she swings (among other things)

this past week was the first hint of spring we've felt so far. the temperatures were still coat-worthy but we took advantage and strolled to the park. and clara had her first encounter with the swings.

when you have a child you get to experience everything again for the first time. slides and swings and tulips blooming- it all takes on new meaning when seen through the eyes of your baby. you get excited about and intimidated by and find adventure in the littlest things. and feel the need to document them even if nobody else is likely to find them interesting. 

it's one of my favorite parts about being a parent- feeling more like a kid again myself.

and seeing the world differently. 

on a more frustrating note...

cubs season begins today. baseball season might officially mean spring. but it also means impossible to park on streets and noisy drunken fans. if I could do it all over again I wouldn't live anywhere near Wrigley.

 (I snapped this as I was driving by the other day- yes my windshield was disgustingly dirty)

or house is about to become a construction zone. or not- if there's anything we can do about it. our original owner sold the place and we thought we were lucky when the new owners decided to continue renting it to us. until they informed us of their plans to renovate the back staircase that connects the basement to the attic, to create a room in the attic, and to finish the basement. work is supposed to start next week. well, my upstairs neighbor (with three kids and one on the way) and I have decided to put up a fight. we might be forced to leave, but I'd choose that over living through the noise, dust, debris, loss of storage, and complete loss of privacy. 

plus, the apartment complex next door likes to party all night long and prevent us from sleeping. (I love being startled awake to "chug, chug, chug...") we finally called the police at 2 am sunday morning. which did nothing. 

do I want to move? not really. but it might be happening.