Chicago Day 5 - The End!

Our last day in Chicago!  Prior to leaving Sunday we walked around and took a few more pictures.  Let's face it, Emma takes THE best pictures.  Ever.  We walked to a little park area with a gazebo.  She thought it was pretty cool.  Her favorite part was trying to chase down a pigeon.  She loves birds. 

Wake up Daddy!

Love that face!

Pigeon!!

She loved the elevator

After we checked out and said goodbye to Chicago (always makes me sad to leave...no matter where it is), Emma decided to take a 2 hour nap in the car.  It was wonderful.  Until we got closer to home, and she had a slight meltdown.  Maybe 2 shorter naps is the way to go.  But still, we enjoyed it while it lasted.  We stopped in Indianapolis to eat at PF Chang's.  It was Emma's first time there, and we were a little worried about what exactly our picky eater would eat.  But she got kids' sweet and sour chicken and loved it.  She's crazy that way sometimes.  She was so good in all the restaurants we went to.  We stopped again about 40 miles later at the outlet mall.  We didn't stay long, but I did find Emma some cheap shoes at Stride Rite and some jeans at the Carter's outlet.  I love those places.  I went in the Coach Outlet but didn't find anything.  Shocking.  Nick was trailing behind me closely, ready to pull me back if I saw a purse I liked.  Just kidding...not really.  After that, we came home.  Like I said, around Cave City Emma started fussing.  She was tired, hungry and bored by that point, so we couldn't really blame her.

All in all, we had a great time!  It was a really fun first real family vacation.  I hope that each year we can take at least a short trip to a cool city like that.  Although I don't know if I'm willing to forgo my beach trips for it...I do love the beach and can't wait to take Emma for the first time in October. 

Chicago Day 4

Who am I kidding, no one is reading this.  But at least I'll have a way to remember what we did.

We decided to go to Navy Pier on Saturday.  We had contemplated driving to the aquarium, but it was pretty expensive and we knew we wanted to see Navy Pier and the Children's Museum.  So we headed there Saturday morning.  They didn't open until 10am of course, so we just started walking downtown.  We heard a helicopter flying above us, but didn't think much about it.  When we got closer to the river, I saw that the draw bridges were up and traffic was backing up.  People in Chicago and all big cities like to honk as it is, so they were going nuts (I would fit in so perfectly with big city drivers).  Nobody had any idea what was going on, so we just kind of stood around for a while.  Nick heard someone say they were filming Transformers 3, and we had seen on the news that they had been filming in other parts of the city earlier that week.  Anyway, the helicopter eventually started dipping under the open bridges and flying through the buildings.  Nick thought it was pretty much the coolest thing ever and says we have to see the movie now.  So we stayed there for quite a while, and by the time we made it to Navy Pier they were already open.

We went through the Children's Museum first, before it could get too crowded.  Emma would have enjoyed it a lot more if she was just a little bit older, but she still had fun.  They had a few areas just for small kids, so she could get out of the stroller and crawl around.  She loved playing with the miniature fire truck, the stoplight (it had a button that made bird sounds when pushed...she pushed it over...and over...and over), the water (she threw a fit when Nick tried to pick her up...an embarrassing loud fit.  So Nick gave in and let her play more), and the small rocking chair (until she fell out of it).

After we left the museum, we walked around Navy Pier.  It was packed with people.  They had several restaurants, some sit down type places and others fast food, and also lots of little shops.  I was able to get a few souvenirs to take home.  We ate lunch and got some ice cream, and then started walking back to the hotel.  We walked along the beach, which was really cool.  They have a wide concrete area so people can walk, jog, bike or whatever next to the water.  It was a pretty long walk, but the view was great.

After resting in the room for a while, we got hungry.  Who am I kidding, I am always hungry.  And no matter how tired or hot I just was, I get bored as soon as I'm not doing anything.  We had a few recommendations for restaurants, but ended up at Hard Rock Cafe.  And we were glad we did.  Emma liked the music, and the staff was so nice. They loved Emma, who loved all the attention. 

Here are just a couple pictures of Emma getting ready for bed.  She was in the best mood the entire time we were there.  I wish that would carry over to here, but even she seems to know that vacation is the best!  And she loves being with her Daddy.

SAHM

 http://thespohrsaremultiplying.com/heather/house-of-cards/

I read this blog post today about being a stay at home mom, and really related to it.  I'm glad to know that other parents have the same issues I do.  I get a lot of sarcastic comments (they're always "just kidding") from people that I just sit at home all day and do nothing.  Which could not be farther from the truth.  It has definitely been a big adjustment for Nick and I to figure out how to balance things, and how to not resent each other.  I feel like we often neglect our quality time together and our personal time.  But there's so little time and so many things to do...work out, bible study, read, sleep, shower, play with the dogs.  There's always something that gets left out.  BUT...I am not complaining.  I love being home with Emma at this stage in her life.  I no longer dread getting out of bed every morning because I don't want to go to work.  I don't have to hate Sunday nights.  I have a job I love.  Some days it's harder than others, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  But still, I'm just saying...it's hard and lonely and alienating sometimes.

