We spent the last day of November and the first days of December on a little Chicago getaway. We had fun playing Tic Tac Toe while we waited for the plane. You did really well on the airplane, even though when we first got on, you were mildly panicked.
Our first night in Chicago was Friday and we were picked up at the airport by our old friend, Nick Hahn. We checked into the Hotel Sax where you made a new friend, Mr. Murphy, who helped us with our luggage. For the rest of the trip, every time we approached the hotel you’d exclaim, “Mistah Moiphy elevatah!”. You loved your free run of the room and the remote was your favorite thing to run off with.
We took Nick and his family (his wife Justine, and daughters Quinn and Teagan) to eat at the Chicago Diner where we were joined by Jeremiah Lobdell, Daddy’s former intern. You LOVED the food at Chicago Diner and ate everything on your plate.
On Saturday we looked at the Christmas windows at Macy’s on State Street. We walked through Millenium Park,then we went to the Art Institute of Chicago, where you stomped around on the open deck at the Modern Wing and marveled at the art. It might have been Mommy’s favorite place we went.
We later met up with Igor Davila (aka Uncle Iggy) and Daddy’s old co-worker, Lisa Barlow. We later met up with Igor’s girlfriend Juliana and spent a little time at the Christkindlmarkt.
That Sunday we took the South Shore Line to see your Grandma & Grandpa Yeoman. They drove us to a restaurant in Valparaiso, IN called the Industrial Revolution where we celebrated your GREAT grandmother’s 93rd birthday. You had a pretty good time, because the restaurant had a train that circled above us. Before we left you saw Grandma’s Christmas lights in her yard. Later that night, we returned to Chicago and you were fascinated by the frost your breath made on the train window.
On Monday we had an AWESOME day at the Navy Pier Children’s Museum. There was SO much for you to do. We started with the Cardboard exhibit where you colored on nearly everything, you thrilled at knocking things over and went crazy over the spinning wheel that was in the room.
Next you had a blast pushing buttons and playing with the fire engine buttons at the Chicago Fire Safety exhibit.
From there we went to a water room where you painted with water, splashed like crazy and helped Mommy get Daddy wet!
Our next adventures took us to a room filled with tiny things where you enjoyed pulling out the drawers, an oversized garden where you got to be a butterfly, digging for dinosaur bones, shopping at a miniature store, and frolicking in a Northwoods style trail where you had a great time dropping whiffle balls down a track.
Later we walked through Navy Pier and bought some of that famous Garrett’s popcorn. At lunch, you did something we never saw you do before; fell asleep while you were eating! But it was a good nap, and after, we got our Santa pictures and you got to yell, “Hello Elf!” to his helper.
Later that night we went to Chicago Diner again and met our friend, Paul Ripa who you delighted with your vocabulary and ability to high five.
On Tuesday we spent the day at the Lincoln Park Zoo. But before we went we walked up Michigan Avenue and visited the Mac Store, the Disney Store and The Lego Store in Water Tower Place (Your favorite? The Mac Store).
While we missed the Zoo Lights exhibit from the weekend, but there were still plenty of things to see and do. Youeven tried to “comfy, cozy” one of the huge lighting displays (but to be fair it was a teddy bear). And you really loved the freedom to run around in a zoo that was mostly empty because of the time of day we went.
We went to Pizza Due with Jeremiah, where we introduced you to deep dish Chicago pizza. Clearly, a favorite, since you ate almost a whole piece by yourself. You also solidified your friendship with Jeremiah. We walked down to the Chicago River and the Tribune building and Jeremiah took a great picture of the three of us.
Finally, on that Wednesday before we left, we spent some time with our friend Kris and his mother, Cheryl. They had lunch with us at Frontera Grill, a famous Chicago restaurant.
A busy week but a good one.
New things:
- When asked your favorite DJ – “Dee Jay Dead Maaaussss!” (Blame Daddy)
- When asked your favorite music – “Bach”
- You do a pretty good rendition of Jingle Bells
- You’ve started making up songs and carry a pretty good tune for a two year old.
- You recognize nearly EVERY brand the first time we tell it to you: The new ones are Einstein Bagels, Kare 11, Costco, Old Navy, Kirkland, Macy’s (“Red Star Macy’s!”)
- You know where YOUR personal ornament is on the Christmas tree
- You combine two words that you know don’t go together, then gleefully decree, “MAKE NO SENSE!”
- You have a wicked sense of humor and laugh at things on TV (sometimes even when it’s not very appropriate, for instance this week it was flood victims)
- And tonight you told your first fib: Mommy asked where the crayon marks on her desk came from you said, “Doc”. When she asked where all the crumbs came from, you said, “Elmo” just as convincing as you please.
It's Campbell Time! 