Day One: Baxter hears the news

Jordan and I had already filled in our families, colleagues and friends. We've even talked about it openly with Lyle, who seems to like the idea, if only as an excuse to practice his K and G sounds. But Baxter was still in the dark, until today.

It seemed like everyone else in the world already knew, so why shouldn't Baxter? Frankly, not telling him until we visit Chicago in a few weeks seemed just too stressful.

We told him in the morning, and his first reaction was tears. Big, sloppy, kindergarten tears — how could we take him away from his "top friend" Ella and his beloved Jefferson School?

His recovery was quick, though, and before long he was excited about everything from the El (why are their trains above the ground?) to the Cubs (apparently Daddy's childhood love of the White Sox was enough to make Baxter a lifelong Cubs man: paging Dr. Freud). We did some Google image searches and showed him the skyscrapers, the city in the snow, the zoo, the acquarium and, of course, Sue the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Emotions came and went throughout the day. 10 minutes after talking to his Chicago-area grandparents, he told me "I can't wait to move to Chicago!" After talking to Ella on the phone before bed, he mooned, "I don't ever want to move to Chicago." I know exactly how he feels.

The Topic (or "Da Bears" as Jordan and I had taken to calling it in Baxter's presence) came up all day, and mostly Baxter was excited about the move. We'll see tomorrow what he thinks of it after spending a day at school.