chicago, the first

We headed to Chicago today for what is the first of hopefully many trips there now that we are so close. We did visit two years ago on our way to New Hampshire (here and here) and I knew then that I wanted to come back!

This particular trip we went to see people, not things, so it was short and successful. 

Part one took us to the Navy Pier to hang out with Mike again. He was in training there for his new job while his family had moved to California without him. Wish they had been with us!! We walked around the pier to see part of the air show (seriously every time these boys heard a plane, they stopped dead in their tracks and looked skyward). Then we ate lunch on the pier and walked around the city a bit. It was a busy day in Chicago, but great weather and lots of fun. 

After we said our goodbyes to Mike, we headed north to Lincoln Park Zoo to meet up with the F family, who we met two years ago. We were excited to see A and E again and could not wait to meet miss O who was born just about 2 months before Katers. 

We leisurely walked around the zoo and amazingly felt completely normal since there were two silly Rett girls, two crazy one year olds and one big sister who just knew how to deal with it all! 

Honestly, I was so amazed watching A. She is closer in age to Leah than E is and she just played with her! Lots of little kids interact with Leah, ask her questions, try to include her, etc. and it's fabulous. But it really is hard to just play with her! And A was a pro. They twirled and chased and danced and giggled and it made my heart soar. These siblings are something else. 

One of my favorite moments of the day was in the gorilla house when we took a minute to sit and relax and the dads switched girls to chat for a bit. Just about died. 

I just love the F family and can't wait to see them more often now that we are a bit closer!

After a delicious pizza dinner, we headed to our car to make the drive home. But of course we stopped at Trader Joe's first. Because, how could you not!?

Chicago, we'll be back.