Chicago 2011!

January 21st we drove down to Chicago for the weekend. Our friends the Woods went too. We stayed at a great hotel right downtown and were within walking distance of all the fun shops on the Magnificent Mile. I thought I had packed mittens for Eleanor, but found that the ball in her coat pocket was actually a pair of socks. While those worked, she wouldn't keep them on. So we bought her a darling pair on clearance at the Gap. She loved those, but of course, wouldn't keep them on either. Oh good. 9 degrees out and she is not only gloveless but sucking on her fingers.
That should help with frostbite.

We persevered in keeping her warm but she seems irritated and confused by the cold. I don't blame her. Luckily we ducked in and out of stores our first night there.

The hotel was so fun. She spent a good half hour looking around every nook and cranny of our new "home". She also thought jumping on the bed was a hoot.

The reason we went to Chicago was to see Wicked. Clayton surprised me with tickets for Christmas! The Woods would watch Eleanor while we did that, so we watched their little one while they went out to dinner and a show the first night. Benson is sooo stinking cute. He and Eleanor played really well together. He would crawl around after her where ever she went. Then she would proceed to maul him with hugs or whatnot.

He's so cute!

Luckily I kept a real close eye on him, and if he did anything dangerous or gross, like say... suck on a knob of a hotel dresser, I was right there to take a picture. Sorry Mandy!The next "morning" (I use the term loosely, we aren't the earliest of risers.) we all went to breakfast at this place called Yolk. Oh my gosh, it was amazing!
Here is little E sucking on some bacon.

This would be my spread. Like, all of it. I only ordered the eggs hollandaise and a banana/nutella crepe, but I seemed to have ended up with about thirty sides.

Eleanor helped as best she could.

Benson enjoyed bananas.

Later that day we got to go see our musical! Here is Clayton, what a good sport!

And big ol' me! Would you like to know that I have been pregnant each and every time we have visited Chicago together?

I was so excited! I read the book about ten years ago and have had the soundtrack for at least 5 years. So I was very
ready to finally see this show!

It was incredible! There was enough different from the book and enough left off of the soundtrack to give me a few surprises in the storyline. I loved it and Clayton enjoyed it too.
Musicals aren't really his thing.

Back at the hotel, Eleanor had ways of keeping occupied. Like wearing daddy's shoes while watching Mickey Mouse Club House.

Her awesome "smile".

And then trying on mom's shoes for a more feminine look.

Benson, being as cute as ever.

That night we went out for awesome food: pasta, Italian beef sandwiches, sushi, cheesecake and of course chicken nuggets. We played cards at the hotel room and Mandy introduced me to mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Have you tried them yet? The new teeny tiny ones? They're awesome! No wrappers! A better chocolate to peanut butter ratio! Sooo goood! Moving on.

Eleanor enjoyed playing with her Christmas toys Woody and Jesse while we checked out of the hotel.

And we finally managed to get a group shot right before we left. It was sooo much fun!

P.S. Clayton finally got to see his all time favorite piece of art. Picasso's The Old Guitarist. We've tried twice before to see it at the Art Institute of Chicago, but once it was on loan and once they were renovating the modern wing. Third time's a charm!
P.S. #2. I use "sooo" a few too many times in this post, but I really mean it!

Catching Up is Tedious

I still have scads of December posts to catch up on, but yawn. I'd rather just blog about how tired I am. Doesn't that sound awesome? I've been pretty quiet on the pregnancy front this time. I imagine it is nice for everyone to not hear my every thought on every sensation this time around. That is the beauty of having done it once before I guess. And being a mom keeps me busy enough to not be so preoccupied by all the changes. Eleanor is as cute as ever. The other day I tried french braiding her hair. It was kind of funny. I've never been great at it to start with, and then add in a wiggly toddler who doesn't want her hair tugged on, and you get this:

Nice part!In other pregnancy news, look what has happened to me! Look at my recycling! The saddest part (and I really mean that) about being pregnant is that my Diet Coke tastes "off" now. I keep trying it every other week or so to see if the magic is back, but to no avail. It's breaking my heart. However, I still need the punch of carbonation apparently so I've taken to Sprite mixed with juice. I recommend Peach Nectar and Sprite, it's so good.
Today has been another banner day in productivity. I have been eating brownies and watching the whole season of Freaks & Geeks. I'd never seen it before and I am loving it. Another recommendation for you all. How is Eleanor's movie watching going? I'm so glad you've asked. Now, along with Toy Story 1,2 & 3 and Elmo, she also enjoys Ice Age 1 & 2, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Monsters Inc and The Incredibles.

