- Myyyyy kind of town... -

...Chi-caaago is!

I ain't no Frank Sinatra, but I am a meager little momma who perks up her ears when someone throws down a proposal for a mini-roadtrip to the Windy City!  My parents have a timeshare that we're occasionally allowed to use and abuse, and they were gracious enough to offer it up again this fall!  Chi-town is a 4+ hour drive from our house, so we set our alarms for 5am and hit the road! #doittoit  Some of us were more excited than others:

...But a Starbucks run for the adults + a sun-shaded nap for the toddler made us 3 for 3 in the smiling faces department!  We made it to the hotel in record time factoring in a short stop for gas/breakfast and then another semi-short stop to clean up Harper's motion sickness accident [I blamed it on the rear-facing carseat, Brian blamed it on the gas station muffin she begged us into buying her in Pontiac, IL -- regardless, this is not our first rodeo with carseat vomiting and so it's probably some sort of combination of the two -- and I am really thankful I packed three baby blankets for the trip because the leftover fast food napkins in the glove box would've caught like 1/58th of the explosion].

 Ennnn-e-wayz,

...Hello, Chicago!!!

We were on the 19th floor of the hotel and the room's view was AWESOME [as not evidenced by this photo where all you can see is Trump Tower, but you catch the drift] and this little windowsill quickly became Harper's favorite perch for the duration!  She loved watching cars and people and trains and boats and dogs and bicycles, and both nights before we closed the blinds she said "nigh-nighhhh" to the moon.  Sweet baby princess, we love you and your inquisitive innocence so much!!!

 

Vacation means shopping on Main Street and eating snacks when it's not really snack time...

...and sleeping in a king-sized bed with Mommy and Daddy...

...annnnnnnd [the primary reason for the whole trip!] rollin' in to Shedd Aquarium!!!!! Harper loved this place so much!

 Each exhibit kept getting better and better!

The fish and whale tanks were a huge hit, but all corals/sea urchins/eels/sponges/starfish were "ewww grahhhhh" ........figures.

On to the dolphin and sea lion show! 

She scoured each tank and spotted each fish and I don't think she missed one SINGLE thing...and now all she wants for Christmas is a new pet shark...

...and an iPad.

[[ ^^ Mad props to the stranger who did jumping jacks and cartwheels while trying to take a decent family photo for us, but Little Miss just wasn't impressed!]]

The last day brought a view of the skyline, breakfast at Wildberry [!!!!!], a session of leaf-collecting, and a walk through Millennium Park and The Bean!  Family fun-time all aroundddd.  And the weather was amazing! [I was there in November a few years ago with Brian's mom and aunts and sisters and it was ..F.R.E.E.Z.I.N.G...C.O.L.D.. to the bone! Scarves and mittens and multiple coats were the necessity, so I was expecting the worst for this trip, too... Turns out it couldn't have been more perfect!]

 I love these two more than words can say!!! 

So thankful we got to share this time as a family and watch our little Harper Bear explore and wonder and grow!  Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for letting us use your hotel!  A few hours on the road + 1/4 tab of Children's Dramamine per pediatrician's recommendation = a successful equation for arriving back home safely!  

Until next time, Chicago........... :-* :-*

- {Bucket List} - Carve the PERFECT pumpkin! -

One of Harper's first words [or maybe the first???] was "ew gross" -- AKA "ew grahhhhhh" -- with the -ahhhhhh being extended on and on for super gross things such as anyone's unpainted toenails or food remnants that she finds smashed and dried under the wheels of her highchair. She rattles off "ew grahhhh" and "oh boyeeeee" [oh boy] on repeat when she has an audience and finds extreme satisfaction when people understand what she's saying and say those words back.  

...And "ew grahhh" is exactly what she thought about this project:

[If the video isn't working, CLICK HERE to watch on Vimeo...]

^^ Many many more unprompted ew grahhhs before I broke the camera out, as you can imagine..... Dang kid never performs! ;) 

In the short time after all the goop was scooped out but before the carving began, Harper decided she was ready for a snack. So she ate while Brian slaved [but still gave several points of approval]...

...and in the end, she loved the finished product! We've been turning off all the lights and lighting the candle and displaying it proudly every evening!  ...After all, it is the PERFECT pumpkin! 

#happyfallyall #bucketlist2016 #:)