More from family photo day

A little bit of Emmeline in my life

I'm not sure if the boogers came before
or after the tissues.

"So this button gets me Sports Center..."  (Note: remote upside down.)

Per Aunt Laura's request

Oliver does Chicago

Last Sunday, Wes and I took Oliver to Chicago.  We talked this summer about taking a true family vacation with just the four of us, but with other traveling there wasn't really time.  We also realized that a trip to any town would be a  little hard with Emme still being so young, and she wouldn't really get much out of it.  Then Wes found out that he had two trips to Chicago in October, and we decided to make one of them a trip for the three of us.  We would get to have the experience of a family trip with Oliver, who is old enough to enjoy parts of it, and we could wait until next summer, when Emme will be older and walking, to try something with all four of us out of town.

We talked the trip up a lot before going.  We explained to Oliver all the of the travel that would be involved, people and things we would see, and where Emme would be while we were away (at home,with my mom, who came into town to stay with her -- a treat, I take it, for both us and her).  He talked about the trip beforehand, explaining to me what would happen at the airport and why Emme couldn't go ("it's too cold for her").

Sunday morning we got up very early.  We had an 8:00 flight to give us a full day to spend together.  Wes's conference was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, so we wanted one day that he could share with us.  Emme and Oliver actually woke up very early anyway, and the three of us had said our goodbyes and were out the door to the airport at 6:30.  Oliver had his camouflage (or "camo-garage" as he pronounces it) book bag that his Aunt Laura gave him and was proudly carrying it on his back.  I packed it with some books, our iPod Touch, and Cookie Monster, who did get out once on the plane to ride with Ollie.  The flight to Chicago was relatively easy.  Ollie only got antsy towards the end of what is a blessedly short flight.  The weather was beautiful essentially the whole time we were there, and we didn't even get the rain they'd forecast.

After taking a ride on the Orange Line from Midway to Washington/Wells, we dropped out luggage at our hotel in the loop and took off to get Oliver somewhere he could run around.  We went to Millennium Part first to see the "bean" (officially known as Cloud Gate) and check out the new walkway from the park to the Art Institute.  We then took the bus north on Michigan Avenue to have lunch at Potbelly's.  We went into 900 N. Michigan, a kind of mall setup, to eat.  This was right down the street, about two blocks, from our first apartment in Chicago.  The maternity shop where I bought my first maternity shirt and the baby store where we shopped for strollers is located next Potbelly's in this mall, and it definitely brought back memories to be there with the real-life child that resulted from that pregnancy, watching other expectant moms and dads looking around.

After lunch, we took Ollie to Lincoln Park Zoo.  We saw a seal and penguins and a tiger, plus gorillas and chimpanzees, all things we don't have at our local zoo.  We visited a playground next to the park before going back south onto Michigan Avenue.  We took Ollie next to Water Tower Place to see the "jumping water" next to the escalators, to the Lego store, and to the food court, where we shared a drink.  We found some more playgrounds around the mall and near the hospital, which Wes wanted to check out.  We saw the new Children's Memorial, now adjacent to Prentice Women's, where I delivered Oliver, and the demolition on the building where Wes's chief's office used to be.  We wandered around downtown for a bit longer until it was time to meet a friend for dinner at Bandera.  We had considered a more child-oriented restaurant like Rain Forest Cafe, but ultimately found that Bandera, a place we'd liked when we were there, is pretty kid-friendly but more palatable for adults.  Ollie did well all through dinner, which was surprising considering how tired he already was.

Sleep that night was slow in coming.  We were all in a very small room, with Oliver on a roll-away.  He wouldn't settle down to sleep until we went to bed, though, which wasn't until probably 10pm.  Wes was up before 7am the next morning for his conference, which meant Oliver and I were, too.  After breakfast at Corner Bakery, Ollie and I spent the morning at Navy Pier -- in the Children's Museum, on the ferris wheel and carousel, and along the lakefront.  We got lunch at Au Bon Pain before spending maybe two hours in the hotel room.  I was hoping he might nap, but regardless I had a paper to finish and submit before we could go back out.  In the afternoon, we took the Brown Line to Diversity to see some other friends from residency who are also now parents to two.  We took the boys to a playground.  Oliver was basically asleep by the time we got to our stop, but managed to make it through dinner back downtown at Cosi (and a hot fudge sundae at McDonalds!).  I put him in bed with me pretty early, which turned out to be a good thing since Wes was tied up at the conference until late.  He slept soundly, even when moved onto his own bed, even when Wes got up the next morning.

