Something old and something new

With February on its way out and Spring coming our way, I thought I would freshen up the look of my blog. I think it's easier on the eyes, I hope you like the new design too. This morning I was going through Anabelle's closet trying to decide what she should wear. I thought we'd try out a little dress that I wore as a baby, it's only going to fit her for a little longer. Since the weather isn't warm enough to wear it as a dress, we decided to pair it with jeans and a long sleeve tee. I like the mix of such a sweet little dress with jeans. Anabelle is not in the mood to pose for pictures lately so I caught her on the couch looking at the sunshine through the blinds.

Chicagoland Kids Expo

Saturday morning Anabelle and I drove to the Schaumburg Convention Center to attend the kids expo. I had read about the expo in a magazine that lists events for children and thought it sounded like it might be a fun thing to do. The cost was $9 for me to get in and Anabelle was free, parking was also free. They opened at 9am and I wanted to be there early so that it would be too crowded. It's not like before having a child I was that punctual, but now it's almost impossible to be anywhere on time with Anabelle in tow. So we arrived at 9:15-not too bad. If you don't know what a kids expo is, it is a place where vendors from all over the area can hand out information about their product/service. So there were lots of booths for food, toys, books, entertainment, and fun places to take your kids. Most of them hand out a pamphlet, some coupons, and a little freebie for your kid. Along with all of this stuff they also had 2 stages with music and dancing, big inflatable rides and bounce houses, a photo booth, a petting zoo, a firetruck, lots of costumed people walking around, and a rock climbing wall. Anabelle and I decided to walk through all the booths first since it wasn't crowded yet.

Anabelle did a great job of holding my hand as we walked and she really seemed to like it. Every few feet there was a new booth to explore, new faces to see, new people to ooh and ahh over her cuteness, and a new little toy to hold onto. What could be better for a toddler? Along the way we got some great coupons for area attractions and lots of information about things we can do this spring/summer. We also ended up with a bag of little stuffed animals, crayons, balls, toy jewelry, and snacks. When we were done with that we walked over to the stage area to do some dancing, which Anabelle loved! There were lots of other kids all dancing around and having fun with the parents all whipping out their cameras to snap photos. Sadly the inflatable rides were a little too chaotic for Anabelle to try, there were some really big kids jumping around and I thought she might get smooshed. It would have been different if I could have gone in with her, and helped her... maybe next year she'll be ready. So we tried out he photo booth, which was funny, Anabelle wasn't quite sure what we were doing inside a little box. Then it was time to check out the petting zoo. They had lots of animals and it was pretty clean. You could walk around the pen and pet them all, and they were all very kind and gentle. I was impressed, I wasn't sure how nice all the animals would be. They had some very large animals, a donkey and a llama. Lots of goats and sheep, and some baby goats too. The baby animals were adorable and also the perfect size for Anabelle to pet. She knew right what to do, and was very gentle with them. It must be all that practice petting the kitties.

After the zoo we were tired and ready to head home. It was about 11:30, and we had packed a lot of fun into 2 hours. Not bad for only $9! I would definitely recommend this to other families, and I think it would be fun for kids as old as 8 or 9. Here are some pictures from our day.

Anabelle loved the bubble machines and played with them for quite a while.

They had a sock monkey booth where you could make your own monkey ears.

Anabelle was instantly in love with these huge costumed animals. She had a huge smile and just followed them around trying to touch their fur.

This huge bird was dancing with Anabelle for a long time and she really adored him. He would mimic all of her dance moves which she thought was so funny. She even cried when he moved on to some other kids.

Llama at the zoo.

Petting the goats.

The little babies were so sweet!

What is that bird?

Look Mom a donkey!

Goodbye Mr. Goat.

Something's fishy around here

The brutally cold winter months of Chicago sometimes make it hard to remember that we live in a wonderful city with lots to do and see. Recently I was reading some Chicago Mom blogs and came across a reminder that many of our fantastic museums have community free days. Being at home all day with a busy toddler is often a challenge, so I checked around and found that the John G. Shedd Aquarium was having a free day this past Thursday. Anabelle and I were on our way!

