Chicago, Auntie Amy, and the Every Day

Yet again it has been a while since my last blog update.  We've had quite a few adventures in the past 6 weeks or so since my last update.  For 2 weeks in June Jonathan was gone for a little over 2 weeks at his summer military training, so Jack and I made the 4 hour plane trip to Chicago to visit my parents and sister.  I have to say I was ridiculously nervous about the flight since Jack is not known for his ability to sit in one place for longer than about 1 minute.  Luckily, we were placed in the infant block of the plane where we had a seat open next to us, because that was truly a lifesaver.  I was ready with activities, snacks, and movies to make the flight as bearable as possible.

So excited to see the planes out the window

Playing with Stickers

Stickers were a huge hit, and they kept him busy for probably about 20-30 minutes sticking them on me, himself, the seat, paper, etc.

He also had fun driving his car and trains on the empty seat next to us.  He was much happier standing on the the floor rather than sitting in my lap.  The flight was scheduled during his nap time, so I thought he might pass out at some point.  Well, as we were literally about 200 feet from the wheels hitting the runway, he passed out sitting up.   His head suddenly dropped forward while sitting in my lap.  I put my bags in the stroller and carried him all the way through O'hare over my shoulder:

With only one major meltdown about 1.5 hours into the flight, I would call the flight to Chicago a success!

We had a great time in Chicago, and I was able to keep Jack pretty much on his California time schedule with naps and sleeping.  He also slept surprisingly well in the pack 'n play.  This was most likely due to the high activity level and the fact it was crazy hot while we were there.  We started off with a trip to Brookfield Zoo.  It was disappointing in the fact that not that many animals were out in their cages.  It was fun to see the animals we did get to see and just to walk around the zoo.

We also got to have all of the food I've been missing including Portillo's and Qdoba.  Both are actually out here in California, but they are too far from where we live to make it a worthwhile trip most of the time.

Besides the french fries, Jack doesn't quite understand how amazing Portillo's is yet.  He did, however, enjoy a hearty breakfast at another restaurant called Honey Jam Cafe owned by the same people as Portillo's.

We had a lot of park time, mostly in the evenings due to the heat.  Jack also spent a lot of time pushing around a toy that my mom's co-worker let us borrow while we were visiting.

Jack also had a great time at a classic car show and seeing the train go through downtown Lombard. 

Our last day there we went out for lunch and spent some time at a forest preserve walking around the lake and running around the field.

It was a great trip, and I'm so glad Jack got to spend some time with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Becky.

The flight home was quite the adventure.  Jack fell asleep for the first 25-30 minutes of the flight right as we took off.  That was about the only peaceful time on the flight.  After several meltdowns, some seat kicking, and refusing snacks, the 4 hour flight was finally over.  Jack and I were both excited to get to the car and head home, but my car was dead in the parking garage.  We were stuck there waiting for someone to jump the car for around 45 minutes before we finally made it home....sweet relief!

About a week after we got back from Chicago, Jonathan came back from training.  When Jonathan walked in the house, it was the cutest thing ever!  Jack ran into the kitchen and around the island with high knees about 5-7 times before running back to the front door to hug Jonathan.  He was so excited to see his dad!

Over the 4th of July week Jonathan's sister Amy came out to visit us just as she did last year.  We made a few beach trips while she was here, which were a lot of fun.  The morning of the 4th we went down to Laguna Beach just to walk around the town.  We passed the fire station as they were coming back from a call, and they offered to let Jack get into the fire truck since he was gawking at the truck.

He was so excited and couldn't believe they let him get in it.  We were definitely at the right place at the right time!

Amy and I took a day to drive down to Dana Point for a beach Amy found online that has a funicular (a fancy elevator).

It was a neat alternative to walking down the enormous staircase in the heat.  Once down on the beach, we played in the water, built mini sand castles, and played with a beach ball.

Amy's last day here we went to a beach in Corona del Mar (part of Newport Beach), and Jonathan was home from work that day.  We brought beach chairs where I spent the entire time, but Jonathan, Amy, and Jonathan had fun in the sand and water.

Other than the trip and visit, we've just been hanging out around here going to Gymboree and out to the park when it's not too hot.  We went to the mall over the weekend, and Jack found a cool pair of shades:

He thought he was so cool in the store, and he kept pushing on them to make sure they were staying on his face.  We didn't buy them for him, but he was pretty darn cute.

Yesterday 7-Eleven celebrated July 11th (7/11) by giving out free slurpees, so Jack and I had to cash in on that!

Jack and I each got our own since neither of us likes to share :).  

Jack has also become a little helper in the kitchen.  I've been doing more paleo-style baking (no gluten or dairy), and I've been trying to get him interested in helping so he's not wandering around.  He came to help me and ended up eating a part of the banana I was going to use...haha.

In the next day or two I will do a blog update on the new baby on the way.  I was so good about keeping a record of the entire time I was pregnant with Jack, and I'm feeling a little guilty I haven't been as good about it this time around.