Aside from my laziness, today is exciting for tomorrow we are going to Chicago! For Christmas Clayton got me tickets to go see Wicked! I have been dying to see this for years! We are going with some good friends of ours so we can swap babysitting while we each do something fun. So excited! Then, on Monday I have my ultrasound! I cannot wait to find out the gender of our little whatchacalit. I would love to hear that I am actually three weeks ahead of where I think I am, as I am already enjoying some symptoms that happened much later with Eleanor. Waddling, popped out belly-button, heartburn and trouble sleeping. See- haven't you missed my pregnancy updates?

I will have to get back to December soon and then catch up on January. Let's hope I am done by Valentine's Day! But don't hold your breath.

Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day Clayton and I have a grand tradition of saying we are not going to do anything for each other, then breaking our promises. He surprised me a few days early by picking up these prints for the baby. They are by his friend JJ. I saw one on his blog a while back that I adored. It's of these two robots in love on a moped in Paris. JJ didn't have it for sale on his site:

http://www.bampop.com/

but Clayton asked him to make a print and now we have it for our baby's room.

Here it is sans frame.

And Clayton got one that he loved as well. It's called Ice Cream Social. Note all of the robot superheroes. JJ also has a whole series of ninguins that are pretty adorable. Oh- a ninguin is a ninja penguin of course.

So I got an amazingly thoughtful gift of super-cute prints, and Clayton gets... frames for them. Ya. I am a wild romantic. Poor guy. Is there such a thing as a romantic V-Day gift for guys? Madden? He already has it. Anyhow- we did even more for the "big" day. We flew to Chicago!
If any of you are keeping track of the creepy floating baby off to the right here, you may have noticed that I am a few weeks away from delivering. I got the wary ok from my doctor, but was too chicken to ask her for a formal letter saying I could fly. The good news is that Delta has no restrictions for flying. You can fly on your due date if you want to. The bad news is that Delta has no restrictions... so ya- we went. And it went fine. We had gone in October but wanted to go back for one reason. Clayton's all time favorite art piece (Picasso's The Old Guitarist) is at the Art Institute of Chicago. When we went in October the Impressionist wing was closed, so we couldn't see it. It opened back up in December. However, for a reason no one could explain fully to us, it isn't on display right now. Argh! Poor Clayton. We had a great time anyways, and really enjoyed the exhibit of photographer Yousef Karsh. You can check him out here:

http://www.karsh.org/

Even without the Picasso, we had a wonderful time.

Here is Clayton in front of the Sears Tower on Adams street. He looks a little pained, but it really wasn't that cold. Of course I am a traveling E-Z Bake Oven, so maybe my opinion on temperatures doesn't count. Our hotel was right behind Clayton in this picture. Just between the Sears Tower and the museum, and a train ride from the airport. I love the convenience of not renting a car.

We had dinner at a great sushi restaurant called Oysy. Lest you think that I am breaking all of the pregnancy rules, rest assured that I only ate what I should. Also- sushi gets a bad rap. As long as you watch for the fish you shouldn't eat anyways, (ones with possibly high mercury) sushi is only as dangerous as a cold cut sandwich. (Did you know that you aren't supposed to eat cold cuts when you are pregnant either? Ya- lots of fun rules.)

Here is a picture of the rolls. The one on the right is a dragon. Cute food is always better.

This is an untitled piece by Picasso. Familiarly called the Chicago Picasso. Not the one we went for, but great none the less.