Thursday morning we jumped in the car and drove downtown, parking in the Soldier Field parking lot for a mere $16/4 hours (note sarcasm). We arrived at the aquarium around 10:15 and walked in not knowing what to expect. The line was horrendous!! We were going to be waiting for quite awhile. I strapped Anabelle into her stroller and gave her a snack while I brainstormed. I noticed the will call line was REALLY short. So I pulled out my cell phone and called the aquarium, asked to talk to the tickets office and asked if I could "purchase" a free ticket and have it placed at will call? The answer was no... You can do that, but you have to do it the day before. **Mental note for next time**

Then I noticed a nice older man who was an employee standing at the will call line. I gave him a big smile, and strolled Anabelle over. After some small talk about how crowded the aquarium was, and how he agreed that it was unexpectedly busy. I sympathized how hard that must make it for the employees and that they are so great for offering these free days to the community. I gave him a big thank you, and started to walk away. He stopped me and said, "Ma'am please take your daughter through the will call line, and have a great day!" Don't ever underestimate the power of a nice smile, kind words, and a simple thank you; it can often get you to the front of the line. I am certain Anabelle would not have waited through the hour long line pleasantly and we both would have had a worse visit because of it.

Once we were inside we walked straight to the center tank. A huge round tank, floor to ceiling, gives kids the opportunity see what the Caribbean reef looks like. It is full of colorful fish, sting rays, sharks, and turtles. Often there is a scuba diver inside the huge tank either feeding the fish, or cleaning the tank. It is pretty cool and I suspected Anabelle would like it the best. Here she is checking it out.

Notice the diver in the tank

After looking at the center tank for about 15 minutes we walked around the rest of the aquarium. Anabelle was in a mood where she didn't want to ride in her stroller, didn't want to be held, and didn't want to hold my hand and walk. It was very crowded and therefore I really couldn't let her walk around without holding my hand for the following reasons

1. I didn't want to lose her

2. She likes to grab other people's things (cell phones peeking out of purses)

3. She likes to touch other people and children

***Side note:

Anabelle will frequently try to touch other people's hair, noses, eyes, etc. I am always trying to stop her from touching random people. Today (Friday) we went to the mall play land, and a cute little boy was OBSESSED with touching Anabelle's eyes and kept saying "eye" to her. The mother was mortified, but I had to laugh and tell her it was karma because Anabelle always does that to everyone else. ***

So back to the aquarium... Anabelle wasn't being very cooperative in holding my hand, so our trip was a little more frustrating than I wished. However, she was able to see quite a few things, and get a close up view. Being that it was the first time she was seeing fish I'm sure she was thinking "what the heck are these things?" She seemed a bit freaked out by the fact that she could get so close to fish but not touch them. Why was this glass in her way? And some of the fish were pretty big, so I could see how it might be a little intimidating.

So after exploring a bit Anabelle finally had enough and it was time to head home for lunch and a nap. Overall, I think it was an ok visit; Anabelle is probably not quite ready for the aquarium. But it was free, aside from parking, and it was a good introductory trip. I learned some things for when we are ready for our next visit and most importantly; we got out of the house. Sometimes you don't know what your child is ready for and it's good to just try it out and see. Sometimes I am surprised at how well an activity goes and sometimes I get other ideas or useful information from the experience.

Sometimes all you need to have a great day is a hat and a sock...

It's been really low-key around here the last few days, with a quiet weekend and equally quiet start to the week. The weather has gone back to being cold, rainy, and snowy; so we have been back inside. The little blast of warm weather was great, but then when the cold came back it somehow felt even colder than before. I am still sticking with weight watchers, and thankfully I am getting less irritable about it. One day last week I was complaining to Marena about the high calories associated with cheese. I was really missing cheese that day and used some colorful language to describe my frustrations. Marena laughed and said, "You can always tell when someone is in their 1st week of weight watchers because they use swear words when talking about food." This made me laugh! I have been doing great, eating more veggies and measuring out everything for proper portion sizes. I have also tried out some new things. Last night I cooked stir-fry and used tofu instead of chicken. I have eaten tofu before at restaurants, but have never bought it and cooked it at home. I got it from Trader Joe's and for a 1 lb. container it was only 1.89! So much cheaper than meat. I simply cut it up into cubes and added it in with the veggies and teryaki sauce. It pretty much tasted like whatever you cook it with, or like nothing, but fills you up. Before going on weight watchers I had been trying to cut down on our consumption of meat, so I am happy to have tofu to add to our non-meat dinner options. Tonight we are going to try artichokes. I have never cooked with them before but tonight I am going to try. I am making whole wheat pasta with sauteed tomatoes, artichokes, and zucchini. I'll let you know how it is.

