OMG...can you believe it...A NEW POST!!! I am so excited!! It is a good one too!! I have so been neglecting the blog, but things have just been so busy! I made a vow to myself earlier this week that I would absolutely move this post to the top of my priority list and get it done! It is too important and too special not to post, so I didn't want time to get away from me!!
A little background...last Fall Scott and I decided to book a special trip for Hadley's 5th birthday. We wanted it to be just her and us, and we plan to do the same for Seville when she turns five! I am so glad we did it! It was worth every penny, every moment and every precious memory!!!
We selected Chicago as our destination for a few reasons: 1) Hadley is very amazed with large cities and always gets so excited when we go downtown, so we thought it would be really fun for her to see a bigger city. 2) They have an American Girl store and we knew we were getting her Kit for Christmas. 3) They have a great aquarium and other kid friendly activities like Navy Pier and Millennium Park!
I took well over 300 pictures during our three day trip, and narrowing things down has never been my strong suit, but I did my best! Also, it goes without saying but I took these pictures as a traveling mom wanting to enjoy every moment...NOT a photographer!!! The lighting was never right, the shot was never perfect (from a photography standpoint) and in the aquarium I couldn't even use flash, but the memories are PERFECT and that is all that matters! ENJOY!!!
Hadley turned FIVE on Wednesday, June 3rd! We boarded the plane two days later on Friday, June 5th and were in Chicago by 10:00 a.m. Of course when you are making a pilgrimage to the American Girl store you have to bring your special friends along with you. Kit and Emma accompanied us on this trip. Kit was in the backpack and Emma was in the suitcase. In case you are wondering...Seville stayed back with my Mom and Jon and had a wonderful time!!
Hadley and Kit both enjoyed their window seat on the plane!
We didn't really plan to, but the first thing we did was head to Millennium Park. We put our name on the wait list to eat at the outdoor cafe (which was really good) and then walked around the park to checkout the sites! The first thing we saw was Crown Fountain. It is two glass towers (facing each other) with flowing water and digital images of faces that constantly move and change.
About every five minutes the lips on the faces pucker up and out comes a stream of water. Kids (and adults) love playing in these fountains and it is easy to understand why...they are just FUN!
Next we headed over to the "Bean" which was on the top of Scott's list of things to see! He had actually never been to Chicago before!
The bean reflects everything, including the famous amphitheater built by Scott's company...another must see on his list!
Hadley was so pooped after multiple days of celebrating and getting up so early to catch our flight, so she took a quick nap in the stroller, which worked out great! Here is a nice family reflective shot in the "Bean" with our sweet sleeping girl!
I loved the images the "Bean" made!
Especially this one for some reason! So abstract and modern!
Okay, now these next few pics are for all of you who always wonder and ask me what Scott "really" does. He is a Project Manager for A. Zahner Company, which is an architectural sheet metal firm that does AMAZING things like this:
It is amazing and totally spectacular to view in person!
Scott studied A. Zahner buildings in architecture school and now works for them. Pretty cool when you think about it! Ahh...but it is still a job like any other job with good days and bad!
Hadley woke up while we were eating and then we took her back around the park to see all the sights! Here she is at the "Bean!"
Hadley and I are standing exactly in the middle of the circle and looking up to take this picture! Can you find us?
She will probably tell you that the floor was really cold when she did this! It was!!
Mommy/Daughter self portrait!
Scott and Hadley in front of the "Bean."
The duo running around the lawn seating at the amphitheater.
We had planned to take a boat ride around the city on Friday, but Hadley really wanted to go right to the top of the Hancock tower...so we did!
She couldn't believe there were pools on top of some of the buildings!
Here is a view of Navy Pier from the Hancock.
This is to the South.
The two tallest buildings you see are the new Trump Tower (silver one to the left) and the Sear's Tower (black one in the middle!)
Hadley was also excited to see gardens even in the city. I attribute this all to her teacher Ms. B because she certainly doesn't get her green thumb from Scott or me.
A beach right below the Hancock.
View to the North, including Lincoln Park where two of my dear friends live...Hollis and Brenda! They were both out of town last weekend, but we can't wait to go back and see them soon!
Hadley and me "cleaning windows!"
I wanted to make sure I got a few shots of Hadley and me together on the trip, so thank you Scott for making that happen!
View looking up at the Hancock as we were leaving and heading to the BEACH!
