So, I know it’s been forever since I’ve posted…sue me. Beck has really been picking up a lot of words lately like dog, door, up, down, more, help, go, etc.
The new word for today though is “chocolate” or as he says it, more like “yocowat” yet is very clear what he means. The impending valentine’s day and subsequent increase in chocolate consumption has brought this about. He’s very serious about his chocolate.
We took the kids on a whirlwind trip up to Chicago this weekend. We drove up Friday night and stayed at a TownePlace Suites in Lombard. If you’ve got a bunch of kids like us, getting a 2 bedroom suite at a place like this is great. It has 2 bedrooms, a pull-out couch in a living room, and a small kitchen. The cost is really only slightly more for the significant increase in comfort.
We actually stayed at this exact same hotel back in January, the last time we tried to do this trip. You may recall that last time we made it all the way up to Chicago to discover that Ella had a ridiculously high fever and was very sick. We spent a tortured night there and had a long and horrible drive back. Anyhow, it was definitely a better trip this time.
We got up Saturday morning and headed straight to Shedd Aquarium. We got there just as it opened and had no problem parking or getting in. By the time we got in they were having their first show at the big center aquarium which was a diver that would show you stuff. The big center aquarium has a huge turtle, sharks, and a ton of really cool big fish. Then we wandered around all the different habitat aquariums. Some of the favorites were the sea horses / sea dragons (Mary’s favorite), the jelly fish (Truman’s favorite), frogs, etc.
Then we headed down to the big oceanarium area and saw the sea otters and got ready for the dolphin show. By this point, the kids were all tired and hungry and just barely hanging on. Truman started throwing a fit, so I took him out of the show and down a level, to where you could see the dolphin tank from underneath. That was actually more interesting. Man they swim fast.
After the show we grabbed lunch which helped everyone get in a better mood. Then we took another trip down to the lower level and saw the baby Beluga whale (very very cool) and the penguins, who were a lot of fun. Pics here.
After the aquarium we drove around downtown a bit trying to find a good place to park. The kids napped (which they desperately needed). We were headed to the American Girl store, which apparently is some kind of weird cult that I don’t need to know anything more about. Lots of very well-dressed little girls carrying their dolls around (dressed the same way). Mary and Ella headed into the temple and us boys headed to the Disney Store. Truman scoped out some Power Rangers he wanted (the girl Rangers, heavily on clearance – score!) which he later played with for about 5 hrs straight on the way home. Apparently the girls did not fare so well. Ella threw a fit in the AG temple and scared a lot of prim girls so Mary had to remove her from the store. These things happen.
After all that excitement we headed for home. It was a long drive but mostly passed without incident. Beck slept a good chunk of the way, Truman was in Power Ranger heaven, and Ella pretty much just chilled. All in all, a good trip.
Last Sunday was a beautiful day in St. Louis so we headed out early to the Missouri Botanical Garden and had a great walk with the kids. We also took a bunch of pics and here are some of the best / most fun.
This morning Truman said he wanted to be a garbage man, Spiderman, a clown, and a fox.
Ella said she wants to be a ballerina, mommy, author, and artist.
I guess they’ll be busy!
Ella is all grown up now, or at least that’s how it seems sometimes. She’s ever the first born – her room is kept immaculate with everything in its place. If Truman or Beck dare to touch something, she’ll freak out and immediately return things to their proper place.
As always, she loves to wear dresses and jewelry. She has gotten a little better about wearing shorts when that’s necessary to play at the park or gym, but only if you promise that she can change back into a dress as soon as she gets home. She loves to play dress up in shimmery dresses, high heels, etc.
Ella’s went through a period recently where she was very interested in drawing and making books (blank pages stapled together). Her favorite subjects are people, flowers, etc. The people are often girls and have elaborate and enormous bows on their head. Sometimes the people are holding hands or jumping rope. She is very good at writing her name and sometimes can write other words like “mom” if you help her.
Lately, though, the focus has been reading. She is really, really interested in reading and loves to read books to us that she has memorized. Just tonight she told me the whole story of the three billy goats gruff. We have some easy reader books and she loves to work through them with Mary or I figuring out the words. I think at this rate she’ll almost certainly be reading before she reaches kindergarten.
Ella loves to play pretend games and this summer Truman has really reached the point where he can fully participate. Lately, they have really been playing very closely together with all sorts of pretend games for hours at a time. Settings typically include the beach, camping, wedding, house, doctor, etc.
And I can’t forget the dancing. Ella took her first ballet class this year and had her first recital. She loves to dance and still does her rountine for us regularly. Recently we got the video from her recital (which is hours of performances) and she loves to sit and watch it. She’ll get up and dance along with it and she does pretty well. Beck’s often dancing along with her.