On Tuesday, after a very quick donut and orange juice (spill...) at Dunkin Donuts, we made our way far south on the Red Line to the Museum of Science and Industry, where we met Oliver's former babysitter, her son, and her new babysitting charges for about an hour and a half.  It was fun for us to see the other's boy "all grown up," and Ollie loved the museum.  They had to head back kind of early, but we stayed a little longer to let Oliver watch the baby chicks hatch and thoroughly check out the planes and trains.  We returned north the same way we came, through Hyde Park and onto the Red Line, then did lunch at Corner Bakery before venturing out for some Chicago paraphernalia.  After trying Macy's and another gift shop, we found the Chicago Sports & Novelty shop on N. Michigan Avenue, just south of the river, and got t-shirts for me, Ollie, and even Emme.  (I have to say, both kids look good in Cubs cobalt blue.)  We made our way back to the hotel, passing some teenage boys drumming on buckets (high interest for a preschooler), and got there just before Wes.

Our trip back to the airport was relatively uneventful, though Oliver fell asleep on the El ride.  Unfortunately, our flight was delayed and Oliver was exhausted.  After we ate, I walked around the airport with him, walking on the moving walkways and looking in the kids' gift shop, until we could board.  Wes and I were shocked he didn't fall asleep on the plane -- and in fact waited until just about two minutes before we arrived home in the car to do so.  He's slept long and well the nights since we got back.

So here are the few things I learned from our big trip to the big city:
1. The most exciting part of a trip for a 3-year-old is not the destination or the sightseeing, it's the modes of transportation.  Oliver has told everyone who knows that we traveled about his airplane ride and the pilot.  He loved the train.  He kept telling me that Thomas was pulling the train, and when the recordings played to announce the stops, he said it was Thomas talking to us.  He thought the announcements themselves -- Doors open on the left -- to be completely hilarious and would mimic them.  About the bus, he commented, "The bus is always stopping."  (On the plus side, the new bus tracker system with smartphone app is genius for telling a preschooler how long they'll have to wait for the bus.)
2. The combination of an already slow-paced 3-year-old with that of a tourist in a  big city results in a deathly slow pace.  It was truly unbelievable how slow we walked.  Add to that his state of exhaustion by the end of the trip, and he actually let me carry him to the Brown Line.  I think Wes is secretly glad he missed the last 48 hours -- I don't think he would have stayed sane with Oliver's slow pace.
3. Trips like these really show the character of your kids, and I was reminded on this one -- all alone (most of the time) with Oliver -- just how good he is.  He fusses, he says no, he sometimes acts out -- but all in all, he's a trooper.  He walked a loong way in the city.  He did things that were new and sometimes scary without complaint.  He ate -- well -- in adult restaurants and was polite and behaved himself.  It's nice in the midst of some growing pains to be reminded just how good your kids really can be.

Wes and I will not miss Chicago for long.  He goes back next Tuesday (just to O'Hare) for another conference meeting, and then I head up Wednesday night until Saturday, though flying solo this time.  I will relish the opportunity to walk at a slightly more reasonable rate there all by myself, but I won't be able to get on the plane, train, or bus without smiling at the thought of Oliver on them.

We are family

Walker-ing

Emme is now even more mobile.  Tonight I watched her, for the first time, walk across the living room with the toy walker we bought when Oliver was 13 months (and still not walking independently!).  She isn't fast, and it'll still be weeks before she's a true toddler, but she does a great job getting her feet going and pushing the walker on her own.  

Oliver tractor

My parents revealed during their recent visit that there is actually an Oliver Tractor brand (but of course...).  Ollie is now the very proud owner of two Oliver Tractor t-shirts (and three, three, tractor shirts total) and one mug with his (the company's) name on it.  The unexpected upshot: these shirts are supposed to be 3/4 sleeves but currently fit him as long-sleeved with lots of room in the body and torso.  If I can keep them from getting destroyed from overuse, he'll be wearing them for well over a year!