Thank goodness we skipped the boat tour and did most of our outside stuff on Friday because after that is rained off and on the whole time and was very chilly! Aren't they cute playing at the beach! He is such a great daddy!!
This is where Oprah lives! NICE!!
Building sand castles!
From the beach we headed straight over to Navy Pier. Hadley wanted to drive the boats!
We all couldn't wait to ride the HUGE ferris wheel!
View to the South...
...with our pretty girl!
View to the North.
View to the East out to the end of the pier.
View to the South again. Our hotel was just to the south of where the really tall buildings stop and the shorter buildings begin (across from Grant Park/Millennium Park/Buckingham Fountain, etc.!)
The HUGE ferris wheel from below!
Next Hadley and Scott rode the "Lighthouse!" I didn't know what she would think, but she loved it! Must be the five year old in her!
They were setting up a wedding reception right behind this neat fountain on the pier! Hadley thought it was pretty cool to stand under the water and not get wet!
After doing the Pier we had famous Chicago Style hot dogs for dinner and then Hadley just couldn't wait to go back to the hotel and change into her swimsuit so that she could go back and play in the Crown Fountain!
She had an absolute blast, and we were so sad that it was never warm enough for us to go back again!
She loved dancing and skipping around in the water! She was just fluttering all over the place like a little fairy!
On day two (Saturday) we woke up, got ready, and when we left the hotel for breakfast we were greeted with this grand wedding celebration. It was a traditional Indian wedding and the groom was riding in on a white mustang (horse) symbolizing coming from one village to another to meet his bride! It was really neat and certainly not something we see everyday in Kansas City! The guests were all happy to explain the customs to us. I found it all so interesting!
We got some donuts from Dunkin Donuts (which are like every three blocks in Chicago) and ate them facing Buckingham Fountain! Don't let this picture fool you...it was COLD!!!
Ronald McDonald was also there, but Hadley preferred to keep her distance!
Next stop...American Girl Place! Here is Hadley getting ready to enter the store!
She was little overwhelmed at first. There were so many people and so many things to look at. The store is beautiful! Her and Scott are over on the right!
This is the first floor.
This is the second floor.
This hallway is also on the second floor and leads back to the cafe!
There is a doll hair salon where you can stand in line and get your doll's hair done or ears' pierced!
Hadley and Scott standing in line (the first time) to get Kit's ears' pierced. Once they told Hadley she couldn't watch she had to reconsider.
A triple bunk bed that Hadley really has her eye on!! I can see all of our "babies" sleeping in it!
Months, and months and months ago I made us reservations to eat at the American Girl Cafe at 12:30 on Saturday! Thankfully I did because everything was completely sold out for the entire day, which I am sure if often the case on weekends! Hadley absolutely loved sitting down to eat with her two favorite dolls on either side of her! Any overwhelming feelings she had about the store were instantly gone!!
Another Mommy/Daughter shot for the memory book!
Can't forget the Daddy/Daughter shot either!
Everything in the cafe was soooo adorable!!!!
They brought Hadley a little gift and party hats for her dolls!
After a round of fresh, hot, gooey cinnamon rolls they brought this as our appetizer!
Hadley made sure that her special guests were both well fed! Aren't the little doll tea sets cute!!!
Another view of the cafe from sitting at our table! We got to sit right by a window!
Hadley's meal came with an adorable fruit kabob!
She ordered the Mini Picnic complete with mini mac-n-cheese, mini cheeseburger and mini hot dog.
After lunch they brought her out the cutest cake with FIVE glowing candles!
Make a wish, sweetie!!!
Family shot!! Yeah! Those so rarely happen because I am always behind the camera!
Hadley with her slice of cake and flower pot peppermint ice cream!
Okay, this picture was sort of planned. We went to the bathroom once and just had to go back in a take a picture because inside the stalls they have special hangers for your dolls. So neat! Who thought of that?!?!
Here is a closer look!
After lunch Hadley had a change of heart about piercing Kit's ears and decided to go through with it! Here is the before shot!
And the AFTER!!!
We wanted to use this shopping experience as a good life long learning lesson that you can't always get everything you want...even if it is your birthday. She had some money from Grandparents and a little from us, so we went around and put anything she liked in a bag and then sat down in a quite corner and discussed what she really wanted, what could wait for Christmas, etc., all the while keeping her budget in mind. She did very good and typically never asks for more than we are willing to buy. She has heard me say many times in life "that is too expensive for us!"
