Philadelphia Museum of Art

Dear Lily,

Yesterday we felt adventurous so we thought we'd take a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to check out the Cezanne and Beyond exhibit. Yes, I realize it's silly for parents of a three-week-old baby to "be adventurous" and leave the cozy confines of the couch but we were getting a bit of cabin fever. So, off we went, though the sky was threatening rain.

 

Here's you and mommy in front of the museum. You are standing at the base of the "Rocky Steps" made famous by Rocky sprinting their height at the culmination of his riveting training montages. Ding, ding.

After mommy briskly jogged you up the steps, daddy wanted a photo op. Notice the Philly skyline in the background. Ben Franklin lived there. He invented bifocals and Post-It Notes. Look it up.

We successfully made it through the entrance when you decided you didn't want to be there so we headed back out to try to settle you down. Mommy really had her heart set on seeing the exhibit and was visibly upset by our change in plans. You will soon learn of your mother's unhealthy obsession, err, affinity for sticking with a plan. So, we waited.

And finally, you were happy again and so was mommy. So we went back in. But then you cried again and we decided to call it a day. You fell asleep after we made it all the way down the steps so we decided to throw caution to the wind, make the trek back up the steps and buy some tickets. You were very well behaved the entire time and drew countless ohhs and ahhs from the museum patrons and staff. Daddy learned that people are nice to you when you have a baby strapped to your chest. I'm going to wear you out more often.

Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures inside that exhibit and daddy didn't want to risk getting into trouble in a museum...again. We were able to take pictures in a different part of the museum so mommy got a few pics of you and me.

Now, you'll notice behind us a painting by American artist Mark Rothko. This was no accident. You see, mommy is a big fan of Rothko and daddy, knowing this, proposed to your mother in the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, on July 25, 2002. You aren't allowed to talk in the Rothko Chapel, so daddy got down on one knee and whispered to mommy, "Will you marry me?" She said yes.

In fact, we've had a print of a Rothko painting on the wall just about everywhere we've lived.

Mommy and daddy moved here a few years ago and first went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the winter of 2006. Feeling lost in a new city in a new part of the country, mommy and daddy were comforted by seeing this Rothko hanging in the museum, as if it were saying, "Welcome to your new home." Below is the picture we took in 2006.

So fast forward to yesterday. Since you were so well-behaved in the main exhibit, we though we'd browse the gallery having forgotten about our first trip there. Our eyes lit up when we saw the Rothko and were immediately flooded with memories of being in that very spot two-and-a-half years ago. When we last saw it, it was just the two of us.

Now, it's the three of us. Welcome to your new home.

Love,

Dad