Of course, John Patrick with his Mom and Dad.
Here’s Critter hanging out with Abo. One consistent factor with these two is that John Patrick couldn’t help but smile and laugh at Abo.
OK, this is pretty neat. Here we see John Patrick with Aba. Now, have a look at the next one:
Here we see John Albert (my brother) with Aba way back when. Casey and I were blown away at how much John Patrick looks like my brother John did when he was a baby.
Speaking of John Cranes, here they all are together for the first time.
I had to post this just because Aba didn’t want her picture taken with her hair in clips and the look on Critter’s face is priceless!
Here we see John Patrick getting to know his Aunt Judy and Cousin Philip.
The Cousins seemed to get along pretty well. Philip is almost two years old and was simply fascinated by the baby, so it was quite amusing to watch the two in action.
My oldest brother Mike came into town and was able to meet his newest nephew as well.
Mike’s oldest daughter Alicia ended up holding John Patrick a lot while she was there. It seems that my son has a way with the pretty girls. Good boy!
Here we see all seven of Abo and Aba’s grandchildren. They have been taking these “on the stairs” shots for a while now – basically every time a new grandchild comes along. Neat stuff.
While in Chicago, I began to teach Critter the ins and outs of being a Bears fan. The number one rule is to always cheer for the team. Apparently, the number two rule is to be prepared for lots of disappointment.
Looks like John Patrick has chosen his favorite player!
Any of the blogger friends that come to this site should recognize the name Jim V. Some of you might know that Jim and I have been close friends since the seventh grade. Of course, John Patrick wanted to meet him!
Critter was also very pleased to meet Jim’s lovely wife Lisa. Hey Lisa: the dinner was fabulous! I’m still stuffed!
I don’t have enough words for Jim and Lisa’s daughter, Rebecca. Oh my cuteness! She and I got along great and John Patrick seemed to get a kick out of her too. Must be that pretty girl thing. Good boy!
Did I happen to mention that Critter seems to have a way with the ladies? Here he is schmoozing my good friend Amy. Somehow, my very good friend Steve (Amy’s husband) managed to avoid the “with the baby” photo. We’ll get you next time!
John Patrick was fascinated with Dylan – probably because he had the chance to watch him play the piano. Amazing stuff.
Here’s John with my good friend Jason – two peas in a pod!
Watch it there, Critter – that’s Jason’s wife and he’s much bigger than you!
We all had such a lovely visit with Jason and Jen. (Once again) hey Jen: the dinner was incredible! I’m still stuffed!Side-note: if you didn’t gather it already, Casey and I ate like royalty on this trip.
We were able to do a little sightseeing while in Chicago. Here’s the family taking in a nice day at Navy Pier.
Of course, we had to ride the giant Ferris Wheel!
Critter could have done without it.So, there you have it! We had a really great time in the Windy City. John Patrick was able to meet a whole bunch of people and traveled a lot. Luckily for Mom and Dad (and all the other passengers), he slept the entire time on the flight out and back. It seemed like he grew right in front of our eyes while we were there and made lots of progress in his growth.
Thanks to Abo and Aba for a great three weeks! Thanks to all of our friends who took great pains to make our visit special. Now that the three weeks of travel are over, it’s time for a really big long nap.
