Pete’s, which possibly makes up for the so-so food that they serve!