Last Night in Chicago...

Our past couple of days have been non-eventful...just passing the time before we go in to the office tomorrow AM for Brooklyn's 1-week post-op check. It's kind of crazy that it's already been a week since her 4th surgery. Tomorrow AM (Thursday - 11/3/11) we'll be heading in to the office to have Brooke checked out, make sure she's doing ok, & then we'll be on the road. I'll explain our past couple days with a few pictures...

Just a cute picture of Cali B playing with her little dollies instead of going to bed!!

Tuesday we went to the Field Museum. It was the only "big" museum that we haven't been to in Chicago yet. They have different exibits going on for a few months at a time. In January when we were here it was something that I really wanted to see but we never made it. In March & August it was "The Horse". This time it was "Chocolate Around the World" (oh yippie) & "Whales". I guess it should be pointed out that I'm definitely NOT the museum type. I'm more of the amusement park person. I just don't appreciate stuff in musems like I should. Plus, it's kind of hard getting in to things with both girls running around. Anyways, it was still nice going to the museum for something new to do. Here it is:

They have a full-size dinosaur inside...

...as well as 2 awesome elephants...

...and 2 awesome kidlets!

Cali liked the bison!

After the Field Museum we walked across the grass to see Dora at the Shedd Aquarium. Our annual pass is almost up so we needed to do something free today! We went to the aquarium, went to the Dora theater & the lady let us in for free! (It's usually $3/person but b/c it was late in the day she let us in for nothing. :o)) Then we just walked around for about an hour before they closed at 5pm. Here's a real penguin...

And here's a real penguin person!

...and another penguin person!

They had a blast dressed up as penguins, doing things penguins do... Like slide down the ice...



...and slide some more!

After the penguin dress-up was the submarine.

Today we went to the BIG mall, 12 miles away, so Dustin could get another pair of mail carrying shoes. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe so the girls could be "entertained" while eating. Here's Cali with the dolphins that we got to sit next to:

And of course a little bribery goes a LONG way! If Cali was a good girl & sat in the stroller (which she hardly ever does) then she'd get to go play in "Play Land" (as she calls it). So she was a good girl & she got to play. She had a ball & we let her play for a while...& even let Brooke have a good time playing too.

Then it was time to come back to the hotel & pack up so we can leave tomorrow. :(  We ate our complimentary dinner at the hotel in the lobby, said our goodbyes to our favorite hotel staff, & packed up the car so we can get up bright & early...

Soldier Field

To go to the Field Museum & The Shedd Aquarium you have to park in the Soldier Field parking lot which is under Soldier Field, a.k.a. where the Chicago Bears play. I haven't had the fortune of ever going to a professional football game so whenever I see one I'm like a kid in a candy store......in total awe!

This field was "dedicated to the men & women of the armed forces" so it was extra special to Dustin. Here are a few pictures that I took yesterday on our way to/from the museum & aquarium.

Cali saluting!!

There are also 8 plaques (one for each branch of the service plus a few extra) that Dustin had me take pictures of. Here's the Marine Corps one...

If you're ever in Chicago make sure to take a trip to Soldier Field & check out the tribute they have created for our armed forces!!

Finally sorta better

Well I'm better...kinda sorta...kind of better I guess...sorta...

Every single Chicago trip either starts out or ends up with a cold. I have no idea what is up with me. Stress I suppose, but COME ON!!!

In January I got sick towards the end of our trip, but it was a doozy of a cold. March's cold happened before we left for Chicago. It made the flight absolutely horrible & miserable...BOTH the To AND From flights. August was pretty bad too. I was sick just a few days before we left so I remember having to pack & travel in complete & utter misery.

And of course this trip was no exception. I've been trying to pin it on anything & everything, but I know it just has to be stress. The funny thing about this trip though was that I felt more calm & at ease than any other trip. I was excited for this trip. I was excited that my baby would finally be nevus-free! But apparently my body doesn't care cause I still got sick. It came on ON MY BIRTHDAY of all days (which was 2 weeks ago tomorrow) & it came with a vengance. It made travel to Chicago completely horrible, miserable, long, & MISERABLE (if I haven't said that already).

But I'm finally on the downward slope...I'm hoping anyways!!

Halloween with Snow White & a pretty Kitty

Happy Halloween!!

Well I'm not a very big halloween person, but it's cute dressing the girls up in adorable little costumes & seeing the wheels in their heads turn as we walk up to perfect strangers' homes, saying some weird phrase, & then getting free candy. Hilarious!!

This Halloween was a little different because we're in Chicago. We normally go with Dustin's sister, Marji, & our nephews to a few select houses, & then go home. But unfortunately, because they couldn't make the jaunt to Chicago for the night, we had to go it alone. :(  We missed Trick-Or-Treating with them this year though!!

