Picnic!

Oh, the fun summer brings. Just not having to get two little ones bundled up makes it so much easier to be spontaneous. Like deciding to have a little picnic!

On our way out, I noticed that all of the tulips along the driveway to our building were blooming--and what amazing colors! So, I asked the kids to hop off of the stroller and take a seat for an impromptu photoshoot (so glad I did, we got a cold front the next day and many of the petals were blown away). Please forgive the fact that Hamilton is out of focus in all of these. You think after taking a college course on photo stuff, I'd have figured out the depth of field/aperture by now--but apparently not!

Brother and Sister

Something funny going on--I don't think I was in on the joke.

I just love the look on her face in this one.

After a quick workout, we headed to Grant Park for a picnic. My children have heard all about these "picnics" and thought they were the coolest (well, at least Hamilton did). Unfortunately, I am not the momma who's gonna take them out for a Chicago winter picnic, so they had to wait. We kept it simple, PB sandwiches with grapes. We ended up picking a shady spot close to the pathway home (and bathrooms, in case that became a necessity). So, yes, we were pretty close to Michigan Avenue, which is kinda an odd setting for a picnic. Oh well!

This boy loves finding sticks--and they were all around!

Excited to be eating outside.

Then Hamilton announced that he wanted to climb the "mountain." Veronica followed for a while, but got distracted by a squirrel (or maybe a bird).

Then she came back and decided to play ball with me.

We all climbed the mountain, er hill, together.
At the top, I tried to get another couple of shots in. Here, I asked Hamilton to hug Veronica. I think she was skeptical.

At this point, I made a mental note that although our stoller no longer needed a stash of extra gloves, scarves, etc., I'd probably get some sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats to shade these little toeheads. So I popped Veronica into the stroller and announced to Hamilton that we were stopping for his birthday ice cream cone (Marble Slab sent him a coupon for a free one).

Despite that offer, Hamilton didn't want to pass up a chance the Agora structures as we exited Grant Park. Shortly after taking this picture, he excitedly announced that he had found a spider web.


We did eventually get the ice cream (after realizing that Marble Slab wasn't open--eek!).

Unfortunately, by then, little girl was out.

A Puggle No Longer

Hamilton has been enjoying participating in the Awana/Puggles program at our church this year. He's enjoyed it so much that he's actually dubbed our entire church "Puggles." As in, "Where are we going Hamilton?" "We're going to Puggles." (whether or not it is Sunday, Wednesday or some other day in between).

But, alas, all good things must come to an end. As of the awards ceremony this past Wednesday, the year of the Puggle came to an end. Such a momentous occasion deserves its own post, surely!


The bus ride up was particularly long and warm, which could put anyone to sleep. (That bruise was a week old at this point and looks a bit worse now than when he originally took a tumble).


Fortunately, he awoke in time to accept his certificate of participation. Here he is waiting next to the stage with Freeman.


But in actuality, he wasn't 100% back and ready to go, because when Miss Cynthia called his name, he yelled out, "No!" Freeman helped him to save face and accepted the certificate on his behalf.

After returning to our seats, he became more interested in his "Puggles Paper" and asked Freeman to read it for him.


But really, the highlight was the celebratory chocolate chip cookie at the end!

Sunny Days...Where Have You Gone?

*Bonus points for anyone who can name the song that contains the lyrics from the title of this post.*

Actually, now that we're into May, we've had some more sun and temperatures above 50. Hooray! If this year in Chicago is like the past, we'll all forget that winter lasts through April and be mesmerized by the beauty of the city in the summer.

The kids and I are really looking forward to days at the parks and walks along the lake, but on the first warm day, there was no doubt about where we were headed: the Zoo!

A friend clued me into a great indoor climbing area and since Veronica was napping in the stroller when we arrived, we headed there first.


The entire structure is about 2 stories high where kids can climb from "leaf" to "leaf" from one end to the other. Hamilton wasn't quite sure as he started off.

And this is the point where he was looking down and asking me to help him--which was pretty much impossible given Veronica sleeping in the stroller and, well, I am not sure I could make it quite that high without getting stuck. Fortunately, a very kind 4 year old, Elliot, took Hamilton under his wing and helped him all the way through.

It was sweet, Elliot said (several times), "I'll tell you where to go! Because I've done this lots and this is your first time."

Elliot's mom called up, "You are doing great!" Hamilton responded (very empathetically), "Yes! I am!"

