Our Trip to the Windy City Was a Breeze!

Knowing that Heidi had been born made Emma and me want to get there as soon as we could. Thankfully our drive to Charlotte (Emma only mentioned how long the drive was 50 times during the 2 hours and 45 minutes) and our two flights went smoothly. The only thing that I could kick myself about was that I forgot to bring a camera. I didn't get any pictures of Emma at the airport or on the plane. If this weren't a family blog, I'd have a few choice words to say to myself.

Peter picked us up at the airport with Sophia sleeping in the car. Getting Emma to sleep that night was a chore, but once she was out, she was out. Unfortunately, Sophia was sick and wasn’t in the mood to do anything but be held. Emma was so excited to play with her. Thankfully, when Donielle came home Sunday afternoon Emma had someone else to concentrate on.


On Sunday evening, Emma and I also got to visit with my parents and my sister, Meridith. It was so nice to see so many members of my family. Emma had been looking forward to seeing Grandpa just as much as the baby and Sophia. Heidi was universally loved and adored by all. Isn’t that a surprise.

Once the Motrin kicked in for Sophia, she was up and running. It didn't take long for Emma and Sophia started to play and become fast buddies. Yes, they argued over toys, but Emma usually could be convinced to make Sophia happy. I told her I knew how hard it was to be the biggest. Everything seemed to be so unfair. We bonded about that. Sophia was so excited about Emma that Emma became the first person she called by name: Memma. It is so darn cute.

On Tuesday I took Emma and Sophia to the Brookfield Zoo. It was nippy outside, but the girls really seemed to enjoy seeing all of the animals. I have to admit that I was bored to death at zoos when I was a child, but I love seeing Emma’s reactions. It makes me excited to see the animals, too. Emma’s favorite animals were the cheetahs and the polar bear. Mine was the male lion. I’d never seen one before. We were so close to it that you actually were able to appreciate how huge and beautiful they are.

Tuesday Peter and I took the girls to the Shedd Aquarium (Curarium in Emma-speak). Emma and I paid to see the dolphin show and it was so wonderful. I love to watch the dolphins porpoise across the water. The finale of the show was having the four dolphins jump in unison four times in a row. It was very exciting. I think that we could have spent a full day there and still would have wanted to explore. We got to see the beluga whale and the baby born in July. We sang “Baby Beluga” a couple of times. People might have given us funny looks, but we were so happy that we didn’t notice.

After the aquarium closed Peter took us to China Town to eat. I’ve never been to China Town before. Even the Walgreens nearby had Chinese wording on its sign. It was very interesting. Peter took our pictures in front of our animals and then we ate a wonderful dinner. Peter tried to get me to eat things that I wouldn’t normally eat. At least I picked a type of pork dish that I’ve never had before. We both missed Danny and Allison a lot while we were gone. We made sure to bring back some lip gloss and a baby penguin animal for Allison. Still, it was sad to leave Donielle and Peter’s beautiful family, too. It was even sad for me to leave Chicago. There is so much to do and experience there. It makes me long to live in a bigger city. I’ll just have to be sure that we plan a family vacation there someday.