Yet another trip to The Zoo...

A little collage of Elanor's face painting.

Splashing in the stream behind the Hammill.

Here she is pointing to her face and saying "I'm an animal! I'm a lion!"

Finally, we saw cicadas at the zoo.
We have not seen any here in Forest Park.

A visit to Jay and Cara's house

On Dad and Judy's last day up here we went to visit Evan and Baird.

Here we see Elanor sliding in the conventional manner.

Here we see that she has graduated to more advanced techniques.

...chillin' on the front porch with some bubbles.

Evan made sure that we all had these... I am not sure why.
(I still have mine.) Eventually She was able to blow bubbles, both with the want and with her mouth.
She held the wand a bit closer than most folks do.
A powerful combo, two year old slobber and bubble solution.

The Sunday of Evan's baptism

Dad and Judy consider no trip to Chicago complete without a trip to Louie's.

Elanor, Ten and I took rode to breakfast on her new bike,
a birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa.

Then we were off to Evan's baptism.

The cousins got in a little playtime before the ceremony.

Apparently Elanor thought that it was the baptismal drinking font.

I just thought that this was a nice picture of Uncle Jay and Elanor.

Museume of Science and Industry with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Judy

We were all excited to goto the Museum of Science and Industry,
none of us have been there in years.

Here is Elanor conducting a train.
Elanor and Grandpa Jim's true identities revealed!
The baby chicks still draw a crowd.
...and yet more water.

Shedd Aquarium with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Judy

On our third day we went to the Shedd Aquarium
after going to Evan and Teetah's end of year picnic.

Here we are on our way in.

The Shedd is the worst place I know to take pictures, very dim lighting.
Here is the only picture that both turned out and was worth posting.
Go to an aquarium, come home with a picture of a lizard, go figure.
That being said, we had a ball.

Brookfield Zoo with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Judy

On our second day the weather was great and we headed for the Zoo.

This was the first day that they had put water in the grotto for the baby polar bear.
He put on quite a show swimming and playing his pool.
The girls brushing the pygmy goats.
The fountain was on in front of the living coast, so I had Elanor clean off her Crocks again.
It is always work, work, work for the poor girl.

Millennium Park with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Judy

Grandpa Jim and Grandma Judy decided to vacation with us up here in Chicago this summer.
They stayed with us.

Here are Dad, Judy and Elanor in front of The Cloud Gate in Millennium Park.

Dad and Judy had never been and Elanor was just a baby when we came here with Aunt Aili.
She enjoyed playing in The Crown Fountain and it did a great job of cleaning off her Crocks.
I now carry a few swim diapers and a swimming suit in the diaper bag at all times.
Queen of the Fountain.
Not a bad view of the skyline from the park either.
We all had a fun day.

A Challenge...

One of these pictures is of a real peacock, the other is our very own Elanor. I know that it is hard to believe but see if you can guess which is which.

Oh-no In the Garden

The Garfield Park Conservatory is hosting an exhibition of sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle that they are calling "Niki in the Garden" I am not sure that it was a good idea to leave her that close to the water to take this photo,
but she did not choose to jump in.
There are pieces both inside and outside and you are climb on or in many of them.
The way that the sun plays on the mosaic is something to behold.
Umm... excuse me but you have something in your nose.
"It feels bumpy."
I think that we need one of these for our yard.
A couple of side bars here...
Elanor is fixated on fountains as of late,
she had to be carried away in tears from this one in front of the conservatory.
Another new love is picking up rocks, sand, dirt, wood chips etc and dropping them.
With us as parents it might be just as well if she is easily amused.

Elanor's First Haircut.

We took Elanor to Snippet's in Yorktown Mall after picking Kristen up from the El

Perhaps a little unsure ...

Warming up to the idea, and the mirror.
Looking good!

All done and ready to drive home.

Hat Trick!

So far this week Elanor has insisted on going to the zoo three times.
Here is a collection of shots from the visits.

Could he look tigerisher?
Astoria doesn't have a lock on the sea lion market.
I think that she is needs to pick up the pace to keep up with demand.
Our Goose whisperer.
The doll is named Sophia.
One girl, two rhinos.