One of the best Super Bowl commercials from 2011 was the “Imported from Detroit” commercial with Eminem. The music was cool, the VO was cool and the overall look of the commercial made you want to run out and buy a new car from Detroit. This is the original spot.

Not long after that we took one our our usual trips to Detroit and we decided to make our own modified version of that, but based on the fact that I was “Exported from Dearborn” to Chicago. So, on a whim we shot a bunch of footage with our iPhones while driving, and then a lot more footage with the GoPro camera that we just happened to have on that trip with us. I have all the footage to Brenda and the audio track, and she created our own version. This is what that one looks like (if you have not seen the original, watch that one first).

We had a great family day complete with a field trip to see holiday trains and cake and gifts. I wonder what this day will be like for them when they turn 21 in 2028.

A few more photos are on SmugMug.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

The kids first official trip to see Santa. I’m not sure they really knew what to make of it, but Andrew managed to ask for “a car”. I’m not sure if he was talking about a matchbox car or one that he can drive around the block.

I’m just so thankful everyday for having our loving daughter Sydney. She lights up my heart whenever she smiles at me. While she was a unexpected surprise, it’s impossible to imagine how life would be without her. She is truly a gift from god.

This Sunday she turned 2 years old and it’s just hard to believe how fast the time has gone by. She’s already saying words and phrases and I’m sure soon will be talking our ears off with her stories. You can tell how much she loves her brothers when you see her chasing them around, laughing and trying to do everything that they do. And while she’s full of sweetness, she’s also a little terror. It’s not unusual for her to just go at it with the boys until they can’t take it anymore. The more upset they get, the harder she laughs. I’ll admit, she probably gets that from me, and I think my sisters would agree.

So while it is tough having all three kids under 4 years old and makes for some very interesting early mornings, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Having children make you realize just how deep and unwavering your love can be.

Happy birthday Princess Sydney. I love you more than I love myself.

Your loving Dad.

You can find a few more photos on SmugMug. I had to take over 100 photos just to get the very few that I did because she would not cooperate with me (but thought it was funny that she wasn’t).

Room by Ikea

This time we decided not to wait until the bed was being scaled with a single leap over, and got Sydney her own bed. She’s been really good at sleeping on the floor mat at Grandma’s house so we thought she was ready. We waited for it to be assembled before we brought her into the room. I think she was a bit confused at first, not knowing what happened to her crib.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie] ]]> http://tomchak.com/blog/2011/11/12/sydneys-first-bed/feed/ 0 http://tomchak.com/blog/2011/11/01/halloween-2011/ http://tomchak.com/blog/2011/11/01/halloween-2011/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:00:16 +0000 Thomas Tomchak http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=3852

See them all on SmugMug

It’s just so gratifying when the plan you had for your life is executed on so perfectly. I finally know what they mean by “living the dream”. It’s all exactly as I dreamed it would be some day.

So, enter the new “Tractor Wagon” (this is what Andrew calls it). It’s made to carry 1,000 lbs, so I’m pretty sure it will be up to the task of carrying the boys all the way through adulthood.

But this one is so big, we realized today that it easily carts the boys around, Sydney and a few bags of daily necessities while we’re out.

The down side? My legs are KILLING me from being the horse to this cart. But the kids loved it.

The rest of the photos are on Flickr

Location:Home

BathTimex3 from the Tomchak Family. on Vimeo.

Location: Adler Planetarium

More on Flickr

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

It’s amazing how something so simple is so exciting to them.

While you are only one year old today, life without you seems impossible.

I look forward to the next year with you and many more to come.

Love, Dad

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

Sunday was a great day to play outside with the kids. Having the “Tomchak Park” is turning out to be a great use of our long neglected yard.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

This time shot and edited by Brenda, and get this…. it was done entirely on her iPhone! She would shoot footage along the way, add photos here and there, and just edit a shot or two as she had time. When she was done she exported a full 720p HD video. It’s just mind blowing what you can do these days.

So here’s the video. Enjoy.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

The first stop was SuperCuts downtown where she met Sherri, the woman that’s been cutting my hair for over 12 years now.

Then we went for a walk outside since we were downtown in Chicago. Sydney told me the sun was a bit bright so we kept the walk short.

Next stop was the Apple store in Oak Brook, where she was clearly just as excited as I was to be there.

On the way home she asked if she could have some ice creatm, so we stopped at DQ for a special treat. She didn’t eat the whole thing so I had to finish it off.

Finally at home, she passed out. I like to call this photo “Creepy Sleepy” because she’s sleeping with her eyes open. She does this all the time.

All in all, it was a great day with my little princess and I can’t wait for our next date together.

Love you daughter.

More on SmugMug

Our first family trip to the city, and it was a great time. We did a lot of walking and enjoyed the weather.

You can find the rest on SmugMug

It’s amazing when I think about what our visits were like just 3-4 years ago vs now. The whole focus of our visits have changed, not to mention simply exhausting.

There are a few photos here, you can find the rest on SmugMug.

I’m still amazes at how fast time is flying by, and how little time I have these days. Between the boys being more and more “mobile” and pushing the boundaries, and Sydney needing more then just a bottle and diaper change, it just seems like the walls are closing in sometimes.