This year I had a Disney Princess & a kitty for daughters! Cali was Snow White & Brooklyn was a pretty little kitty. We purposefully looked all over for Brooklyn's because we needed something with a hood for her dressing she'd have after surgery. Little did we know that she'd do so good & wouldn't even have a dressing on her head anymore!!! LOL She was still adorable. Here are several pictures from tonight:

Cali with her Snow White dolly

Meow!!

Cute little girlies!!!

We talked to the amazingly wonderful staff here at the StayBridge & one of them recommended the neighborhood directly behind the hotel to trick-or-treat in. She actually lives in that neighborhood, but said that it's still such a good place to go. She said that from about 4-7pm there are tons of kids running around everywhere. Perfect for us! So we drove by earlier to scoope it out. It was a nice subdivision with super nice houses. Looked good to us. We dressed the girls about 5pm, went down to the lobby to show the staff their costumes, & then headed out. We found a little parking area right next to a park in the neighborhood & got out of the car right about 5:15pm. We just walked in the direction of  the most kids. It was an area with tons of little streets every which way, but we just headed down one area & hoped for the best!

After 2 houses Brooke was hooked on the sucker!

Like a true kitty...she was carrying her bucket around with her teeth. Silly child!!!

We walked from house to house & eventually we were walking right next to another family who were taking their 2 kids trick-or-treating too. There wasn't too much time for chit chat but they were a very nice couple who seemed to be enjoying the night like us. The street we were on curved to the left, so when we got to the end of that one we made a left & it was taking us in a circle right back to our car. We parked right by a park, which Cali saw, so after about 4 houses she was done trick-or-treating & she just wanted to play in the park! Go figure!!! So once we made our way back to the park we said our good-bye's to the other family & snapped a couple more pictures of Snow White & the kitty & then let them play in the park.



Happy girl playing in the park. Thank goodness I dressed her warm under her dress!! All I had to do was take it off & she was ready to play. It's like I planned it!!!!!! ;o)

The kitty, on the other hand, had to stay in her costume, but she was warm & happy!

We ended up going to about 15 houses, maybe, but the girls were ready to go before we were! They got their bucket's full of candy & they had a blast....oh & they looked super duper adorable too! :o)

Boatcation

I have no idea how it got in Cali's head, but she doesn't call a Vacation, a Vacation...she calls them Boatcations! She loves boats & I remember the first time she said the word "Boatcation"...it cracked me up. She said something along the lines of "Mommy I wanna go on a boat so let's go on a boatcation". LOL So this whole time she's been wanting to go on a boatcation. Today just so happened to be the last day that the boats at Navy Pier were running so we thought we'd finally take her on a boatcation.

It was a brisk 51 degrees when we got to Navy Pier today, around noon. We took the stroller FILLED with winter gear: sweatshirts, jackets, gloves, scarves, hats...we had everything. Thankfully though we didn't need any of it, well except the hats & sweatshirts. Surprisingly enough it wasn't cold or very windy at all on the boatcation. I was super happy about that because I hate being cold & I hate bundling up. So I was excited that we could just walk on the boat with our sweatshirts on & be totally fine the whole time.

Cali & Brookie loved it. Brooke, of course, wanted to get up & walk around but she wasn't allowed to so Dustin kept her occupied for the 30-minute ride. Here are some pictures from our boatcation:

Daddy & the girls ready to go!

View looking back on Navy Pier

Oh lucky me...she's a diva already!

Gorgeous Chicago Skyline

A zoomed-in picture of Shedd Aquarium (far left), Soldier Field (where the Bears play), & the Field Museum (middle). It's kind of difficult to see everything because the sun was in the wrong spot!

Daddy pointing things out to Brookie...keeping her occupied!!!

Heading back in after our tour

It was a short, 30-min tour but it was an absolute perfect BOATCATION!!!

Post-Surgery Days

The past couple days have been surprisingly easy-going with Brooklyn. She's pretty much back to her normal pre-surgery self. She's running, playing, acting totally like normal, except that she's not supposed to! :o) She's supposed to be taking it easy for 3 weeks.........yeah right. "Taking it easy" & "Brooklyn" don't belong in the same sentence. We're doing our best though, but she's still keeping us on our toes, that's for sure.
We gave her a good head-washing on Friday night...after waiting the necessary 4-6 hours after getting the drain pulled before washing. She always needs 2 good washes before her hair is back to "normal" but at least it's not as wild & wacky. Also, for the very first time in both of our lives, I was able to comb her ENTIRE head of hair! LOL She looked like such a nerd when I was done cause I had the side-part going on. But I loved it. Here's some pictures from the past couple days:

Brookie being sneeky & playing with Cali's watercolors while Cali was swimming with daddy

Here's a couple pictures of her head after her head-washing!!!