Here is a comparative shot of me from our trip in October at four months. John Singer Sargent is one of my favorites.

And in front of the same Sargent piece in February. Notice anything different?

Here is Clayton and a Rembrandt. One of his favorite artists.

And here we are outside. The weather was lovely, and we really enjoyed our LAST trip until the baby comes. I swear. Once she's here, who knows, but for now I am staying put.

Chicago!

Hello! I had a 25 hour layover in Chicago so Clayton flew in to join me in exploring the city. We had a wonderful guide in Clayton's old friend Tosh. He has been living there for over 7 years and knew all the ins and outs. We took the train into town and met up with him at the Art Institute of Chicago. We had about a half hour before the museum opened so Tosh showed us the Millennium Park about a block away. They have some great public art pieces like this giant chrome jelly-bean. You can walk all the way under it, and take some crazy pictures.

Here is my self portrait of Clayton and I.

And here are Tosh and Clayton under the bean. It reminded me of James and the Giant Peach.
Here Clayton and I are in front of the Art Institute's bronze lions.
There are hundreds of notable works here that even the least knowledgeable person would know. Like American Gothic by Grant Wood.

Sadly an entire wing was closed for renovations so we didn't get to see a few key pieces that we were looking forward to. Like The Old Guitarist by Picasso. It is Clayton's favorite piece ever. Oh well, next time. Still there was plenty to enjoy. Like John Singer Sargent, one of my favorite artists. I thought I would take my four month tummy shot next to this one, but we didn't quite get it all in the shot. Um, ya- cuz' it's that big. Sure I'm kidding, but not really. I am getting bigger by the minute. I may just have to blog about my belly button alone... but I digress. Back to the art.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges-Pierre Seurat. Can you believe he was only 26 when he painted this? Makes me feel like a slacker. Non-art fans may recognize it from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Which is required watching for a trip to Chicago. As is Adventures in Babysitting. Oh wait, is that just me?
Downstairs they have an entire exhibit of about 60 miniature rooms. Like doll houses on acid. These were incredible! Every fabric was hand woven , every chair hand carved. They looked so real. Pictures don't do the least bit of justice, but I included two so you could see the scale next to Clayton's gigantic head. I'm kidding- his head is normal sized, I'm the one that can't find hats that fit.

They had ones done in every major historical style of decorating. Did I mention they were amazing?

After the museum we walked downtown a bit for lunch. We hit the Billy Goat Tavern, a Chicago staple. They serve great burgers. It's a famous place due to the the eccentric former owner Billy Sianis. He actually owned a goat and in 1945 bought seats for himself and his odd pet for the world series at Wrigley field. They denied entrance for the goat, and Mr. Sianis cursed the Cubs that they would never win a championship as long as he lived. And they never did.

After lunch we headed up to the Hancock Center. We decided to go to the top there instead of the Sears Tower as it is almost the same height, and Tosh knew a secret to get us up free. (Completely legal.) They views were astounding. If you are headed to Chicago it is totally worth it to make time in your schedule for this. Here are Tosh and Clayton.
Here is one of the views of Lake Michigan. Note the sand at the bottom of the picture.
Well here we are on that very sand! A beautiful little beach in downtown Chicago. It is such an amazing city. After the Hancock Center we walked along the lake to the Navy Pier.

Here are Tosh and Clayton enjoying the view at the end of the pier.

We took a Ferris Wheel ride on the pier to rest our legs and enjoy the views.
Here I am next to the elevated train (the El). It is loud.
And here are Clayton and his tired, pregnant wife in front of the Sears Tower (sort of). We did it all in about seven hours and I still had to work my flight home that night. We walked our legs off- like we do in any city we are trying to conquer in one day. It's worth it for the experiences, but oh, we hurt today. A million thanks to Tosh for his expertise. We had a great time!
And here is the Sears Tower from the ground. It's a bit tall. You can't even see the top from this angle. We loved Chicago. It's like New York with a Seattle twist. Of course we had the most beautiful fall weather ever. I've heard the winters can bite, so maybe we will have to try it out then to get the whole feel.