Tapas for a Nearly Two Year Old

Yup, we went to Meson Sabika again last weekend. Here's the breakdown:

-Two sangrias and one milk
-Crayons and paper for Nick to color
-Platter of Spanish cheeses and grapes (Nick loved them!)
-Pork, beef, and seafood tapas

and. . .





































. . . one of the most delicious desserts I've ever had in my life. It was two frozen dark chocolate truffles, lightly infused with creme de menth and served with a berry compote and fresh whipped cream. We all shared it because it was so rich, but this dessert was so memorable I do believe I'll remember it for the rest of my life. Perhaps Nick will remember it as well.  :)

This was truly a memorable evening, and not just because of the dessert. Greg and I were celebrating, because he recently was promoted to supervisor at his work. Also, we've been so busy lately that it was nice to just go out as a family. I love when it's nice enough outside to sit on the patio. There was a breeze, good company, and delightful food. I'm not sure if it was the sangria, the company, or the good food, but that was the most relaxed I've been in a long time.

This is my all-time favorite restaurant, both because of the beautiful grounds, the amazing food, and the tasty sangria. Nick seems to like it, too, although he sure made a mess of his shirt.

And finally. . . the fountain was truly a wonder to Nick. He loves to point at it and say, (wait for it) "Water!" Only now, his language has developed to the point where he can say: "Water in there!" (and then, after touching the water) "Water cold!"

Tall Ships, or as Nick says, "Boats!"

Last weekend we took a trip downtown to see the Tall Ships Festival at Navy Pier. My mother and stepfather came with us, and we had a great time. Thanks to Groupon, we go our tickets for only $10 per person. That helped to counteract the joys of the $25 parking fee. Even though it was extremely hot, the ships were really neat and Nick loved seeing them. He kept pointing and repeating, "Boat!" "Water!" "Birdie!"

We all look a little overheated from waiting in line, but the boats we toured were worth the wait. I would've loved to be able to go sailing on one of these. Maybe next year.

Nick loved having the chance to see his grandparents. In fact, the day after our downtown trip, Nick kept asking for "Papa?!" That's his name for Grandpa Ray. Nick even got to ride on Grandpa's shoulders.

The views downtown were absolutely gorgeous, and even though it was hot, it was cooler at the end of the pier and we got some nice breeze. It was neat to see Navy Pier all filled with these old fashioned boats. I'm kind of a history buff (my undergraduate minor was history), and I enjoyed walking by all of the boats. I still wouldn't have liked climbing up the rigging, though. I'm afraid of heights.

After we were done with the boats, Nick got to ride the carousel with his daddy. He really liked that--so much so that when we saw another carousel this week (as we drove past in the car), he started screaming, "Horsie Fun!" over and over again.

Nick loved the fountains in the inside area of Navy Pier. He was just fascinated by the water, and his Grandma Linda let him get very close. I believe Nick was trying to figure out how the fountain worked. I was just glad his cast was off so he didn't have to worry about getting it wet. He can now play with water anytime he wants.  :)

We also stopped for ice cream, which Nick also loved, of course. We should all take as much joy in simple things as little kids do. It makes me smile to see his face when he gets a special treat.

We loved the Tall Ships festival, and Greg is already saying he wants to go again next year. Oh, and Nick? He just says, "Boats!"

"Uh-Oh! Where Water?"

Yesterday I posted about our trip to the zoo, but today I wanted to show you the highlights of Nick at the splash area outside of The Living Coast Exhibit at Brookfield Zoo. This was part of my visit with Gardenmom and her son. Both of the boys enjoyed the cool spray after hours of walking around in the hot zoo. Making the water squirt the baby is a fun pasttime, especially since he doesn't mind.

The water may have been the best part of Nick's day. He must've said "Water!" about thirty times. Check out how his diaper keeps getting more and more full of water. Those diapers can hold a lot!

Nick was running around in the spray, enjoying himself thoroughly, when suddenly the spray shut off. We're not sure why, since the map says the water doesn't turn off until 5:30, and it was 4:48, according to our cellphones. Nick decided to be a detective and figure out the problem by wandering around and looking into all the holes where water usually comes out.

