Chicago's Shed Aquarium = lots of fun

The Big Tank!

If you've never been to Chicago's Shed Aquarium your missing out. Todd and I took the kids this past Sunday and we enjoyed it so much that 2 days later I came back with my friend Michelle and her kids for another fun day. I did learn that going during the week is much more pleasant because it is less crowded.

Here are some pictures of the fun...

Dolphin

I bet it's not fun to clean this glass, look at all the dirty hand prints

Tony really enjoyed himselfBella had a pretty good time too

Lots of things for Bella to climb on

This was the Fantasea show from down below and that is a Baluga Whale

The Fantasea show from above

When we came back with my friend we opted to drive up the night before and stay in my in-laws condo in downtown Chicago. The kids had lots of fun sitting in the window from the 28th floor and watching all the cars below.

Michelle's kids Olivia and Sam are on the outside with Tony in the middle.

Tony thought this was the coolest cookie jar ever, and there weren't even cookies in it!

Water fun

Ooh, look at the Penguin!!!

Bella got to see one up close too!

Sam and Bella Penguin watching

Olivia and Sam in an Ice Cave

Sam

Tony

The Submarine was great fun for both Bella and Tony

So many buttons and switches to mess with

Tony and Bella in the ice cave, right before leaving, can you tell they are wearing out? It was a long day with no nap for them, but surprisingly they did quite well.

"Hey Bella, check out this baby Penguin!"

Such a sweet big brother!

All in all it was a very fun couple of days, and I think we will be going back a lot more. On the way home Tony kept saying, "go back!"

Should I worry?

So these 3 pictures posted on my last blog led to a few comments, that led me to start worrying.

First of all, look at how Tony is sitting in all 3 pictures. Cute right, well apparently it's not good for kids to sit like this, or "W-sitting" as they (the developmental police) call it. Something about putting pressure on the hips, shortening of the muscles, disruption in the development of hand preference, improper trunk rotation...blah blah blah. Seriously do I have to worry about this and correct him whenever he sits this way? I don't know, seems a little extreme to me, but I will watch him and see if he is easily persuaded to change positions. Any thoughts or opinions on this one????



And in this last picture you see Tony still has his pacifier. Yes he is almost 2 and a half years old, but he only gets it in bed, not anywhere else in the house and not even in the car. So I thought I was doing pretty good, but is that good enough??? I decided I would try to break the habit this week since I have a week off work. Today at nap time I told him I couldn't find it and it was an all out crying episode. I finally gave in and let him get up, thinking he'd get tired and eventually fall asleep without it. By 4 O'clock I was ready to give him the paci back, this boy needs naps still and if giving up the paci means giving up naps, then I AM NOT READY YET! So when should you get rid of the pacifier? I think 3 is the universal answer, so I'm good to go for a little bit longer.

February Pictures

My little kids are growing up so fast. It is finally getting easier these days. They can almost play together. They are definitely siblings, you can tell by looking at them, but in many ways they act a lot alike. Although they definitely have personalities unique to them. Take Bella for instance. She loves to eat, she used to be a great eater, she still loves to eat, but she doesn't seem to eat as much anymore because her stubborn independence gets in the way. She refuses any type of assistance. If you come at her with a spoon she starts flapping her arms in distress. She hasn't mastered the spoon yet either, so I've learned if it isn't finger food, don't bother, cause she wont let you feed her. She also has a tendency to cram her mouth completely full of food before she starts chewing and swallowing.

The other day I bought bowls that suction to the table in hopes to teach her how to eat with a spoon, but she was smarter than me cause she ate the spaghetti O's with her fingers, and then picked up the bowl and dumped it when she was done. So much for suction!
She makes such a mess when she eats, and then she puts her hands all over her face and hair. Look how sticky her hair is in this picture taken right after breakfast. Todd says we need to put a helmet on her when she eats, and it's best to strip her down first too, otherwise the whole outfit has to be dunked in shout before washing.
Tony always sits like this when he plays.
Bella is such a happy girl, just like her brother. They both also loved this toy, Tony still gets in it sometimes. Mostly whenever Bella is in it, he wants her to get out so he can get in.
Bella doesn't suck her thumb, I don't know why she is in the picture but it's so cute!
In case anyone was wondering, cribs are strong enough to hold adults too.
One day, I was busy doing something and Tony wanted my attention, so to distract him, I handed him the bag of trail mix and told him to pick out some M&M's. He quietly disappeared and I forgot about it until a few minutes later when I hear him in Bella's room (who was supposed to be napping). Oh and you can't see it in the picture, but Bella had chocolate all over her face, so he must have been feeding her M&M's too.
How could you be mad at this face though? He was only doing what I told him to do. And he was sharing with his sister!
His grandpa got him a new John Deere hat at a farm show... Looks like he will need to grow into it a bit.
They play together almost, more like side by side play.
They finally got too big to put in the kitchen sink. Bella started trying to stand up and it was getting to be to hard to contain them, so they now get to bathed like normal kids... in a tub.

They like to be in each others cribs together too.
And yes, Tony still has his pacifier, but only in the bed. It's a lot harder to get rid of than I thought. I'm just glad I took it away during the day early on before he could talk, I should have just gotten rid of it all together then. Oh well. Bella doesn't use one, so I only have to break one kid of the habit.
"Mom what happened to my cake???"

Katya was not happy when she found out that while she and her friends were busy playing at her birthday party, Tony spotted the cake, pulled up a chair and then demanded a fork. "Fork mama!" he yelled louder and louder and more persistently each time. Finally Rachael decided we could sneak a piece from the back that wouldn't show in the pictures when Katya blew out her candles.
Here he is getting his way.
Bella in the foam pit with me. Katya's birthday party was at a gymnastics gym.
Bella looking at herself in the mirror.
Monkey see, Monkey do.

Today I did something crazy. I woke up at 5:00 am to go to an early morning step class at the YMCA. With Bella's upcoming first birthday and me still having a few or more pregnancy pounds to lose (which I am determined to do before she turns one) drastic measures have to be taken. I am not a morning person, but on the bright side, I got home shortly after 7 and the whole house was still asleep. Ahh, some quality quiet time to myself. What to do... well I really should have cleaned out the fridge cause something in there stinks, but I could probably do that later with kids awake, computer time is much more difficult with awake kids. Plus it's my mom's birthday, and she loves it when we (my sisters and I) blog, and since I didn't get her birthday gift to her on time, this will might brighten her day. Happy Birthday Mom!