Our agenda for the second day was much simpler than the first day. We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, where I failed miserably at an attempt to compromise with Leah. I told her she could wear her hair any way she wanted if she would wear the shirt I picked out. Her hairstyle choice was "long", and she pulled the clips out of her hair 5 minutes after I put them in, hence the abundance of scraggly hair pictures. I tried.
While trying to find our way around town Leah and I hopped out of the car to check out the "El" and get some Dunkin' Donuts. Sadly, they weren't that good. I guess my tastes have changed since high school, when I last had easy access to Dunkin Donuts. (and on a completely un-Chicago-related side note, they do not sell Stephens hot chocolate in Indiana! Sad, sad day.)
We found our way to the Shedd Aquarium - which was tricky since the Chicago marathon was going on that morning and a lot of the roads were closed.
Adam fell asleep in my arms as soon as we got to the aquarium, and I ended up holding him for 2 hours while he slept! I didn't have any of my many slings or wraps with me, and my arms were so achy when he finally woke up!
Both kids still had plenty of time in the stroller, though.
We just loaded Adam up on goldfish crackers and popcorn and he was set! (I hope I don't actually have to say this, but yes, that was a joke.)
The aquarium was amazing. We saw dolphins, beluga whales, sting rays, penguins, and lots of sharks.
After the aquarium, a drive along Lake Michigan, and a quick stop at some yacht club for "potty!" we headed to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Again, not as amazing as it was when I was younger, but it was great seeing it through Leah's eyes.
All in all, the trip was great. It was so good getting away from school, the house, phones, and the computer to just spend time together as a family. And I think it really helped with Adam's home-bodiness. He is happier in the carseat now, and has started only waking up once a night to eat during a 12 hour stretch. Amazing!
And for anyone who has actually made it to the end of this post, I will reward you by telling you that the two pictures I posted were clues to two of my family's favorite movies. The first picture of the Chicago Sun-Times represents Never Been Kissed, and the second picture is of the Illinois welcome sign. It says "The Land of Lincoln" and represents That Thing You Do. Were you close?
We trick-or-treated around our cul-de-sac first, which gave us a chance to meet some of our new neighbors. 
Then we had a trunk-or-treat with church friends. Leah loved trick-or-treating with Tinkerbell and "Lightning the Queen". 
Then we headed home to check out the candy
which Leah generously shared with Adam.
It was really foggy the other day. There are TONS of cornfields and cemeteries around here, so it was a little spooky. I'm just glad I wasn't with Jason in the cornfield!
Whew! He made it out alive!
The onlooker...
Modeling sticker "hair clips", dancing to the music, and taking a break to play with Adam. "Oh! He's getting fussy! I'm coming to you, baby!"
Determined to finish...
The final product (look closer to see star hair clips on all pumpkins and ghosts).
We've really been enjoying the package. Thanks Mom!
It was cold! It's usually cold here. We're learning to bundle up.
Old building... old elevator.
I tried to give Leah a speech this morning about how when Daddy goes to school he makes money for our family to buy food and clothes and fun toys, but all she wanted to know was, "Who will be the conductor?" (A key character in her latest make-believe plot.) I'm sure she appreciates all we have- I know I'm grateful for all the hard work Jason does for our family.
And he gets a lot of love from his sister, too! Look at what he has to put up with.
So, (as Leah calls you) "Buddy, Buddy", "Mr. Man", "Handsome Little "Debil", "Adam-bo-badam"
Our agenda for the second day was much simpler than the first day. We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, where I failed miserably at an attempt to compromise with Leah. I told her she could wear her hair any way she wanted if she would wear the shirt I picked out. Her hairstyle choice was "long", and she pulled the clips out of her hair 5 minutes after I put them in, hence the abundance of scraggly hair pictures. I tried.
We found our way to the Shedd Aquarium - which was tricky since the Chicago marathon was going on that morning and a lot of the roads were closed.
Adam fell asleep in my arms as soon as we got to the aquarium, and I ended up holding him for 2 hours while he slept! I didn't have any of my many slings or wraps with me, and my arms were so achy when he finally woke up! 
Both kids still had plenty of time in the stroller, though. 
We just loaded Adam up on goldfish crackers and popcorn and he was set! (I hope I don't actually have to say this, but yes, that was a joke.)
The aquarium was amazing. We saw dolphins, beluga whales, sting rays, penguins, and lots of sharks.
After the aquarium, a drive along Lake Michigan, and a quick stop at some yacht club for "potty!" we headed to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Again, not as amazing as it was when I was younger, but it was great seeing it through Leah's eyes. 
All in all, the trip was great. It was so good getting away from school, the house, phones, and the computer to just spend time together as a family. And I think it really helped with Adam's home-bodiness. He is happier in the carseat now, and has started only waking up once a night to eat during a 12 hour stretch. Amazing!
And for anyone who has actually made it to the end of this post, I will reward you by telling you that the two pictures I posted were clues to two of my family's favorite movies. The first picture of the Chicago Sun-Times represents Never Been Kissed, and the second picture is of the Illinois welcome sign. It says "The Land of Lincoln" and represents That Thing You Do. Were you close?
We are closer to Chicago than I thought- it only took two hours to get to our first stop- 
Ikea! One of the three words Leah can easily recognize, along with her name and STOP. We had lunch, played with toys and bought a few Christmas presents before heading to the Chicago temple.
I'm pretty sure in the lower picture Leah is saying, "Dad! My hands are freezing! Just take the picture!"
Even though we were all frozen by then, we headed even closer to the cold- Lake Michigan!
Leah loved the "fluffy" sand and wouldn't get near the waves. Jason helped Leah build her first sand castle. We'll definitely be back to the beach when it's a little warmer!
Again, we took turns sitting with Adam in the car- a happy baby is a happy family!
Then we headed to our hotel for the night. We had a lot of fun with Chicago-style deep dish pizza and swimming.
Possibly my favorite picture of the trip- like father, like son.
The view from our hotel room, the hotel lobby, and one tired mommy.
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Whenever Adam is soothing himself to sleep, he puts one hand in his mouth and one hand in his hair. I think we're going to have another hair-twirler on our hands!
