Another Fabulous Year

Our Anniversary this year was pretty similar to last year. We stayed the night in Naperville and ate at Maggiano's. Then headed to downtown Chicago the next morning. Instead of being on a boat, this time we rented bikes and saw the city that way. It was Brian's idea and I LOVED it! Sure beats walking everywhere. The funniest part was having doubts whether or not I remember how to ride a bike. I think it must have been some 20 years ago that I last rode one. Not kidding. But you know what they say, "Once you learn how, you don't forget it" and it's true! We had so much fun but wow, my legs, knees and butt hurt like they've never hurt before!!!

Young lovers of 7 years
Safety first =0)
Biked to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Zapatista
Couldn't resist this photo opt outside the Shedd Aquarium
Hanging out by Millenium Park the rest of the day
p.s. Ethan had fun with Grandpa and Nana as always. As soon as they got here, he practically kicked us out the door.

Romantic Get-Away

Our first ever - without a baby! Brian's parents were kind enough to come and watch Ethan for a night so we could have a little get-away and celebrate our 6th anniversary in Chicago. However, my all-week excitement only led up to me coming down with a mini-flu on Friday and we weren't sure if this trip was going to happen or not. But after some nitequil that night and dayquil the next morning, I felt well enough to go. We stopped in Aurora and did a little shopping before heading to Schaumburg for dinner. I'm usually not a big food/dessert person, but can I just say their chocolate fondue was to die for! It's SO good I'm still thinking about it!!!

Four course meal at The Melting Pot.
On Sunday, we headed to downtown Chicago and ate lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Zapatista. We then stayed, I mean parked in the famous Trump International Hotel & Tower parking ramp...haha I wish! (The $1000/night stay was a little out of our budget) and boarded a boat tour nearby. It was an awesome way to see the city from the Chicago River & Lake Michigan and a perfect day to be out on the water! Anyway, what a refreshing get-away and my most favorite part of it all: throwing all schedules out the window!


Wendella's boat tour with the Chicago skyline as the backdrop.
Some of you are wondering, well what about Ethan? No, I didn't cry - we weren't gone THAT long. Plus, we knew he was in good hands. I did, however, miss him a lot...more than I thought I would! There were babies and kids everywhere we went and it kept reminding me of him. And somehow our conversations kept coming back to our lil' guy. How funny. By Sunday afternoon, I was pretty anxious to get home to see him. As it turned out, he did great and had a lot of fun with Grandpa and Nana. He ate, played and slept like a champ!