bloggers ate my babies: lollapalooza 2009

this year was the 5th year that lollapalooza happened at grant park in chicago and the 5th year that dave and i have attended. this year was a little different from the previous years, however, because it seems as though we've gone a bit insane. this year we decided to bring talan along with us.
most people were a little surprised when we would tell them that we were bringing talan but leaving hayden behind. but we know our kids fairly well and know that hayden would have been MISERABLE at a 3 day music festival while talan would be in heaven.
we actually didn't even know if we were going to lollapalooza this year until about 4 days before. we put off buying tickets for awhile and then were a bit bummed out by the lineup/schedule. it was definitely the weakest out of every year. we eventually decided we just could afford it this year but our friend trey ended up hooking us up with tickets.
so we decided that since we were going for free, and since the lineup wasn't one that was filled with bands that we just HAD to see it would be the perfect year to bring talan. we knew it would be work, but figured this would be the time to do it.
so thursday evening, mom came over to pick up hayden and we started telling talan all about the big rock show he was going to. early friday morning we loaded up the car, woke talan up and started our drive to chicago. talan seemed pretty excited to go "rock" and we were excited to have him along (i think dave was more excited than i was, as i knew our annual weekend away was about to turn into something else.)
talan fell asleep somewhere during the ride and when he woke up he started acting a little whiny. i just figured it was because he was tired of sitting though. when we got to the parking garage and started loading everything into the stroller, i noticed that talan felt a little warm and was still acting a little strange. i immediately started thinking he was getting sick. but we also thought it could have a little to do with him watching movies in the car the whole trip.
we walked over to grant park and stood in line (we made FANTASTIC time and were there about an hour and a half before the gates even opened). dave went over to the box office to pick up our tickets and then we headed into the park at 11:30. it was overcast, breezy and actually perfect weather. but pretty much right after we walked in the gates it started to rain. it mostly just sprinkled through our first show at 12:15 of manchester orchestra. talan wasn't acting 100% himself, but he wasn't too bad. we decided he was just tired as he ended up falling asleep for a bit on my shoulder during the show. he refused to sit in his stroller and sleep though which was quite a pain.
it continued to rain the rest of the day and started to pick up quite a bit. talan eventually went into his stroller and fell asleep for awhile. the stroller had a cover on it so at least he was staying dry. we really wanted to see several of the bands playing later that evening but eventually decided we better just leave instead of possibly ruining the whole weekend. if the rain kept up, we knew talan would just end up stuck in his stroller and we would continue to be wet and freezing. yes, it actually was COLD that day and we didn't bring a single long sleeved item.
so, bummed out, we decided to call it a day after watching some of bon iver and knowing we were about to miss fleet foxes and kings of leon (with some ben harper thrown in there as well). we made our way through the mud filled park and knew we had made a good decision even though we were a bit bummed.
the good news about leaving early was that we were able to spend more time with the hader's. we stopped and picked up some medicine and some mcdonalds for talan and then headed to their place to have some dinner with them. while we were in the car, talan put a french fry in his mouth and seconds later i grabbed his mcdonald's box to catch the puke. wonderful.
we cleaned him up and headed inside matt and amy's place feeling VERY badly that we were bringing a sick kid around them and their 1 year old. but once we got into their place, talan started eating some chicken nuggets and fries and then started playing with toys as if it never happened.
he did have a fever so we gave him some medicine and then put him to bed. he actually fell asleep pretty quickly considering he HATES sleeping in pack 'n plays but when we went to bed he woke up and then came into bed with us. he wasn't falling asleep in our bed, and i wasn't either since he was ALL OVER my side. and he also felt super duper hot. i figured right then that we'd have to wake up in the morning and head home. eventually talan let me put him back in the pack 'n play and he fell asleep for the rest of the nite.
he woke up the next morning and only had a very slight fever and was acting a TON better. the first band we wanted to see didn't go on until 1 so we were able to just hang out with the hader's all morning before heading back to the park.
saturday was not our best day. talan didn't really have a fever and we kept tylenol in him all day, but he wasn't acting like himself at all. such a bummer because he really would have enjoyed the fest if he was.
we ended up hanging out in the kids area all day waiting for the bands later in the day that we really wanted to see to come on. talan fell asleep in the stroller again for a bit and when he woke up he was a raging monster. he only wanted me to carry him which i just couldn't do anymore as it was hot, the crowds were too big and he is far too heavy. he had a major fit anytime dave would look at him or talk to him. it was miserable. i was starting to have a panic attack and his meltdown didn't seem to be ending. he wanted milk, which we had none of. i finally looked at dave and said...sorry, but it's time to go. i felt horrible as i knew dave really really really wanted to see tv on the radio. i told him we could meet him after it or work something out but i had to get out of there. we all headed out with talan screaming half of the way. he eventually calmed down a bit, i found a starbucks and bought him some milk. we headed back to matt and amy's and by the time talan got there, he was acting like his normal self.
again, we were bummed about missing some shows, but i again knew we made the best decision for him. i don't think he would have ever really calmed down if we had stayed in the park. i think he just wanted milk, a bath and to be back in a house with some toys.
