Chicago

Before I get into our trip last weekend to Chicago, I wanted to share Lucy's new favorite toy - a little basketball.  She holds it whenever we let her, including in the stroller when we go for walks so I wanted to capture a few pictures of her holding it.  Her hair has gotten quite a bit longer so she's been sporting a "top of the head" ponytail at night.  

 We went into Chicago last week and had a great, but busy time.  We started our weekend with a trip to the Children's Museum at Navy Pier.  The museum was great and both kids had a great time.

 After lunch, we headed to Shedd Aquarium, which was pretty cool but very crowded.  Charlie was especially excited to see the sharks, the beluga whales and the penguins.  The aquarium had a "pretend that you're a penguin" display next to the actual penguin's habitat, which included a floor-to-ceiling fake rock.  I leaned over to wipe Lucy's nose and when I stood back up, Charlie was at the top of the rock structure, inches away from the ceiling.  I was wondering where the stairs were that he used to climb to the top when an aquarium employee came over the speaker system asking for the parent/guardian to remind the children that penguins cannot climb rocks and that everyone needs to stay on the group.  What a stinker - a fast, climbing stinker.

 On Friday night we enjoyed pizza with Sam, Angie, Kendall and Jack, which was great.  Saturday was Cubs game time!  Angie and I had to laugh as we walked to Wrigley that with the strollers, diaper bags and kids, BJ and Sam were hardly recognizable to their previous Cubs' game experiences.

 A quick family photo - clearly Charlie still has to work on keeping his eyes open for pictures.

 I think that Lucy is a Cubs fan - she was great during the game.  Happy to sit on our lap and smiled constantly.

 Because the game coincided with the Kentucky Derby, we received "Derby-esque" hats upon arrival.  The hat provided endless entertainment for Charlie and Kendall.

Speaking of Kendall and Charlie - these two were some popcorn-loving fools.  I think that they both ate their weight in popcorn.  At some point, they were deliriously giggling and shoveling popcorn in their mouths while standing a few inches apart.

We stopped for some great ice cream on our walk back from the game and although Lucy wasn't interest in the ice cream, she was happy with the company.

 Following the Cubs game, we spent the night with our friends Dave, Laura and their family.  As I told Laura, we weren't at the best versions of our selves (tired, dirty, etc.) and I don't think that my camera even left our car.  It was great to catch up with Dave and Laura, to see how their 3 oldest kids have grown and to meet their daughter Jordyn.

Finally, I had a great Mother's Day today.  It was a pretty low key day, but we went out for lunch and enjoyed time outside this afternoon.  The daycare did a great job of helping the kids with cards for me - Charlie's class made magnets for their moms and completed a questionnaire regarding their moms (he said that my favorite food is meatballs and my job is to wash tables - hilarious) and Lucy's teacher included a cute photo with a sweet poem.

We look forward to seeing our moms over the next few weeks!