Enjoying the City

I must admit, I was quite nervous about what I was going to do to entertain a 14-month old for the 5-month-long Chicago winter. We have had double the amount of average snowfall this year, and temperatures have rarely been above freezing. However, despite these conditions, Addie and I have been able to do a lot together and keep ourselves quite busy!

On Mondays, I am working on starting a play group with other Moms in the area. We figure we can just rotate homes and let the children visit together. We're also trying out various Chicago locations. At the suggestion of my friend Maureen, we met at the Children's Museum one day. You can see the attached picture there of Addie "driving a CTA bus." She loved it!

This week, Maureen and I also took the girls shopping. The two other pictures below are from J. Crew at 900 N. Michigan. Despite only being about 38 degrees, Addie didn't mind shopping along Michigan, but she really loved this moment when I let her out of the stroller, and allowed her to explore. She liked seeing all the cars race down Michigan Avenue. Quite a view!

Tuesday and Thursdays, Addie normally comes with me to cheerleading practice and one of my former students Mary Colleen plays with her. Addie loves running all around Loyola - exploring the big hallways, watching the cheerleaders get thrown into the air, and meeting new people every week. On Thursdays we have also been going to the Lincoln Park Library for story hour. This has given me some useful tips on encouraging reading at home, as well as information on letter recognition, repetitive sounds, etc. All in all, time well spent.

And then of course Fridays are still Miss Addie's favorite - GYMNASTICS! Today she walked right up to the beam, climbed up the stairs, and asked for my help so she could walk across. She also laughed excitedly as we did "log rolls." I hold her to my chest and roll across the floor, protecting her with my elbows. It is supposed to help with their spacial awareness, but I don't think Addie knows - she just loves the movement!

So you can see, despite not being able to go on walks, go to the park, or simply hang out on our deck, we are keeping busy. Thank goodness it's almost March though - we are on the downhill towards Spring and Summer!