Beautiful baby

Double wide

Honeysuckle Hills Farm

On Saturday, Wes and I took the kids to Honeysuckle Hill Farm.  This is one of the many farm/pumpkin patch places that pop up around here in the fall so that we city folk can go out to the country for a bit, spend some of our money, pet animals, and climb on tires.  Oliver and I went to a similar one last year.  I saw the advertisement for Honeysuckle Hill this year, though, and just couldn't resist.  A sand pit?  Bunnyville?  A tractor tire playground?  They had me at "Hillbilly Pig Races."  I knew how busy Walden Farm got last year, so we made sure to be there right at 10AM when they opened.  Oliver made a bee line for the sand pit while Emme and I checked out the animals -- three little pigs, some chickens, several goats (with two babies who could climb through the gate to see the visitors up close).  Emme loved me standing her up next to the gates, where the friendlier animals would come and nudge her hand, looking for food.  The goats had clearly learned where the feed came from, and the little white goat was happy to help Oliver get it out.  We went on a hay ride, Oliver tried to ride the small-tractors-turned-tricycles (himself), and I Em explored the pumpkin patch full of pumpkins just her size.  We went back to the animals at the end for the pig races, by which time the baby goats were napping from all the excitement.  Our own babies were just as worn out, and Em, at least, fell asleep on the way home.  We definitely enjoyed the beautiful weather and will look forward to another trip out next fall.

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed...

When we put Emme in her pajamas first, Oliver thought for sure
she had taken the jammies he'd seen in his drawer.

When he realized they had matching pajamas, he was completely
amazed.  He spent the rest of the evening trying to sit right next
to her so he could show her that they were matching.

I am not bald.

The preschool perpective

Oliver got the camera again on a recent visit from my parents.  He and Grandma N. made a big tower using all of the loose Legos, and then Oliver would tear it down and ask my mom to make it again.  They were only here for a short time, but we had enough time to get in a trip to the duck pond (Centennial Park), a walk in the neighborhood with a stop at the nearby park (Sevier Park), plus breakfast at the Cracker Barrel (fussy baby = epic fail) and a long trip to the zoo.  No wonder we all went down for a nap the minute they left to drive home!

French kiss

Sharing a joke

"Two rodents walk into a bar..."

Nine months old

The rodent

And I think it's gonna rain today

It didn't, but he really liked getting
to wear his rain jacket and carry
his umbrella to school!

Vaccinated

Ollie and Emme had a pediatrician's appointment today.  This was Oliver's 3-year well-child visit and Emme's 9-month well-child visit, but it just so happened that both have had recent health complications.  Oliver had a red, swollen...boy part last week.  It has since gone away, though Oliver mentioned several times last week that it was "still bothering him."  Wes and I figured he had just picked up the language we had used to ask him if it was, in fact, still bothering him, as there were no symptoms to suggest that anything was still wrong.  But, since he is uncircumcised, we wanted to make sure there were no issues (there weren't).  Emme has been sick for almost a week -- a higher fever that kept her out of daycare last week, followed by a low-grade fever and horrible nights of sleep since Saturday.  So here's what we found out:

• Oliver can pee in a specimen cup if necessary.  He thought is was hilarious.
• Ollie is 35 lbs., 4 oz. (80th %tile) and 39" (85th %tile).  The pediatrician thinks he'll be about 6 feet tall.
• Emme is 17 lbs., 5 oz. (25th %tile -- my little girl!) and 27 5/8" (60th %tile).  Her head circumference is 17 1/8" (up to the 40th %tile -- whew!).
• Oliver's right ear tube has dislodged and -- shock! -- he has a nasty ear infection in it (with nary a symptom of one).  The doctor pulled a glob of black, nasty earwax out before diagnosing him.  
• Emme's left ear is infected.  I'm hoping this is an explanation for the persistent low fever and night wakings.  Hoping...hoping.  Both kids are on amoxicillin.
• Kids don't like shots.  Oliver got his flu vaccine and a PCV booster.  The last time he got a shot, probably around 18 months, he didn't even cry, so I thought he'd be okay.  Wrong.  Cried and cried.  And even more when the nurse realized that the doctor had forgotten to tell her about the PCV booster, which meant Ollie had two separate shots and freak-outs rather than two quick shots in one freak-out.  He calmed down when I mentioned the stickers by the sign-out desk.  He said later -- several times -- "Mom, I don't like shots."  Emme, suffice it to say, also did not enjoy her flu vaccine.  Since she didn't get one last year, she'll get a booster in one month.  Lucky her.

So overall, smart, (mostly) healthy, happy children.  

Wes and I also happen to have gotten our flu vaccine's today.  VUMC had "Flulapalooza," during which time, they vaccinated more than 12,000 Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and students and set a world record for most vaccinations given in an 8-hour period.  I felt a little like a cow being herded, but it was fast, free, and relatively painless.  Here's hoping the vaccines keep us flu-free all winter!

Thank you, Grandma!