Chicago Seidlers

Unsurprisingly, we’ve been spending a lot of time hanging out at home. Mathias is generally content to relax with us, but he’s also starting to show a little personality of his own.

One thing we’ve noticed is that he can get a bit crazed when presented with bottle, breast or binkie. He squirms from side to side, balling his hands up and shaking them in front of his face (usually getting in the way of whatever he’s trying to get at). We decided to try to capture it on film; here’s the partially successful result.

Did he see the humor in the situation? Apparently not.

Yes, that's what you think it is.

But we had a heartwarming ending to the night, falling asleep together on the couch while watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals. (Note the different outfits for both of us.)

Passed out on the couch.

Our friends Brian and Laura were kind enough to bring up some excellent potato soup and salad on Monday. We ate it then, we ate it tonight, and we may eat it again tomorrow.

They brought their daughter Cara along–she was born in January, and it’s amazing to see how big she is already. All the cliches are true!

A little baby meet and greet.

Our friend Kristin celebrated a belated “golden” birthday on Sunday with a picnic at River Park. We spent a great day with friends, enjoying veggie dogs, homemade pickles and some refreshing radlers.

Enjoying our afternoon in the park.

We just dodged some rain upon arriving, and it was a little buggy, so Mathias spent most of the afternoon sleeping beneath a blanket in his car seat. We did get him out for a little fresh air before the skies opened up and sent us all running home.

There were 1- and 2-year-olds at the picnic, which was fun. It was like looking into the future.

On Friday, we packed up the stroller and headed over to May Fest. Our neighborhood is traditionally German, and the alderman’s office throws two big beer-and-polka bashes to greet and say goodbye to summer.

We headed over early, when everything was relatively sober and uncrowded (it gets packed later on). We met up with friends Brendan and Kristin, scarfed down a beer and pretzel (James) and braut dinner (Lori), and talked with a host of strangers about Mathias, who slept pretty much through the whole thing.

We met up with friends Brendan and Kristin.

We were also able to catch the Polkaholics, our favorite punk-polka band. Bassist Jolly James used to work with James; they’re a really fun, enthusiastic group.

Our favorite punk-polka band. Click the photo to see more Polkaholics photos.

Mathias wasn’t really roused by the music, though.

Here’s the video that captures the whole scene: polka, baby and an awkwardly dancing dad.

The first full week of Mathias being home went pretty well. He’s still sleeping a lot, but he’s alert too (as you can see below, with dad, who’s maybe not quite so alert).

Mathias and dad relax on the floor.

We’ve also enjoyed playing with all of the clothes people had gotten for him. Here he’s enjoying his first pants-and-hoodie ensemble.

Looking good in his little hoodie.

Finally, our friends Adam and Jennifer were nice enough to bring us dinner on Thursday, which we really appreciated. (Mathias let them know just how much by spitting up on Jennifer’s chest…sorry about that!)

Friends Jennifer and Adam were kind enough to bring us some dinner!

As well as a delicious berry and cream dessert.

A great night, but by the end, Mathias looked like he'd had enough.

Unsurprisingly, we’ve spent a lot of time hanging out at home over the past week. Mathias has been really great so far–he eats pretty regularly, and he even sleeps through most of the night, so we seem to be dodging some of the new-parent tortures (knock on wood, of course).

Loud noises don’t faze him, so he’s good relaxing with dad even as the traffic (and ambulances and sirens and shouting yahoos) streams by on Montrose.

Dad and Mathias relax on the couch.

He’s also started to show a little interest in some of his toys (i.e., he doesn’t cry in terror when placed in his play canopy anymore).

We try to give each of the animals its own funny voice. But lets be honest, he's not the most demanding comedy fan.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention all of the kind notes and calls we’ve gotten from family and friends. Here’s us posing, hunter-style, with a batch of cookies sent by friends (and newlyweds) Brian and Katie Staples.

We have been steadily demolishing these delicious cookies.

The little guy had his one-week pediatrician appointment on Tuesday, and she said everything looked great. We also randomly ran into cousin Eamonn Kelly, a fellow newborn, on our way into the office. But, I’d left the camera memory card in the computer, so we’ll all just have to imagine that touching scene.

On Sunday, we took advantage of the nice weather to build the stroller and step out into Chicago. We headed up into Lincoln Square, hitting the bank before picking up some albums at our favorite record store, Laurie’s Planet of Sound.

Click the photo to see the full slideshow

After grabbing some caffeine, we went to relax in Welles Park (with Mathias still snoozing). There was a drum circle practicing on the gazebo, but he was unfazed, leaving us to finish our drinks and soak up some sun.

Mathias snoozes to a little lullaby-style Queen, courtesy of our friends Andrew and Karen. The Rockabye Baby! producers take all kinds of hard rock tracks and give them the soothing treatment with vibe, clavichord and singing bird arrangements.

Our friends Vicky and Payman boosted the Proto Punk baby shower by giving us a Ramones version, and we also picked up a Radiohead installment on our own. Fun stuff.

Grandma, Aunt Sara, Uncle Nathan and Michael Bennett came in to meet Mathias on Saturday. Everyone had a great time; grandma was determined to get in as much baby time as humanly possible! We were even treated to some great grub from Rockwell’s–thanks again!

Click the photo to see the full slideshow

The only downside? Mathias decided dad’s reflexes weren’t quite sharp enough. He took advantage of a brief window of exposure to spray dad down…twice. (This is an improvement from his first home diaper change, when he peed on mom, diaper pad, crib, sleep sheep, and his own face in one Herculean spray.)

We were very excited to come home from then hospital with our little guy last Thursday. At our place, we showed him around the apartment, caught some Zs, and gave Mathias his first bath.

Click the photo to see a slideshow of all the at-home fun.

We also enjoyed a fun visit with Los Angeles friends Nick and Michael. (Those of you who bought FLYMF’s Greatest Hits will recognize the former from his cover shot. The pair were in town to head down to Peoria for a documentary they’re making on the World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest.)