chicago

chicago

All the stars aligned and we were able to go to Chicago for Baby George’s first birthday party. We were not sure it was going to happen, but it all worked out in the end and we were extremely grateful to be there. 
Friday we surprised Lily at school. We were the mystery readers for the class. 
She was so surprised to see us!

Then we swung by to pick up George from daycare. We woke him up from his nap to take him home so he was a bit out of sorts.

Everyone got glammed up and off we went for dinner at Morton’s. This has become a bit of a family tradition for the Pazes. Don’t all babies celebrate their first birthday at Mortons??? Ha!
The meal was delicious, as usual, and I took tons of pictures of these little cousins together. They adore each other and love to spend time together. It makes my heart happy. We all live so far apart. Thankfully the distance doesn’t get in the way for these kiddos. 
We opened gifts and enjoyed desserts and had a wonderful evening celebrating this little guy. 
B won’t be thrilled that I posted this picture, but he was giving Gwyneth a hard time about her chocolate cake and it made me laugh. 

the 4th in Chicago

After lunch we took the Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago. It’s a quick, easy trip and the girls thought it was pretty great. 
We checked into our hotel and met up with my mom. We stayed at the Omni Hotel in Chicago which is in the best location; walking distance to trains and so many great landmarks. We were in the heart of the city and loving it. 
We cruised Michigan Avenue and went to a few of our favorite stores. Everything was closing early because it was the 4th of July but we still got to do some great window shopping. 
A quick stop at the American Girl Store. 
Then, of course, the lego store next door. 
dinner at Ditkas
Dylan’s candy bar
We walked to Lakeshore drive and fought the crowds to get a sight of the fireworks. As we were walking back to our hotel we got caught in quite the downpour. Annabelle is pretty freaked out by thunderstorms and was not liking that one bit. We cowered in a covered bus stop with several other tourists and waited for the rain to let up. We were finally able to grab a cab, but we couldn’t all fit. The storm was letting up so B took the girls in the cab and my mom and I walked back to the hotel. It was a crazy night! 
When we got back to the hotel, Annabelle begged YaYa to take her home with her. She got YaYa all to herself and was able to spend the next day with her cousins. She was a pretty happy girl and G didn’t seem too disappointed to be spoiled by us.