Lots of parents and families were standing around the water play area, watching their children, when the water was turned off. Nick immediately started shouting, "Uh Oh! Where water?" very loudly. It made quite a few of the adults laugh out loud. I only got the tail end of his announcements on the video above, but I think you get the picture.

Mister man made me chase him across the brick so I could change his very soggy diaper and put on some clean clothes. For some reason, he doesn't like to be dressed, and he always runs when it's time to put on clothes.

An Afternoon of Onomatopoeia at the Zoo

Tuesday, after summer school, Nick and I went with my friend Gardenmom and her son to Brookfield Zoo on a very hot and humid day. Gardenmom did a post about our visit too, if click here. Nick was having tummy trouble and nap issues, but I think he enjoyed himself anyway. The afternoon did not start out well, and Nick screamed more than he was quiet. Note his expression of toddler attitude and the binky in his mouth. He usually isn't allowed to have the bink unless it's naptime, but this week Nick was such a crab I broke the rules so he wouldn't drive us completely insane.

After a leisurely tour around the zoo on the tram, which Nick called the "Choo-Choo," (Close enough. Hey, he's only 1.) we checked out the Australia house and the camels. That's where the onomatopoeia comes in. Lately, Nick has been trying to learn the names and sounds of different animals. He has a tiny stuffed zebra he likes to carry around, and he calls it "Moo." Usually, I'd correct him, but heck, I don't know what sound a zebra makes. Predictably, Nick said "Moo," for the zebras and for these camels he was pointing at so eagerly.

Nick saw the elephants and immediately started stomping his feet. In one of his favorite books, Wacky Wild Peekaboo, by Tim Bugbird, the elephant makes a stomping noise. Nick has done that everytime he's seen a real or fake elephant since last winter. When Nick got to the giraffes, he just wasn't sure what to think. We don't know what sound a giraffe makes, but the one in his story says, "Munch, Munch, Munch," as he's eating leaves from the treetops. Nick just looked, mesmerized, at these huge animals. They were beautiful.

We went in to my favorite exhibit, The Living Coast, to see the fish and the penguins and the arctic birds. If you've never been to this exhibit, you should totally see it. There's this neat wave that goes overhead every 30 seconds, and you can feel the salt spray on your face and look straight into the glass. It makes me jump everytime. I even got some video. First, I took video standing in front of the wave area, looking up at the glass blocking the wave. Here is what the wave looks like:

I also took video of Nick's reaction to the wave. This video is from his 2nd or 3rd time seeing the wave, and he was really liking it by that point. He wanted to see it "Again! More Water!" My boy really loves the water. One of these days I'm going to have to take him to a real beach.  

Nick liked the birds flying overhead in the penguin exhibit and kept pointing up and saying, "Birdie!" and "Tweet!" At one point he looked like he might be trying to waddle like a penguin, but he might've just been dancing with excitement. He was truly stoked to see the flying birds and the penguins, too.

This penguin was a total ham and was showing off for all of us. See him in the window of the fake boat?

He was pressing himself right up against the glass and when Gardenmom's son moved his finger, this gregarious bird would move his beak back and forth. The penguin even posed for this picture. My friend said that it was like this penguin was telling his buddies, "Hey, man, look at all of these crazy people. They're coming right up to the glass." It was kind of like we were the exhibit, and the entertainment for the penguins. The animals were very active during this day, and I saw more animals up close than I usually do at Brookfield. We saw a polar bear totally hamming it up for the crowd. He was playing in the water and you could totally see his cute polar bear toes kicking around. I didn't get a picture of that, but Nick was able to easily recognize a "bear!"

Out of State Guests and Sprinkler Fun

I've been pretty busy this week. Besides teaching summer school in the mornings, my friend Gardenmom and her son came to visit us from Iowa. We had lots of fun, and Nick absolutely loved having another little boy around. He got so excited when they arrived. The first day we mostly hung around the house and let the kids play in the sprinkler.

