The Age of Aquarium

For some reason I cannot stop singing “The Age of Aquarius” a la 40 Year Old Virgin as I type this. Anyway, we went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago on Sunday. What a fun little adventure! Ben wore our favorite outfit…his panda shirt, jeans & TOMS. Typical. I think it’s officially time to go shopping (or else this blog will be pretty pointless soon)…the problem is Ben has a lot of nice clothes…and he hasn’t grown out of them! It seems crazy to go shopping when he’ll probably have a growth spurt in a month. Also, I tried to put him in his adorable Tommy Hilfiger jeans on the trip – he looked ridiculous and they came up to his nipples. They will eventually fit…and he will look amazing.

Belugas + Dolphins, oh my / Row, row, row your boat / Tide pool fun / Camping

Fun day at the Aquarium. Ben’s favorite part was the tide pool where he could splash around and make a huge mess. Of course. The biggest problem with that is it was 20 degrees outside and going out in a soaking wet onesie is not good parenting. I’m pretty sure, at least. He only went outside in a semi-soaking wet onesie, so I think we’re good.

Drop-kick (Crazy Eight shirt, Old Navy onesie, Trumpette Mickey socks)

Ben kicking us out of our bed. What a cheeky little monkey!!

We are finally back to NJ after 12 hours of traveling yesterday. Poor Ben. He was such a good sport. We get on the plane and of course Ben is the ONLY baby…not a good sign. Then we were delayed 1/2 hour. Then another 1/2 hour. Then and hour and a 1/2. Eeek, thanks for nothing, Newark.  Ben luckily slept most of the time, and then watched Dinosaur Train the rest of the time, with intermittent screams and shouts. But we got a ton of compliments on our little angel, so that was nice. The young girl in front of us said we ” held it down”. A compliment, I think.

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Day by daaaay…

This post is going to be filled with lots of random mumbo jumbo.

Most importantly, is the news of THIS. Yes, a re-make of Wet Hot American Summer at Sketchfest in SF. How I wish we still lived in Cali at times like this! I can’t believe they got the whole band back together. A-mazing. It is reasons like this that I love that entire cast. So yes, this is a random thought that has nothing to do with Ben. But, as you can see, it is also very important to me. Almost as important as Ben’s cute little outfits.

Fondue with cheddar.

Chris Meloni was even there to play his beloved role of Gene. I still can’t watch SVU without laughing. LOVE. Thank goodness for Twitter to alerting me to this gem, along with up-to-the minute pics of Paul Rudd, Michael Ian Black, Marguerite Moreau, etc, etc. Good times. Wish I was friends with everyone in this funtastic group. *SIGH*

Ok, back to our Chicago trip! And this precious face:

Starting the day off right//Old Navy pajamas with TOMS

Every morning we wake up and we venture off to breakfast. This is the life! I could get used to this. No cooking, no trying to figure out what to make for Ben each morning…someone has already done it for me! Ben has been eating like a champ, thanks to the Residence Inn. The above picture was Ben heading down to his breakfast…I hope he doesn’t expect this type of treatment once we are back in NJ. Waffles and yogurts for you, buddy!

Off to lunch in the snow / Ben vs. Hunter / @Hub 51 / Ben Gapped out for a wintery Chicago day

It was a full-blown stow storm here in Chicago on Friday. It was nice at first…very pretty and I was excited for the snow. But by the time the evening came it was just a hassle. We had a wonderful lunch at Hub 51 next to our hotel…what a cool place. I had a ridiculous plate of nachos. It IS vacation, after all. That evening,  we tried to go out to dinner with the stroller, only to realize we couldn’t push the stroller because of so much snow. Soooo, we just held Ben and ran a block to Rosebud Trattoria…yum, Italian! Ben was crazy at dinner and we were probably in and out in about 20 minutes. Typical.

Extreme V / Gino's East + my huge banana hands / Jersey Represent / Waiting for deep dish

Check out Ben’s extreme V…could not resist a picture…if you haven’t seen this SNL skit, you are missing out. Ben Stiller & Andy Samberg at their best.

Anyways, we decided to head out to a nice touristy place for our Saturday evening. We wanted deep dish pizza. We ARE in Chicago. Can’t leave without some ooey gooey pizza.  So we headed to Gino’s East which was only about a half mile from our hotel. It was such a fun place…just the cheesy (pun intended) atmosphere we were looking for. And the pizza was delicious. Perfect evening.

Today Dan is off, so we’re heading out for some more touristy activities (so many activities!) Sears Tower? Shedd Aquarium? So many choices!!! And then…back to reality tomorrow.

Brrrrr….Chicago

So far this winter season has been extremely mild in NJ (nice for a family who just spent 4.5 years in Southern California). So why not travel someplace where we can really experience winter? Great idea!

There was probably a reason only 30 people were on our plane to Chicago….it’s really, really, REALLY cold here. When we arrived yesterday it was in the mid-20’s (warm) and today is a brisk 14 degrees. I have to say Chicago is a beautiful city. I am really enjoying the trip so far. Dan is at a trade show all day but Ben and I are having fun. We went swimming, shopping, eating, and now we are napping (well, Ben is).

As far as his clothes, Ben chose an effortless and comfortable Puma track suit for the plane ride, and jeans, a Gap onesie and his Appaman puffer for his first Chicago outing. Thank goodness for the Bundle-me and rain cover for the stroller…Ben is so comfy he has fallen asleep twice in the stroller, which is odd for him.

Here are some pictures of the flight and the trip so far…we still have 4 nights to go!

Elite Ben / Big boy, empty plane / Mommy + Ben / Nap time

Chicago Riverwalk / Brusha brusha / Kissy face / Hotel sleepy time

“It’s great to be here in the great state of Chicago.”– Dan Quayle