Chicago Day 3

Friday, August 20 -

Our hotel had a pool on the top floor with a really great view of the city and Lake Michigan.  Friday was the day of the baseball game, so we had some time in the morning.  I love taking Emma to indoor pools, because no sunscreen is required!  Woohoo!  Emma hates sunscreen.  Unfortunately, the pool water was pretty cool, so we didn't spend a lot of time there.  But we both got in for a few minutes with Emma.  They also had a hot tub, which we liked a lot better, but obviously it was too hot for Emma.  She liked for us to sit with her on the side and turn on the "bubbles."  Every time they stopped, she signed for more.  We got some cute pictures.

We headed out around 10:00am, since we had to take the subway to Wrigley Field.  We decided to use the subway instead of a cab, since it was cheaper, but Nick was pretty nervous.  He kept looking around and talking about getting his concealed carry permit.  Also, he decided that Emma would NOT be allowed to go to college in a big city.  We'll have to revisit that again later, because I think it would be awesome for her (if she wants to).  Haha, he cracked me up.  Emma loved it....she checked out all the people and liked when we were above ground and she could see out of the window.  Their subway system was not too nice, but we managed to at least not get lost or mugged.  We got to the field way too early, so we walked around, took some pictures and ate lunch.  Emma just chilled in the stroller.

We went in 2 hours before the game.  Lesson learned:  once you have kids (at least young ones), you can no longer get to the ballpark as soon as it opens.  It was hot and sunny and we were sweaty.  We walked around some more, sat in the shade for a while...we did what we could to stay out of the sun.  I actually sat with Emma in the shade until she fell asleep sometime in the 3rd or 4th inning.  By the middle of the game, our seats were in the shade so it was much more comfortable.  Emma didn't sleep long so she was pretty tired (tired and hot baby = not happy baby), but I thought she did really well.  She watched some of the game, and was fascinated with all the birds flying around.  The Braves were losing going into the 9th but scored 3 runs in the top of the ninth and won.  I put Emma's rally cap on (the first time that's ever worked). 

This about sums it up

We had to take the subway back to our hotel, and apparently so did thousands of other people.  So that took a while.  Fortunately we had leftovers for dinner in the room, so we didn't have to get back out.  We were all exhausted and wanted to sit in the air conditioning, so that's what we did.  Emma got to bed early and slept for over 12 hours.  Next time, we will definitely do either a night game or get seats in the shade.  But we had a great time, and hope to go back.

Chicago Day 2

I love it when Emma sleeps just a few minutes later in the morning and I have some unexpected time to myself!  So, here's what we did on Thursday in Chicago.

We decided that Thursday would be zoo day.  The zoo, and really everything else in Chicago, didn't open until 10:00am (what do people do before 10?  Do they not have kids?).  So we had to kill some time first, which we did by walking down Michigan Avenue (the Magnificent Mile).  There are shops all down the street; of course, they weren't open yet, so we walked down to the river and took some pictures.

Watching Curious George in the room

After that, we headed to the zoo.  The Lincoln Park Zoo is free, which was pretty awesome.  Emma was in the stroller, which made it hard for her to see some of the animals.  Nick wanted to get her out for everything, but once she's out she really prefers to not go back in.  So that was fun.  She's too heavy to carry around all day.  She got to see a black bear, which she loved!  It walked back and forth in front of her.  She kept signing "more." 

She also loved the monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas.  I learned the difference between monkeys and apes...apes don't have tales and monkeys do.  I never knew that.  They had some huge gorillas that sat right next to the window so she could put her face right up to them.  Unfortunately a lot of the animals weren't out or were hiding inside because it was so hot.  We saw some zebras, camels, kangaroos, giraffes, ducks, flamingos, birds, penguins and many more, but Emma was starting to wear down by then.  We were able to see a couple of lions, who were lying next to the glass. 

They had this cool little farm area with cows, pigs, goats and ponies, but Emma fell asleep before we got there.  Although it was really really hot, Emma seemed to enjoy all the animals.  Nick and I had a lot of fun watching her reaction to the animals.  This was the first time that she was old enough to kind of know what was going on.  She would get excited and point to an animal and ask "What's that?" which actually sounds something like "ooh dat." 

After the zoo, we all had naptime before dinner.  We ate at Cheesecake Factory, which was less than a block from our hotel.  Emma kept staring and waving at the people sitting beside us.  The entire time.  She has suddenly become this social little person, which is funny.  She needs constant attention from everyone.  The restaurant was downstairs, and like most places we went in Chicago, not too stroller friendly.  We had to take Emma out, take out all of our stuff, fold up the stroller and carry it all down steps.  We looked for an elevator on the way out, but we only needed to go up one level and the elevators all skipped that floor.  It was bizarre.  We were really surprised how many places were like that.  We had a hard time maneuvering around Chicago with a baby. 

Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory

Cheesecake Factory is down the steps