Gardenmom has been my friend for nearly thirteen years now. We met when I helped her move into her dorm room at NIU back in '97, when she was a freshman and I was a sophomore. Ahh, those were the days.  : ) We had so much fun in college, and whenever we can visit, it's always a great time. It's only the best kind of friend who will stick with you through all of the madness (of men, and children, and jobs, and, well, life) that happens between 19 and 32. The boys sprayed us a few times with the sprinkler, so that's why this next picture is weird.

Nick loved having a friend to play with. He's been kind of bored with me lately because, well, I'm too old to be a quality playmate. Even though Gardenmom's son is seven, he was the perfect entertainment for Nick. He has more than enough energy to chase Nick down--way more than me, that's for sure.

A Splashy Afternoon

For my dad's birthday, I took Nick up to Rosemont to visit the Splashpad. We tried to go last year, but it was far too cold the day we went. This year it was, if anything, too hot, but hey, that's what the water is for. Can you tell that he was having a ball? Nick just kept running through the water, again and again.  All of us got really wet, and my sister, who just wore her regular clothes, got her phone wet and it wouldn't work for awhile. Nick has been playing with hoses and in the shower a lot lately, so he's not afraid of water squirting him. Can you tell that he was loving the spray?

The fountains at the Splashpad are on a timer, so not all of them go off at one time. Instead, they start and stop, seemingly randomly. In the video above, Nick was busy trying to figure out where the water went. He kept saying, "Uh-oh."

After a few hours of running around in the water, Nick took a little rest and cuddled with his Auntie Mandy.

Then we ate pizza. Nick loves his pizza with veggies. He ate three slices!

There was cake for my dad's birthday--chocolate cake. Nick did NOT want to wait for us to
sing. He wanted cake NOW!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Mike!

Three French Hens Market in Morris, IL

Greg and I have been visiting as many different farmers' markets in the area as we can, and we were kind of excited about this one, when we heard about it. The Three French Hens Market is in Morris, IL, and is only held once a month. I found out about it on the Illinois Agriculture Department's webpage.We were excited because all of the markets we've been to thus far have been in suburban areas, whereas Morris is a small town half an hour or so southwest of us, right on the I & M Canal. Our greatest hope was for marvelous produce, and we figured we couldn't lose, since Morris is more rural. More farms=more fresh fruits and vegetables, right?

The first thing Nick noticed is that this farmers' market is right on the water. "Water!," he proclaimed excitedly as we walked towards the booths. Not only is this market near the water, it's pretty big, with a ton of tents.  The views were lovely, with trees in the background and flowers all around in the park that this market was held. I think this was the prettiest of all the markets we've been to so far.

There was only one problem--no produce. There were tons and tons of vendors, selling everything from chocolate to antiques to bibs. However, there were no fruits and vegetables anywhere to be found. At the very end, we did find one vendor selling fruit, but she ran a store that sold fruit baskets, and her fruit was from the same places that the grocery stores get their produce. So no local produce at this farmers' market.

The vendors were mostly crafters and bakers, and Nick was grateful the bakers, because we bought muffins. We found a nice shady bench and sat and ate delicious muffins and people watched. Nick baby-watched, and said hi to every child/baby/toddler he saw. This is the first time I've ever been to a market and not walked away with a bag full of produce. I thought maybe I'd made a mistake, and this really was a craft fair. However, I found this market on the Agriculture page that says, right at the top, "Farmers' Markets."

Oh, well. It was a nice little trip anyway, and a beautiful area to walk around. We would've stayed longer, but the heat was starting to get to us, so we decided to walk across the bridge and up the path. On the way we saw one of the canal boats that they had for tourists to see. Nick said, "boat."

There were trees (shade!) and a nice walking path across what looked like an old railroad bridge. No, I'm not sure why I am making that face in the picture below. I think Greg had said something funny. On a cooler day, Greg said he'd like to come to Morris again to go walking, and I agreed that this was a good spot for a picnic. Just not a good spot to buy fruits and vegetables, apparently. Nick doesn't care either way, so long as he gets his muffin.  : )

Puddle Jumper

Yesterday Nick and I took a walk to the park. He refused to take a nap around noon, so I figured we'd go to the park and that would tire him out. (It did!) We walked, and on the way there, Nick found a puddle. See for yourself what he did. . .