Mae's Date: A Tall Order

So Mae had been asking dad to take her to the Sears Tower for several months now. At times, it was the right weather but a busy weekend; and at times it was a chill weekend but with bad weather. But this past Sunday, the combination was perfect.

So Mae went upstairs and dressed herself in a very nice dress and brushed her hair all on her own to get ready for her date with dad.

And off they went...

They parked over in the West Loop at a secret spot dad knew about and then walked a couple blocks to the Sears Tower, stopping on the Jackson St. Bridge for a photo op.

After taking the elevator up 1,353 feet to the 103rd floor, they got off and toured the Skydeck. They looked out over the South Side down on the South Loop where we used to live and tried to find our house, picked out the Shedd Aquarium, the old Target we used to go to and 31st. St. Beach.

Then it was on to the East Side checking out Buckingham Fountain and dad's work. Next up, the John Hancock on the North Side and finally a look out at the West Side down onto the United Center and our house.

Before leaving they stepped out onto the glass ledge that they have up in the Sears Tower where you can look down and see all the way down to the ground. It's kind of freaky but also kinda of cool.

Here's Mae's feet...

And Mae and Dad posing...

And one of just Mae.

And one last one before taking the elevator back down.

All in all, a huge success, made even more of a success when Mom, Pax and I walked into West Town Bakery to snag some donuts and the two of them were sitting at the countertop ready to order donuts of their own.

The Privileged Character

So Mae and I haven't been up to much lately - just back in the swing of school and hanging out and being locked inside due to the annual visit from Mr. Winter.

But Pax? Well, he's been rocking it out pretty hard and I figured this might be a good time to give you the scoop on the winter heat this guy has been bringing. Much like Pax's day to day demeanor around the house, I'll give this one to you in rapid fire.

Garfield Park Conservatory visit with mom and dad. I like this picture a lot and have decided something. You know how when people become famous sometimes they change their names. Well, when he becomes a famous author or musician or something like that his pen name should be Pax Garfield... although then I'll have to change my last name to Garfield so people will believe me when I tell them Pax Garfield is my brother. Finley Garfield... ... ew, maybe I'll keep thinking on this one and get back to you.

A visit to the Shedd Aquarium

Introduction to teeth brushing

His first soccer practice, where his shorts were... let's just say ill fitting

Lots of grocery store and Target runs, where he insists on having his own basket, only to fill it with 900 things that are either in the cookie or chip family, only to find it too heavy and start yelling at Dad to carry it

Piano practice with Mae

Pilates with mom in the basement on his own mat ("SIZE!" he calls it, short for exercise)

Some in-store hockey with Dad at Dick's Sporting Goods

A Pretty-In-Pink moment when some snow angels were in order and all we could find for snow pants were my old ones

Reading time with Mae every night. Now this deserves a little bit more narrative and is why I named this post what I did. You see, every night Mae and I get Pax all set up and prepped for bed. I'm in charge of getting his snack, so I go down and thoughtfully prepare a bowl of something for him (think cheerios and raisins) and get him some milk or water. Meanwhile Mae gets Bubba (his pet dog and best friend in the entire world) out of his bed along with his blanket and sets him up very nicely on the reading blanket. Then I bring in his snack and he eats while Mae reads to him. It's a little bit much, and by a little bit I mean a lotta bit. It's like he's royalty. Well, I guess after reading that maybe it's not a bit much since he IS royalty in this house. Lots of love funneling in his direction every day... lots of love.

The Three Amigos Hit the Shedd

So I had a field trip to the Shedd Aquarium and our chaperone was none other than dear old (but not that old) Dad. Each chaperone got three kids and the night before the trip I told Dad I really hoped we were paired up with Nadia (my best friend at school) and Michael (on whom Nadia and I do NOT have a crush).

Well lo and behold, look what the cat dragged in the next morning at 8:50.

So we headed out to the bus and off we went.

Things went better-than-planned at the Shedd when Dad made us "accidentally" get separated from the group and he finagled his way into a couple areas where we weren't yet supposed to be, so most of our trip was a private day at the Shedd, just the four of us.

We hit up Ice Age 4-D but had to pinky promise that we wouldn't tell anyone when we got back to the group. That's Michael (on whom I do NOT have a crush) in the front.

I felt the starfish which was totally weird but I'm glad after 2-3 years of wanting to that I finally got the nerve to do so.

And then our field trip was over. On the ride home someone got a little tuckered out and fell asleep and someone else thought that was pretty funny. And don't forget, that someone who fell asleep I do NOT have a crush on. Just sayin.

Giving Thanks

Okay, so Thanksgiving weekend rocked it out with visitors in town - Nonie, Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle Jim & Aunt Deb. I'll cut to the chase.

Uncle Jim and I made pancakes...

And then the next day he made me one that looked like a whale (jackpot!)

Speaking of whales, we hit up the Shedd Aquarium twice! And one time we saw this awesome show and this singer lady came up and shook my hand. I tried to tell her she had way too much makeup on but she couldn't hear me over her boisterous voiceterous.

No, I did not go out and cut this tree down, then tie it to the roof of my 1985 station wagon with the wood paneling and then drive it home. Aunt Debbie brought me this mini Christmas tree and we decorated it.

We did Zoo Lights up and we did 'em good. Highly recommend it to all you Chicagoan readers.

Back to the kitchen, Nonie and I made a cake, then cut it up and ate it.

And last but not least, four generations of Ames/Lammels/Skertich girls.

And if that's not enough, CLICK HERE for more.