After that adventure, we checked out the animals in aquarium-like containers in the same room. There were several of Hamilton's favorites: snakes, turtles, toads, and owls. The one that he brought up several days later, though, was the stick bug. Those are some pretty cool creatures!

Veronica woke up, so we made our way outside to check out the black bear, polar bear, rhino, giraffe, and sun bear. Veronica did say "Hi!" to each of the animals, but I think she was more excited that she was able to walk around outdoors and didn't have to wear restrictive winter wear.


Hamilton did enjoy all of the animals and seems to remember more about them now than he did in past years (I still get questions about what rhinos say and what polar bears eat). Even with all of the animals, he didn't miss some of the smaller creatures the zoo "contained." Here he is excitedly checking out the ants. Then he noticed his shadow. Whoa, the excitement never stops.

Well, the zoo excitement did end up stopping when it was time to meet Freeman for dinner and then head to church for Awana. Even then, though, the Team Whitney party went on.

Oh, we love the warmer weather!

What can I say...

...the girl likes her salsa!

Favorite Outfit and Favorite Activity

Hamilton's into clothes. He loves dressing up, wearing layers, changing clothes, trying on Veronica's clothes...you name it. Until recently, he had a hard time with the decision making process on getting dressed. I'd pull out two shirts and ask which one he wanted to wear; he would choose both and layer them on top of one another. More recently, though, he's been picking outfits before I have a chance to get him dressed and this one seems to be a favorite:

Notice the blue belt (yes, he picked that out, too). Please don't notice the need for a haircut--that's on the schedule for this week.

Veronica dresses up, too. I think her favorite activity, though, is climbing. She will climb on top of whatever she can find, though most often it is the kitchen table. This little expedition was in an effort to play with daddy's bike (Sorry for the photo quality. I was trying to capture the moment and then quickly stop her!)

From a couple of months back...

I won't be going back over the past 3 (!) months since I last posted and recount all that's happened, but as I was going back over photos today, these two stood out and made me smile, so I thought I'd share.

This is really the only time I've seen Veronica fall asleep this way. I didn't dare move her for fear of waking her, but the next time I checked on her she had sprawled out in a more comfortable position.

Hamilton decided the best way to help me at I cleaned out the fridge one day was to place all of the eggs in the space that the produce drawers usually take up (I was washing them). He was so pleased with his work (and I was pleased he didn't break any eggs).

Whales go SPLASH!

Freeman and I suspect that, at some point, somebody is going to tell Hamilton and Veronica that it is not typical of most childhoods to spend several days a month at an aquarium or museum. But, seriously, it would be hard not to take advantage of the free days, library passes and memberships since the Museum Campus is about 2 miles from our front door. Even us car-less city people can pull that off!


Usually, when we plan to visit the aquarium, we head out in the morning and get there just as the fish are being fed and the tanks are being cleaned. There is usually almost no one there on a weekday at 9 am, which makes taking a toddler and an infant there much easier.

But the other day, it wasn't 9 am...it wasn't even noon...but 2 pm and we needed to get OUT, so we packed up and jumped on the 146 and were at the Shedd right before their last whale/dolphin show of the day. We got to the amphitheater with 5 minutes remaining and were able to sit in the third row!

Here's Hamilton waiting for the show to start. You can't tell from this photo, but he's several feet away from me. He wanted to "sit by myself, mom."

Veronica, on the other hand, was happy to sit on my lap and enjoy the show (well, really, enjoy the audience enjoying the show).

Hamilton's summary of the show: "Whales go SPLASH!"

After the show, we headed down to the Polar Play Zone. Unfortunately, it's not very well-lit and flash isn't allowed, so I have yet to get any pictures that really show what a great area it is for little ones.

Veronica's learning about the climates of different species of penguins' habitats.

Hamilton and Veronica both very intrigued by the boy dressed as a penguin coming out the of "cave."

Usually Hamilton refuses to go through the cave tunnel...you can't see the end and it makes him a little nervous. This time, though, he worked up the courage to follow this penguin boy in on his next round. Maybe it was the penguin costume that helped him get through to the other side (or maybe it was the fact that someone else entered the tunnel after him and he had no choice). In either case, he was pretty pleased with himself.

Veronica, on the other hand, was quite happy to adventure on through the tunnel several times.

After touching the starfish, driving the submarine, sliding down the iceberg, and saying hello to countless sea creatures, it was time to head home.

As we walked to the bus, Hamilton let me know that next time he'd like to go to the dinosaur museum (Field).