Here she is back at the hotel with all of her loot!!
She was really more into the accessories and toys rather than the clothes, which kind of surprised me. She got things like a doll wheelchair, a little doll TV, doll sized sleeping bag and pillow, glasses and earrings for Kit, etc. She wanted to play with everything right away, so we took a quick break in our room to do just that!!
I took these pics out our hotel room window. We had a GREAT view! This is to the South and the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium are all in this picture! We used Priceline.com and got a great deal on our room!
This is straight out our window facing East looking out over Grant Park.
This is to the North looking out over Buckingham Fountain, Millennium Park and Navy Pier.
Close-up of the Aquarium (in front) and Planetarium (in back!)
Close-up of Navy Pier...and Oprah's building!
Saturday night we ate famous deep dish Chicago pizza at Lou Malnati's! It was so delicious! I have been craving it ever since! We ordered sausage and the sausage is so different from Kansas City (plus of course the pizza crust!) I can't wait to go back!
Since it was too cold to go back and play in the Crown Fountain on Saturday night we opted for the hotel pool instead. Unfortunately, they were doing work on our hotel pool, so we just got to go over to the Palmer House Hilton a few blocks away!
Hadley so wanted to stay up for the fireworks at Navy Pier (which we could see from our room), but she didn't quite make it. They were at 10:15 and she made it to about 10:00. She was so upset the next morning, but mommy took some pictures for her!
You can see the water from Buckingham Fountain shooting up below the fireworks!
On Sunday our only plan was to go to Shedd Aquarium. We ended up spending 4.5 hours there! It is such a great place!
Looking back from Shedd there was a neat view of our hotel with the Sear's Tower in the background.
We got to Shedd just in time for the 10:30 feeding in the large saltwater tank!
Then we went to see a show in their newly reopened Oceanarium area! Notice that Emma was always close by.
Scott and Hadley waiting for the show to start! Emma was on her lap. Kit was in the bag next to her!
My favorite...the beluga whales! So neat!
Could they be any cuter!
Hadley playing in the fake touch tank...
...and touching a REAL starfish!
Getting ready to watch our 4-D Sponge Bob Square Pants movie! What is 4-D you ask? Well, it is 3-D plus the fourth element of actual sensations. There were leg ticklers, seat movement, puffs of air on your neck, back pokers and Hadley's FAVORITE...squirting water that smelled like real pickle juice! I must admit, it was pretty cool! I will never forget...she said in the cutest voice "Oh my gosh, I just got pickle juice in my face!!" and the whole theater heard her!
Hadley and Emma getting ready for the show to start!
Our happy penguin family!
How do we look as mommy/daughter penguins?
Hadley just loved dressing up like a penguin and going down the "ice" slide!
She loved everything about the penguin exhibit!
Believe it or not the thing she wanted to see most at the aquarium was a tarantula. Good thing they have them there since it isn't really an aquatic animal. She was not scared one bit and sat right up front as close as she could sit!
Yuck!
Double yuck! Mommy does NOT like spiders!
Blue tree frogs are pretty cute, though!
I am absolutely terrified of snakes, so even posting this pic gives me the hebejebies!!!
On the way back from the aquarium we stopped and played at the leg statues. We had seen them out our hotel window and wanted to take a closer look!
They were really fun to play chase/tag in!!
That girl sure can run fast!
We headed back downtown for dinner and I realized that I had forgot to take a picture of the outside of American Girl Place. Here it is if you were wondering. It is in Water Tower Place right next to the Hancock!
Hadley being super silly!! She was a stroller queen for the weekend, but with all the walking we did it was probably (actually definitely) better that way!
We ate at Portillo's on Sunday night, which was recommended to us by our friends Kelly and Kyle, and we totally loved it, but I forgot to take a picture! We did however pass by the Weber Grill Restaurant! Go figure! I had no idea there was such a thing!!
Monday morning we got up bright and early to come home and be reunited with our sweet baby girl! I wonder if she will pick Chicago for her five year trip or someplace different!
2 comments:
Yay for posting!!! What a precious time. I loved the photo of you and Hadley in the Bean reflection. If Seville decides to go when she's 5, March is much colder than May... Maybe she'll pick a beach :)
Happy Birthday Hadley, you're such a beautiful 5 year old.
Looks like you all had an awesome time! What a very special trip....love all the pictures! Happy 5th Birthday, Hadley! We love you!
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