Dancing, "Driving," and Drama at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show

Big events in Chicago are fun for the boys, but exhausting for the adults. This year we did decide to head downtown for the auto show, much to the delight of the boys. I think they would've stayed at this fountain all day, if I would have let them. Or if I would've had more change. . .

There was no driving of the stroller this year. After last year's stroller debacle at the auto show, we decided to go strollerless this year to the Chicago Auto Show. Henry, after all, can escape the stroller extremely quickly, and ditching the stroller to chase him is quite stressful. My two-year-old son heartily agreed with our decision.

Henry is smelling the sweet, sweet taste of freedom. 

The real reason the boys were so excited to visit the auto show was getting to see their Uncle Jay and Aunt Sarah. Uncle Jay worked really long hours at this auto show, and the boys were so ecstatic to see him. We got to spend the whole day with Aunt Sarah, but Uncle Jay was very busy and appeared a few times, whenever he could. The boys act like he's some kind of rock star.  ;)

Uncle Jay even let us get our picture taken in a jeep. Aren't we cool?

We didn't really "drive" the jeep, but it was fun to pretend. 

After this picture, as I was getting down from the Jeep, I dropped my cell phone, bent to pick it up, and then got whacked in the head by the car door. I had a bump for a week and a headache the rest of the day. The boys, though, could've spent hours crawling in and out of cars.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that this boy has ten years to go before he can get a permit. 

Henry liked crawling around the cars, too, but he didn't mind sitting (or standing) in the passenger seat. Nick always wanted to be the driver.

Neither Greg nor I am especially "into" cars, other than as a mode of warm transport from one place to another, but all little boys love cars, and my boys liked the truck track.

They watched the pickups climb up and down hills and do daring things.

Henry kept trying to crawl over the barriers, so we had to be vigilant.

Do you see him plotting how he'll climb over the sand? 

Greg may not be into cars, but he's into Henry hugs. . .

Strangely enough, one of the highlights of this trip (for the boys) was the 45 minute dance break that they spent on this makeshift "stage" dancing to barely audible music. They are quite the dancing team.

At one point, they had three or four other kids dancing with them. 

Henry, especially, shows some sophisticated moves for someone only born in 2011.

After their impromptu dance break, we went to check out more cars. Henry fell in love with this video screen of a car advertisement. He's going to be kind of a techie kid, I can tell already. He listened to this ad over and over, watching carefully and even dancing a bit. 

We had to tell him we weren't going to buy any new cars anytime soon. 

Henry was getting hard to keep track of, so I tried carrying him on my shoulders. All of us had sore backs, and I thought this might be better. He was hesitant at first, then liked it, I think. 

After the car part was over, at dinner, we had time to relax and eat. The boys were both super-excited to say hi to their new little cousin. Aunt Sarah was showing them where the baby is, and Nick, especially, was interested in a potential new playmate. 

By this point, everyone was exhausted and ready to go home. We had worked off every calorie possible in our walk around McCormick Place, and our feet were (collectively and individually) done. 

The drama didn't start until everyone went to the bathroom. I stayed with the bags, and Nick ran in one direction while Henry scaled the wall in back of the benches and ran for the hills. I can't remember such a panic attack as when I was deciding how to chase two children running in opposite directions. I opted to grab the bags, yell for Nick, and take off after a giggling, furiously running Henry. Thank goodness one of the kind cafeteria workers saw him running and grabbed him. She actually apologized for picking him up. "I'm so sorry I had to pick him up to stop him."  I thanked her and told her how grateful I was for her help. Nick said, "You saved Henry!" Nick, I might add, followed me exactly as directed during this scary episode. He may not always be cooperative, but he understands my "now" voice. 

The final drama happened when Greg, a notoriously fast walker, got ahead of us and lost Nick and I in the crowd. I couldn't remember where to go, and Nick kept insisting he knew the way. I called Greg, and darned if Nick wasn't right. He must've inherited his daddy's sense of direction, because McCormick Place was too vast for me to remember where I was at any given point. I guess from now on I can rely on Nick instead of Siri.  ;)