One Year Photos (34 photos), by Kristen Hagan

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Get this stupid bow out of my hair already, geesh

My two favorite people

Really

As I was cruising down Lake Shore Drive this morning I noticed that operating in the Northbound lanes were a street cleaning vehicle and its pick-up truck escort.

Really, Chicago?

I mean we're all pulling the purse strings a little tighter these days, don't you think you could stop cleaning the highways for a while? Really? I mean, isn't that street cleaner doing the work of some guests at the Pen anyway? To windy for them out there today? Really?

I think I'd trade a few soda cans on the highway for a sales tax that is under 10%. Really.

St. Patty's Day

Today is a day in Chicago where all of the amateur party animals come out in full Irish regalia and act like it's St. Patrick's Day. Which is weird because it's not. Admittedly, I was once that lass. I drove 4 hours from Bloomington, Indiana with my partner in crime Anna, in my 1991 Volvo 240. At the end of the weekend, we went in the opposite direction under a cloud of headaches and embarrassing photographs. I even called Denver and asked him out to drinks over voicemail. Denied. 10 years later, I have managed to secure him in my web. Sucker.

Girl Scout Cookie Time

I'm going to go ahead and admit, to myself and anyone who reads this silly blog, that I just finished an entire sleeve of Thin Mints, all by myself. Without even a beverage. And I don't even feel gross or sick about it. In fact, if the box happened to come with a "bonus" sleeve of cookies, I might get started on that one too. As it were, this was the last sleeve of Thin Mints in the house. I need to get out and locate a girl scout, stat.

Helena Eve turns 1

My baby is one today. I'm sure this day will feel the same every year; reluctance to admit that Helena is slowly gaining her independence and a sense of anxiety that I am also getting older, but OH so much wiser.

Today, Helena will likely spend an extended amount of time in her new chair (thank you Aunt Tracy!). She sits in this thing like a princess holding court and barks orders- pointing at select items she seeks to amuse her.

We are also taking her first trip to the art museum, which should be an adventure in and of itself. How many squeals do they allow before you get kicked out? Let's go find out.

What a difference a year can make

I cannot believe that it has been almost a year since Helena was born. That cold snowy day-into night-into the crack of dawn will be forever engrained in my memory.

I was just reflecting on how much I've changed in the course of the year. It's no secret that before Helena I was NOT a baby person. I used to look at screaming babies and think, "shudddup!" Harsh, I know. Today it's a whole different story. Now I look at the screaming baby's parents and think, "What the hell are you doing?!" I resist the urge to grab the baby, give them a good squeeze and make everything better. At Target, for example, I saw a tiny little baby screaming his head off, glaring at his father. The dad says to his son, "Why are you so grumpy today?" The boy had NO footwear- no socks, no shoes, no blanket- nothing. By Chicago standards it is warm today (35), but not THAT warm. Yeah, not so much grumpy, as freezing my freaking feet off Dad! Geesh.

SO I'm still very easily annoyed, I've just redirected my angst. And rightly so.