Saturday, February 26, 2011

little happenings

For the past two months Ben has had research months. So he doesn't have class or have to go into the hospital at all. Which means we see him. A lot. It's nice.
We hit up the Art Museum.
She did pretty good.
Charlotte and American Gothic - here she's contemplating deeply the traditional roles of man and woman
The artwork and conversation were just too stimulating - so she zonked out.
On the way back home it was so stinkin' windy, but Charlotte loves the wind and opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue like a puppy.
Oh, and we had a huge snowstorm {2 feet} - more pictures later.

Enjoying a fudgesicle.

Below - walking in the wind downtown - that's what makes Chicago so blasted cold!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

can't get enough of

love her
(even at 1:30 in the morning...)

Sunday, February 20, 2011

she's got a ticket to ride

Back when we went out to Philly, we actually took an Amtrak train back. Well, we went from Philly to DC. Then DC back home to Chicago. It was almost 100 bucks cheaper than flying and was so much fun. We got a sleeper car that was surprisingly really comfortable and Charlotte did awesome cozying up with one of us in the bunk.

(please excuse her unkempt hair.. I didn't worry too much about styling it while on a train)
When you book a sleeper car your dinner and breakfast are included. Charlotte was so excited (see above) when the waiter brought scrambled eggs (which she eats almost every morning).

And of course we had to get Crumbs Cupcakes while in DC.
Charlotte was quite a fan.
(don't mind her showing you the birdie)
We are definitely train people now. All of our trips that we're looking into for the future, we're always checking train routes. If you've got the extra time then a sleeper car is the way to travel. Especially if where you're traveling to has great scenery.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

she's a lover, not a hater

This morning Charlotte handed me two Little People animals.
A cheetah and a lion.
We practiced the sounds they make and how they act.
I started making them roar and leap at one another.
Charlotte did not like that.
So I had them make up and kiss.
She looooved that.
She grabbed the animals out of my hands and gives them each a few kisses.
Then makes them kiss again, and again, and again.
What a softie.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

big kid

Charlotte seems to becoming quite the little toddler lately.
She LOVES shoes. Anytime she sees any she grabs them, sits on your lap, hands you the shoe and says "hee -a", and points to her little foot.
My mom recently sent her some sparkly pink shoes that she has to wear even over her pjs.
we're working on the whole utensil thing
she also loves to bat her eyes, roll her eyes, twirl in a circle, put bows in and out of her hair, tease you by handing you something and then as soon as you reach for it snatching it back with a grin
and she said thank you ("tee choo") for the first time this weekend
and love you ("ya yoo")

she melts my heart

Saturday, February 5, 2011

we went to Philly

and this is how we both felt.
honestly.
Ben was in NYC checking out a residency program and then traveling to Philly to check out another one (our rank list is due soon so he was taking some second looks at a few programs).
I was super excited to check out Philadelphia since I had never been there.
Charlotte and I flew to Philly, rented a car, and had a full day planned of historical tourism before we were to pick up Ben at the train station. I literally had a travel book highlighted with a list of things to hit up for our one day there.

What happened the night before we get there?
A foot of blasted snow.
Philadelphia doesn't know how to handle snow of this magnitude. I'm used to Chicago having the streets plowed before you leave for work in the
morning or else a politician is kicked out of office.

So, we get there. Park. Walk to what I thought was the right area to find out we're 12 blocks away. So we walk. Well, I walk, push Charlotte through a foot of snow in a stroller, carry her over mounds of snow that I can't push through, past a drunk homeless man that kicked at us to get out of his way, right to the visitor's center. Only to find out that they're closed. For the entire day. As well as every single historical site that was highlighted in my wee book.

I cried. No joke.

There was one last place I could think of to visit. The visitor's center said that a tavern (3 blocks away) where Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson ate dinner every night should still be open. I wiped off my face and made the trek. On the way I saw the liberty bell through a window and met a cop that told me he could totally tell I was from Chicago because of my accent...? What?! The tavern ended up being closed too. A few choice words may have escaped my lips at this point. It was 2 o'clock. Ben's train wasn't coming until 8 and our hotel was an hour away. We had nothing to do and nowhere to go.

To make a long story short (I know... too late for that...), Charlotte and I went to Border's Books (one of the few places open) and hung out in the children's section, Ben switched trains and got in at 4:30 instead, and we finally headed to the hotel. Hallelujah.
she was such a good sport
finally happy reading books in a warm room

some of Christmas break

Half of our Christmas break pictures are on Ben's computer, so I'll post those later.
We had a wonderful time with my family. They planned so many activities for us to do like seeing the Nutcracker and sledding up at Mt. Rainier. Of course all of the good pictures along with Christmas morning are on Ben's computer which he's using right now to play Madden football.
above my parent's fireplace they had this little setup that Charlotte loved
she always pointed and said "Santa! Santa!"
so we plopped her up there to see what she would do
she loved to poke Adison in the belly button and mouth
and kiss her
lots
she tried so long to fit inside this tiny car seat that did not belong to her
she clapped and then sat back with her long legs dangling over the edge
loving Great Grandma
matching Christmas outfits
with her cousins that she looks nothing like =)
on the flight home we had the whole row to ourselves
(love it when that happens)
she liked having her own little area to kick back
kissing Adison again
this is actually one of her birthday presents
she loves her giraffe
although she only knows how to move backwards
the cutest Santa helper