Chicago

Wes' sister, Kacie (yes, we have the same name until she gets married someday) moved to Chicago a few months ago and so we planned a visit to the city for her birthday. Her birthday actually isn't until the 8th, but my brother graduates from college that day so we went the weekend before. Wes and I took our last personal days last Friday (the 30th) so that we could leave early. We packed up the car and left at 9:00, the girls' first nap time. His mom and step-dad were also going and we met up with them in South Bend and followed each other the rest of the way there. Mya and Stella blew me away again, with how awesome they do in the car. It is a little over a 4 hour drive. They slept for about the first hour and half to two hours and the rest of the trip they were awake and content. We only stopped once to feed them.

Wes and Mya in the morning before we left.......sooooooo cute!

Our hotel was on Ohio Street, only a few short blocks from Michigan Avenue. It was perfect! We unloaded all of our things and let the girls cool down and play for a little bit in the cribs that we got from the hotel....after Wes wiped them down of course. They loved to stand on the window seat and look down at the city. Our room was on the 24th floor and we had an amazing view!

High-rise dining!
The city looked absolutely beautiful with all of the colorful flowers that were just recently planted along the streets. I took tons of pictures because they were just so stunning. They made for wonderful backdrops for our pictures. I just love that city! It didn't hurt that we had great weather. Sunny skies, awesome buildings, warm weather and pretty flowers made it a great trip.

Our attempts at a family picture. I guess this is going to be the story of my picture taking life for a little while. LOL
We did a lot of walking, a little shopping, visited the Navy Pier, went to the 95th floor of the Hancock Tower and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. I wasn't sure if the girls would get much out of the restaurant, but they were so into it. They loved looking at all of the animals. It made me so excited for our trips to the zoo this summer.

Funny mirror on Navy Pier
After walking on the Navy Pier, it was way past time for me to nurse the girls. I have cut them down to 3 feedings a day and so they should eat around 1:00 in the middle of the day. It was about 2:30 and we still hadn't found somewhere to go so I just ended up nursing them on a bench in the middle of a park. I had a blanket so it was not big deal, and it was such a nice view for me! When they finished we let them try sitting and playing in the grass. This was a first for them. Stella, of course, wasn't the biggest fan. She tried to keep her feet off of the ground most of the time. I'm pretty sure she's got abs of steel!
We had a great time visiting Aunt Kacie and hopefully we will get to do it again sometime. I just would prefer it to be a time when the girls can walk because they either had to be held or be in a stroller at all times because I didn't want them crawling around on a hotel room floor - GROSS! They got a little stir crazy but were very well behaved! They also had a hard time falling asleep the first night but they did much better the second night. I think it just felt and smelled a lot different than home. I'm so proud of my girls for being so adaptable to different situations. Thanks for the fantastic trip, Grammy and Grampy!