Chicago

October 18-22 - Our first family (of three) vacation!!!

Sunday, October 18:

We drove to Chicago to get away for a couple days.  We love this city and have been twice before together -- once when we got engaged in 2011, and a again for a friend's wedding in 2013.

See Jedi in the baby mirror?

We stopped a couple times on the way there.  Once just north of Cincinnati at a Sam's club for pizza.....

......and to burn off some energy.

And once at a Meijer in West Lafayette to ride the horsey.....

.....and then a Starbucks to see Barrett (our good friend & favorite musician) in W.L. as well.

After about 6 hours in the car, we arrived at our home for the week.  We were renting out the 2nd floor of this house.  We found it on VRBO.com and it was a great home base for our vacation!

Living Room

Dining Room

Dining/Kitchen

Bathroom

Our Bedroom

Jedi's Bedroom

We set up the pack-n-play half-way into the closet so that there was still room for our portable rocking chair.

A view out the front window

Also out the front window, you can see the elevated tracks near the center of the picture -- a close walk away to the train to be in downtown Chicago in minutes.

Monday, October 19:

Our first morning there, we all had a bit of trouble getting going.  Jedi sleepily (and cutely) ate his bananners. 

Our first stop was Navy Pier.

It was mostly shut down for the season, but it was still a great place to walk around and get great views of the city.

We stopped at a photo booth as well (it's become a tradition for us with Jedi)

Then we headed over to The Bean

Priztker Pavilion was next, where we had a snack and fed some birds.

Then on to Buckingham Fountain (too bad it was already off for the season).

By this time, poor Jedi had had enough site-seeing and fell asleep.  We walked him around the stroller for a bit and then decided we ought to head back to the house for a real nap.

He really enjoyed riding the trains.

That night for dinner, we had Giordano's.

Of course, by the time it had cooked (takes about 45 minutes), Jedi was done sitting at the restaurant, so we took it home and ate it instead while we watched baseball.

Tuesday, October 20:

The first stop this day was the Lincoln Park Farm-in-the-Zoo.  It's an annex of the Lincoln Park Zoo. 
 
We fed the cows....

.....pointed at some birds.....

....and saw some chicks (among other animals).

Then we headed over to the actual Zoo.

We stood like flamingos.....

.....were preyed upon by a bobcat.....

......roared at some lazy lions....

.....saw some zebra....

.....clapped spontaneously....

........and were completely and utterly......

.....mesmerized by the rhino.

Jedi also got to sit on a (fake) hippo.

We had a great, full day at the zoo before riding the bus back to our house for a nap.

That evening, we rode the train to see some friends.

We visited Shaun, Andreea and their new little guy, Baby E.  Isn't he a doll?

Wednesday, October 21:

We rode the train for one last visit to downtown.

We saw the Chicago sign and visited Merchandise Mart.

We thought seriously about buying tickets for the Cubs playoff game.  But when we learned we'd have to buy a ticket for Jedi too (playoff rules require tickets for everyone, even though regular season allows 2 and under free), we decided not to fork out the cash for a seat that wouldn't be used.  It was a good thing too, since the Cubs lost that night.

Then it was back to the house for an afternoon nap, but not before Daddy and Jedi had some fun wrestling.

After the nap, we decided to explore the area near the house where we stayed.  There is a really cool walking track just a couple blocks away.  It's called The 606.  It's an old train line that was converted into trails and green space.  Because it was a train line, it is elevated above the streets and runs uninterrupted through several neighborhoods.

We walked around a bit and explored some, then we decided to head back and get packed up so we could get an early start the next day.

Thursday, October 22:

Our vacation had come to an end.  We loaded up our car and started our journey home.

We passed U.S. Cellular Field (home of the White Sox) on the expressway on the way out of town.

We made a stop somewhere in Indiana at a Wal-mart to burn off some energy.

And Jedi was none too happy to be home.  He was DONE being in the car seat (and little did we know at the time but, the next day he would be sick with a stomach virus).

October 2014 = Healing

October proved to be my best month yet, postpartum.  On the first if the month, I visited my doctor and she thought it best (and I agreed) that my medicine dosage needed to be upped a bit to really get me feeling better.  So, my dosage was doubled.  By the end of the month I was starting to feel like my old self more and more.  I was coming out of the fog I had been in, emerging from the cloud that hovered over me.

October 3-5, 2014:

New Heater Core

Brandon and his dad replaced the heater core in the truck just before it turned cold for good.

They had to take out the entire dashboard for this process.....crazy!

October 4, 2014:

Jedi's first wedding reception

Bryce and Brooke (friends of Brandon) had a destination wedding, but had a reception back at home.

Brandon is good friends with Bryce's brother Barrett (far right).

Random pictures from October......

October 10, 2014:

3 Months!!

October 10-12, 2014:

Weekend in Lville

Jedi got his snuggled in with Nana.....

.....and PawPaw after we arrived there late Friday evening.

The next day, we attended a reunion with some friends.  We had all attended church together, back in our single days, and now we're all married with kiddos.  It had been about 3 years since we'd all seen each other.  We met at a pizza parlor and then went for ice cream afterward.  It was so fun!

Jedi and Baby D, Shannon's little girl.

After the reunion, we stopped in for a quick visit with Nana at her work.

That Sunday, we went to a cookout for my cousin, Jennifer, and her daughter, Sweet A's birthdays.

Mamaw got lots of Jedi time.

Around this time, Jedi started to get really distracted when he was nursing.  If I talked AT ALL, he would stop and just stare at me.  Like this......

It cracked me up!  

Big Boy in his exersaucer.

We spent a lot of time like this.....and sometimes Mommy napped too. 

October 17, 2014:

First visit to Keeneland

We had a family outing to see the horses race.

He fell asleep one night looking at his hand. 

October 23-25, 2014:

Mammaw & Pappaw (Brandon's parents) in town

Also this weekend was Brandon's 40th Birthday party!

I made lots of chili!

Brandon grilled hot dogs

Several friends and family attended.

He always has to have his monkey (paci)

Friar Tuck Hair

October 27, 2014:

My Birthday

Brandon surprised me with a massage gift certificate for my birthday!

....and another FUN gift!

"Tickets" to see Garth Brooks (in 1993).

And a box set of his Concerts!

Brandon got a new iPhone!

October 29, 2014:

Brandon's Birthday

On Brandon's actual birthday (the party I threw for him was several days early), the guys at work decorated his office and lad space.

We went to Bella Notte, a yummy Italian place, for his birthday.

Halloween 2014:

Dville Visit

My mom was in Dville helping her friend (Alycea) with her jewelry business, so we made the 35 minute trek there to see them.

My grandparents live in Dville too, so we got to see them as well.

And PawPaw was in town as well.

Before we left Dville, we stopped into my Aunt Nancy's work so she could meet Jedi for the first time.

That evening, we dressed Jedi up as Mickey Mouse!

Some friends stopped by with their kiddos, one of which was Mickey too!

And that was October 2014.