Saturday we decided to do something free! I've always wanted to drive along the coast of Lake Michigan to see the amazing houses. Also, I've been dying to see this house:

Yes, it probably looks familiar....Recognize it? Well I've been wanting to drive by it & snap a quick picture, although I'm SURE they have at least one person drive by their house & take a picture of it every day! It's only 30 mins from our hotel & it was totally on the way to the coast-line so we had to drive by. (Ok ok I'll tell you what movie it's from...but you'll have to keep on guessing. Look at the very bottom of this post for the answer.) This house, by the way, is the ONLY house on the whole block that looks this amazing. The other houses are great-looking too, but the movie makes the whole block look this great. Not so. Definitely computer-generated. This house was for sale & I'm thinking it was sold recently because I didn't see a sign out front. It wasn't too much $$, considering what house it is, in my opinion. The area was amazing & I'd love just to be neighbors with these people cause I'd love a tour!!! Anyways, after I got my picture we drove south along the coast & saw the amazing houses....and AMAZING they were! WOW! I wish Dustin drove in big cities cause I'd have loved to be the passenger! These houses were great. Definitely a must-do free activity for anyone who loves to wish! We ended up all the way on to Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, where we just drove south to the end of Michigan Ave & then drove up the Magnificent Mile...one of my absolute favorite parts of Chicago.

Here's Cali on our drive. She was giving herself milk mustaches!

Sunday was a Mommy & Cali day. We went to Target then to the mall. Cali was in desperate need of new pants so I got her a few pairs at Target, got myself my free Starbucks drink for filling out a survey, & then hit the mall. We walked around, got a pretzel & Icee for lunch, then let her spend her "monies" on the toys. I kept counting down the rides she could go on with the remainding money she had so it wasn't such a surprise when she ran out of money, but she still threw a fit when I told her she didn't have any left. She got to ride every toy there, but was still quite unhappy. So no train ride for her because of the royal fit. :(   Here she is BEFORE her fit-throwing saga...

So she threw her fit & that was it for us! We came back to the room, ate dinner, & she actually put herself to bed early. Brooklyn, on the other hand, has been walking back & forth with me while I do laundry. She makes new friends every time we walk to the laundry room. She stops, waves at them, & blows them a kiss.....If only adults did that too.......

Oh, & the movie in the picture.....Home Alone. :o)

The BIG Reveal!

Today was the big nevus-free reveal at Dr. Bauer's office. We got some much-needed sleep this AM & didn't actually get up until after 9am. Thankfully the girls needed sleep as much as Dustin & I did. :)  We went in & saw Mim at 1pm. We were soooo excited to see her post-surgery. We purposefully didn't touch her dressing so that we could see it at the same time at the office. It was tempting to look, but we didn't.

Brookie in the waiting room... Uhhhh, she wasn't really happy. Jeesh all I wanted to do was leave her sticker on her dressing so I could get a picture of it!!

Mim took her dressing off & all we saw was CRAZY HAIR!!!!!

And here's her head with no nevus!

We informed Mim of the lack of drainage from her tube so she just pulled it. Didn't hurt our feelings any! So here we were...literally just about 27 hours after surgery & her entire dressing can be off because the drain was pulled!!!!! I'm sooooo excited & happy about that...I can't even express it! :o)

Little spider monkey wouldn't go to Mim, so here's the 3 of us. What's so funny was that Cali was standing right by Dustin with her little Disney toy camera taking pictures of us too! LOL

We said our sad good-bye's to Mim & Kristi (Dr. B's scheduler/insurance goddess) cause we won't see them for 4 months. Then we were off to the mall to waste time. We wanted to get dinner at the great Japanese place in the food court so we went in the mall & were overwhelmed with kids in their Halloween costumes. We wish we'd have known it, but every shop in the mall was handing out candy to kids in costumes. Oh well though...  We walked around for a short while & then Cali wanted to go on the train again (of course she did)....so we went up to the train. I can't even get into how crazy it was up by the train...only to say that we had to wait for 2 trains to pass by because so many kids wouldn't listen to their parents & stay in line so 2 trains' worth of kids cut in front of us in line. Needless to say, poor little Cali B was in tears, Brookie was being a spider monkey, Dustin was upset cause there wasn't really anything we could do about it, & I was just like "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" But we all just felt bad for Cali cause the poor girl just wanted to ride the train!!! Thank goodness an angel was watching over us. Some old lady saw our frustrations, but saw how bad we felt for Cali. She came up, made sure we were first in line, pushed everyone else behind us in line, then went & got Brooke a balloon & some fishy crackers!!! What a saint. She asked what happened to Brooke so I told her our story. She just kept calling Brooke a little miracle. :) Cali did end up throwing a fit when we finally got in the train. We got in the green car cause it was the only one that didn't have 40 thousand kids run in it...so Dustin gave her a big hug & she wouldn't let him go! They started walking out to the car while Brooke & I rode the long-awaited train. Poor Cali B - I felt so bad for her.

Here's Brooke all happy in the train!

So once all the mall-madness was over we came back to the hotel, ate our dinner, & watched Game 7 of the World Series. :o)  What a day!