sunday was the best day we had. the day where talan acted the most like himself all weekend. which was great because i really didn't want to miss the silversun pickups.
on the drive to the park, talan fell asleep. when he woke up and we started loading the stroller he had a major meltdown. wasn't looking too good for the day. we eventually got him calm and then realized that he is many times a jerk when he first wakes up, which could have explained saturday and sunday.
but when he calmed down, he was fine. we got to the park in time to see most of the sam robert's band set where dave found talan some little bottle rocket sticks that we turned into drum sticks. talan sat in his stroller through the whole set drumming with his new drum sticks. after that set we headed over to perry's (the dj stage) where talan finally got out of his stroller and continued to drum along to the beats.
we hung out at the kids stage for awhile and watched the brickheadz break some before we headed out of the park to meet amy, matt, elias and trey for some lunch. it was a HOT and humid day, but talan was GREAT. he was a total champ in the restaurant...probably acting better than he EVER does at a restaurant. then we headed back to the park for so more music.
for some reason, talan was LOVING to color this weekend. he loved sitting at the tables in the kids area and just coloring posters. something he rarely does at home. he was also able to get his hair colored (he was a bit freaked about that while they were doing it) and he was also able to play some drums and sing in a microphone (which he ended up sing "ay oh, let's go" over and over and then sang his "what the heck" song).
while we were hanging out in the kids area waiting for silversun, a super cool, if not cold, breeze came through. it was literally like we were standing directly in front of an air conditioner. it was amazing. and from the cold breeze came a marching band of sorts call the what cheer brigade. they were AWESOME. we went to watch them play out in the middle of the park and then back in the kids area again. talan was rocking out to them on the dance floor while a whole bunch of people video'd him...look for him on youtube. they were fantastic and we recommend looking into them!
we ended up not winning any of the $2000 gibson guitars or any of the other prizes but at the end of the day, they passed out what they had left and talan was given a harmonica which he is loving.
we checked out a little bit of some other bands and then made our way to get a spot for the silversun pickups. talan was getting tired of waiting, but when they finally came on, he sat on dave's shoulders and rocked out. the crowd thought he was awesome....and so did he. he eventually started getting a bit tired and hung out in his stroller for the last bit of the show.
once sliversun ended (which it was an incredible show by the way) we let the crowd clear out a bit and heard about 2 songs from the killers before we started heading out of the park so we could head home. talan got his second wind on the walk back and was loving watching the fountain change colors.
we got to the car, loaded up, changed talan and started our drive back home. talan fell asleep pretty quickly and slept almost the whole ride home.
we got home and in bed right around 3am and woke up around 10 or 10:30.
all in all it was a good experience. it was stressful, exhausting, frustrating, cold and wet, hot and humid, work, but fun. would i bring a kid again? probably not. but i was glad we could do it this year.
it really was the perfect year to bring him. we didn't feel that we missed out on too much, especially since we didn't pay to get in. it's great he is still in diapers because i would pretty much refuse to bring a kid into a port-a-potty. and also, you can pretty much get away with anything if you have a kid in tow. they never looked in our stroller where we had snacks galore packed. and they got so bored looking through the many zippers in our 2 backpacks, they generally just gave up. they didn't even care when they saw a juice box sitting right on top....they never even looked under the juice boxes to find my guns.
this year the pictures came out quite a bit different than the past 4 years. there seem to be a whole lot more of a certain kid than any bands. it could be because we didn't see many bands thanks to that certain sick kid, though. and also because he's so dang cute. but it was pretty difficult to break out the camera in the middle of the rain and then in the middle of all of his meltdowns.
for the 5th year in a row we have to thank matt, amy and elias hader for giving us a wonderful bed to sleep in and a nice shower. and for going above and beyond and providing us with breakfast, milk, tylenol, a thermometer, and a ride on the l train. we love you guys and appreciate EVERYTHING!!! seriously, if elias gets sick, send us the dr. bill!
thank you also to trey for making this trip happen this year! we LOVE the lolla experience and would have been bummed if we were stuck at home this past weekend. we really appreciate you getting us in, we had a blast!
and of course thank you to mom and dad for keeping hayden entertained over the weekend. i know he loved being there and had a great time!
until next year, chicago.

day 1 - friday, august 7th:

today started with a drive to chicago, talan not feeling well and rain. and cold. then more rain, and more cold.

manchester orchestra was first up. talan fell asleep on my shoulder but then had a fit when we tried moving him to the stroller:

in the music petting zoo where the kids could play all of the instruments. this lady quickly realized talan knew exactly what he was doing and stopped trying to give him instruction:

he then moved to the mic and sang some "ay oh, let's go" and then his "what the heck" song. a song in which he growls the lyrics "what the heck" over and over:

day 2 - saturday, august 8th:

today started off with a pancake breakfast with elias and some playing before we headed out to rock:

talan and the brickheadz:

since silversun pickups and band of horses were scheduled for the same time on sunday, we had to skip band of horses. however, i did get front row seats at the kids stage to see them. and we were informed they will be playing on yo gabba gabba this season which we are very excited about: