Chicago, Chicago, that Toddlin' Town

The long armed family photo

Under the Bean

What an adventure! First off, we really needed a family vacation. It has been quite a year so far, and it was nice that the three of us got to spend some quality family time together. Eric had never been to Chicago, but I had been there many times in my woolly youth, and let's say, did not see the "family" side of it. Turned out to be a great place for a vacation.

Amtrak: Our fare was very reasonable for RT fares. It was a total of $280 for all three of us! We wanted a practice run for Libby for when we go to China and this was going to be as close as we could get to a confined space and an 11 hour flight to Tokyo. However, the train has much more leg room than any plane and being able to get up and walk around was wonderful. Also, each seat had a plug in, so when we needed the DVD player, we did not have to worry about the battery. There were interesting people on the trip both ways, but overall, no scary people or anything to worry about. Libby did great, but by the return trip home, was pretty much done in.

Relaxing on the train

Embassy Suites: Highly recommend this hotel in Chicago. We had a very nice size room. We were centrally located to most of Chicago's attractions, plus had a grocery store across the street. We had a complementary full breakfast, including cooked to order food. Each evening, there was a managers reception with free cocktails and snacks. It was nice to be able to relax with a glass of wine and not be in a bar, and to feel very comfortable. Another plus was the pool, which we often had to ourselves. Libby loved it and it certainly improved her comfort level with swimming.

We had a great time at Navy Pier, and Libby enjoyed the Children Museum, but her favorite place was Millennium Park, especially the Bean and the fountain with the faces. However, she announced one day she did not want to go on an adventure. I sat down to talk with her and she asked me where Merfi, Merlie and her bed were. Turns out she missed all of them. We were still able to have fun for the rest of the trip, but it was obvious her heart was in St. Paul.

The Children Museum's pirate ship

The fountain at Millennium Park

Our least favorite part of the trip was Chicago's Chinatown. It did not compare at all to San Francisco's and we got more stares in our one hour there than we did in all the time we were in China. It was an uncomfortable experience, except at the Chinatown Fire Station, where they were very kind and friendly.

Driving the Chinatown fire truck

Although you cannot prepare for everything, we can now try and prepare for how Libby will react while we are in China and hopefully do a good job in making her feel secure and still have fun. I love my guy and my girl and can hardly wait until we have one more girl in our little family.

LOA!

We are beyond thrilled to announce that we got the call today that we have our Letter of Acceptance! This was our next giant hurdle and so glad we have made it! Eric will be picking up the packet at Children's Home. It will be more information for us to fill out (we are experts now) and also something very special. It will have instructions for us to finally send our care package to Maisy and her foster family! I have had the items together in a box for months, and can hardly wait to ship them. We have included:

1 Hat
1 Dress w/leggings
1 White sweater
1 Romper outfit
1 Lamb picked out by Libby
1 Bunny blanket
1 Soft fluffy blanket
1 Photo album filled with pictures of family

We will also include gifts for the foster family, and I am putting those items together to include.

We would love to push it and ask for another round of updates, but do not want to rock the boat. When we get our Travel Approval, we will ask again at that time. This is quite common, and her SWI seems receptive, so we can only hope that they respond with updated measurements and pictures.

Please keep Maisy in your thoughts and prayers that she is thriving and being cared for and loved. We will be over the moon if we get to meet our little girl by the end of this summer.

Big Bottom Girls

Libby and Boo, who was our house guest for a week.


Lovely day with Libby at Como today despite the rain. Miss Libby is always able to give me a giggle, even when quite inappropriate. While at the sunken garden in the conservatory, I hear this: "MOM, there is a naked statue in the water, and she has a BIG, naked bottom". Telling her to hush only gets me "Does she toot out of that bottom?" Anyone, anyone, when does this fascination end?

We have had a rough week in our house. Hopefully, all things are back on track. The big storm two nights ago was almost the final straw for me. Merlie the Dog is petrified of thunder. When the storm began, she was in the bed, on top of me, drooling in my face and whining. Somewhere in the night, Libby had already snuck into our bed. I thought I could get us all settled if I brought Merlie to Libby's room and the two of us slept there. Unfortunately, Merlie did not settle, and Libby woke up and began calling for me at the top of her lungs. Merlie and I went back to our bed, and I ended up with Libby's arms wrapped around my neck, Merfi the Cat on my tummy, and Merlie at my feet. Eric tried to get Merfi to come to him, but nope. I was hanging off of the bed for most of the night and actually had big black circles under my eyes the next day!

Libby and cookies she helped to make

Today I went to a local department stores to help update my "Garanimals" wardrobe for our trip to China. You want to pack lightly for international travel, but also should have enough clothes if you need them. At some point, I will put in here a copy of a packing list for travel to China with you, spouse, daughter and new daughter in mind. It's a humdinger! Anyway, my store credit card had expired (only use it once a year for the big sale, and then pay it off), but if you signed up again, you got 20% off, plus the coupon for 25% off if you had a card, on top of the sale prices! I saved a TON of money, and got things that really work well together. Now, I just need that travel approval so I can get the suitcases down and get this show on the road! :)

Libby and Lexa dressed up for the ball.

Our newest consumer

We had a bed tray in our room that Libby was allowed to have her snack on while watching Monkey George. Last week, against all rules, she decided to stand on it and it broke. When I came to the room and confronted her about it, her comment was, "We'll just go to Target and get another one". WHAT? I told her that we would not be doing that and she would now be having her afternoon snack at the dining room table. Again, she commented "But Target will have it. Let's just go there and get it now." Sigh. Sat down and had long chat with her, but wonder how much sunk in. Talked about it with some other Mom's and we all agreed that they just see things replaced when something happens to them with such ease, that they do not realize that there is more to the story.

Had a lovely play date at the house on Friday. It was a smaller group than expected, but in many ways, it was so nice. Was able to actually converse with the other Mom's, the kids all played beautifully, and the egg hunt was so much fun for all the kids, big and super small. Glad we had this, as the rest of our weekend did not go as planned. Eric ended up with a horrible toothache. His dentist has told him a year and a half ago that an x-ray showed a problem. Yep, he's a guy and did nothing. Easter Sunday morning, he woke up in such pain that he went to an emergency dental clinic. Our Easter egg and basket hunt with Libby did not happen. Libby and I went to church where there was a brunch and an egg hunt, and she had a blast, thank goodness. The doctor told Eric that they should wait on pulling the tooth and gave him antibiotics and vicodin. We were able to still have a lovely afternoon with friends, and enjoy the lamb which I cooked on our new grill.

Poopy head: A phrase all three year olds must use at some time, whether it makes sense or not. I can assure you we do not say this, so when Libby used it on Sunday, it made everything stop. We all looked at her, she looked at us, said it again, laughed and that was the end of it. This is when the big parental debate about sitting down and discussing it, which clearly gives it more weight, or just waiting to see if the word comes into use again. We have opted for silence for now, you poopy heads.