Proof of that? I’ve been working on a video for Sydney since she was born in November but have not made much progress, I more or less stopped doing blog posts, and I keep saying I’m going to take more photos of the kids yet weeks go by without me getting the camera out (there’s either no time or I’m too exhausted when there is the time).

So I finally forced the issue of at least taking photos a few weekends ago and we took the kids into the basement to play and take some updated photos. We still need to take some nice family photos, but now that the weather is getting better maybe that will be possible.

You can find the rest of this series on SmugMug.

As much as I like the occasional travel job as a change of pace, change of scenery… there is also a down side. Once I commit to a job I’m pretty much there for the duration, almost no matter what. That can be tough when your family needs you. This was one of those weeks that if I had the option, I would have left the job early or had somebody else take over for me, things that would have been possible had I been working here in Chicago.

We have all been trading colds for the last several weeks, but when I left it looked like the worst of it was behind us. As it turned out, the worst was yet to come. Sydney ended up getting a cold on top of a cold, which is annoying when you’re a adult but very serious when you’re 7 week old baby and unable to be treated with any type of medication. After 3 trips to the doctor throughout the week, Brenda ended up taking her to the hospital on Sunday night after she turned pale and appeared to stop breathing.

Long story short, Sydney is doing better but is still in the hospital and probably will be there until at least Wednesday. She’s improving but her oxygen levels are still dropping too much, especially when she goes to sleep. Brenda is staying with her around the clock and has only come home to pack some clothes and other daily items.

Andrew is home with me today because he’s still pretty sick and has a fever, Max is at daycare (thank god for only having one today!). I’m very sick and so is Brenda. So all in all, it’s just a little slice of “heaven” around here. It sure makes you appreciate the simplicity of just being healthy.

But I am very thankful that we live in a city that has access to great doctors and that Sydney is in great hands. I’m very confident that we’ll all be doing a lot better in the upcoming weeks.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie] ]]> http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/19/the-down-side-to-travel-jobs/feed/ 1 http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/30/sydney-birthday-photos/ http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/30/sydney-birthday-photos/#comments Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:06:24 +0000 Thomas Tomchak http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2213

I’ve been VERY slow to get anything done that doesn’t involve changing a diaper or sleeping, but I finally posted the photos from the first few hours after Sydney was born. Once again I had my friend Mike Younger stop by in the morning and take some photos since I knew I would have my hands full.

You can find the rest on SmugMug.

Click on the image for a larger version. The actual printed size of this will be 30"x20"

]]> http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/23/sydney-etheena-the-movie/feed/ 0 http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/08/sydney-moments/ http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/08/sydney-moments/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:47:24 +0000 Thomas Tomchak http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2176 [See post to watch QuickTime movie] ]]> http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/08/sydney-moments/feed/ 0 http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/04/pov-of-sydney/ http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/04/pov-of-sydney/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:50:48 +0000 Thomas Tomchak http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2164 It’s been busy around the Tomchak household. We still have not found that balance/rhythm yet but we’re getting there.

This is a short video that Brenda took on her phone one of the last days in the hospital. So far my favorite thing about Sydney is how she just stares at you, like you’re the most interesting person in the room. It’s very cute.

This is not the most interesting video, but it’s what I have at the moment.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie] ]]> http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/04/pov-of-sydney/feed/ 0 http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/30/my-ladies-are-coming-home/ http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/30/my-ladies-are-coming-home/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:19:48 +0000 Thomas Tomchak http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2156 Brenda and Sydney will be coming home tomorrow afternoon. That works out well with the boys being in pre-school so we should have an easy time transitioning. More photos can be found on SmugMug.

It’s with great pleasure and joy in my heart that I introduce to you our newest special gem.

Sydney Etheena Tomchak

Sydney joined us in the outside world at 9:43am this morning (November 27th 2009), and weighs in at a healthy 7 lbs, 4 oz. and measures 20.75 inches. Mom and baby are doing fine and Brenda is now in her room resting up.

We’ve known since the beginning (even before the boys) that if we did have a girl, some part of the name would be Etheena, named after Brenda’s oldest sister Tina who passed away in 2004. Tina’s legal name was Etheena, but friends and family called her Tina for short. The first name is a name that we both really liked after many weeks of throwing names at each other like darts. It was not unusual to just walk into the room and yell out a name, and the other person automatically knew what you were “asking”.

While it’s true that we would have been happy with a boy or girl, we’re extra happy that we have a girl to round out our family. I’ve said right from the beginning that I really wanted to have a “Mini-Brenda”.  And I know how happy Brenda is that she now has a little girl to go shopping with and do all of the girl things that she misses out on with the boys.

Speaking of shopping, we have a little confession to make. We’ve known from the 20 week mark that we were having a girl, but decided to keep it a surprise for everybody else. We just couldn’t wait to find out this time – we were both pretty confident that it was going to be a girl. The day that we found out, we actually went shopping at the mall and Brenda bought her the first outfit. See the video below for our documented trip.

[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

We have been in love with her for awhile now, so it’s nice to finally meet her!

More updates and plenty of photos in the days to come.