Holy cow! Under all that snow we actually have grass!

16 days after our big blizzard, we can finally see our lawn again. Anabelle and I have been getting outside more lately and enjoying the weather.

17 months old

Anabelle is 17 months old today! Here are some stats about our little girl for you:

* She sleeps from about 7:30 pm to 7:30 am, with a 3 hour nap in the afternoon

* She eats everything! She loves to eat any kind of meat, her favorite usually. She also loves all dairy. She likes most fruits, and a few veggies (she used to be so much better about eating veggies). She usually likes carbs, but will take meat over grains. She LOVES raisins, cheese, crackers, and any deserts =)

* She has 12 teeth, I think that's it but she may have more, when I try to look she bites me.

* She has slowed down on her growing, probably due to all the running around. She has stayed in a size 18 months for a while now, and can fit in some things size 24 months. This is nice because I don't feel like we are constantly buying new clothes. She makes up for it with shoes though because her feet are growing pretty quickly, she wears a size 4 now, but not for long!

*During her "free" time she likes to climb on the couches, play with any pots/pans/bowls that she pulls out of the cabinets, read books, dance, pull every item out of drawers/closets/cabinets, explore!, go for walks, and smile at or meet new people.

*She knows basic body parts and will point to her nose, mouth, eyes, tongue, ears, hair, etc.

*She is good at following 1 step directions like; put it back, close the ___, open the ___, come here, no-no, bring mommy the ____.

*She is starting to get a little sassy. She will sometimes run and hide behind a door when you call her to come to you. Or if you want to pick her up to do something she doesn't want to do, she will fall to the floor and go dead weight on you. Yesterday after our trip to downtown Naperville she didn't want to leave and she actually threw a temper tantrum (I think her 1st).

*Most of the time she is REALLY good, learning to help out and following directions.

*This is my favorite!! She has learned to give hugs and kisses. When Anabelle was born she spent her entire 1st month sleeping on me, which sounds fabulous now, but at the time I was tired of sleeping on the couch sitting up, and desperately wanted to lay flat in my own bed =) As soon as she learned to crawl, she was done cuddling. She wasn't interested in being hugged, or cuddled; she was too busy moving, too much to explore. Of course we hugged and kissed her anyway, but it's so much nicer when you get hugged back. So a couple of weeks ago she started laying her little head on your shoulder and giving hugs! Sometimes she'll give you a little kiss too, we're working on that.

* She is so fun to watch!

Well that's all I can think of, feel free to ask questions if there is anything you think I missed. Here are some pictures from our walk yesterday. It has been really nice and warm around here, so we went downtown Naperville and explored. We walked over by the river and looked at the ducks, and played with the melting ice and snow. Anabelle was very happy to run up and down the bridge and look around.

Valentine's Day Goodies

Anabelle got a package in the mail the other day from Grandma Sue and Grandpa Ken, wanna see what she got?

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa, I love my little monkey and I ate ALL of my chocolate heart for desert on Monday-yum!!

I also got a treat on Valentine's Day. I came home to a delivery of some beautiful flowers from my sweet husband. Thanks honey, I love you!

I am having trouble with video lately, but hang in there I'll get it figured out soon and have some for you to watch. In other news I packed away all the Valentine's Day decor today and boy it feels god to be done with all of the holiday decorations. I put out decorations from Halloween through Valentine's day and then for the rest of the year I just stick with the usual home decor (ok, sometimes I put up some Easter stuff). So I am ready for some simple, easy, and spring-y decor.

I also started Weight Watchers again. Honestly, I have been pretty bad with my eating habits for a while now, eating lots of goodies, snacks, and fatty stuff. So it's time to reel it in a bit and eat healthier. Ideally I would like to lose 20 pounds (well really 50, but let's be realistic people!), but I'd be happy with 10 pounds. John and I both did WW when we wanted to lose weight for our wedding. I know it works if you follow the plan, I lost 25 pounds before on it. So now here I am 5 years later trying it again. It is definitely hard to start and I have been slightly irritable and hungry. But the good news is that I know after the 1st week you start to get used to not eating as much and you feel better. So hopefully I'll be successful. If you have any great WW recipes please send them my way-thanks!