Trip to the Shedd

On the Tuesday after Christmas, Jay woke me up and said, "Why don't we go to the Shedd Aquarium today?" Very impromptu trip, which is unusual for us...I am a big planner! Holden was so excited when we woke him up! We also invited my parents, who fortunately are early risers and get ready quickly. :) It was the only day that worked out for us to go as a family, so props to Jay for making the decision to go.

Some traveling pictures. Mom and I were sitting behind the boys so we were face-to-face with Hunter since his seat is still facing the rear. Let's just say this was one of the few moments that he was not screaming at the top of his lungs. I am hoping that part of it was due to the fact that he could see us and therefore didn't understand why we wouldn't rescue him out of the seat. The boy does not like to be confined. Getting a little worried about our drive to Florida in March....

One of the "interesting" things about an impromptu trip is that we did not get there right when it opened. And it was Christmas break, so there were about a thousand other people with the same impromptu idea. Jay and I had the bright idea not to wear our coats so that we didn't have to deal with checking them or carrying them around all day. Brilliant idea since Chicago is so toasty warm this time of year. Jay dropped us off at the front and I felt like a popsicle by the time we made the short trek to the doors. That's when we realized the ticket line was so long it stated OUTSIDE. And it was not moving quickly. Thank God for my dad, who had a heavy coat on and offered to wait in line. Mom and I took the kids and waited inside in the cafeteria area. I got some cute pictures while we waited. Holden wore his new shark shirt that I bought him for this summer, with a shirt under it. He loves sharks right now. Hunter is wearing the shirt that Holden wore a year ago for his first Shedd trip. Holden was 2 and a half when he wore it. Hunter is 9 months. Oh my. Also the phrase on it, "I take big bites," is very accurate for him these days, both food-wise and on unsuspecting shoulders, knees, etc. that he comes into contact with!

Jay finally made it! He had to park about 4 blocks away and was frozen by the time he came in. But I will say we were glad we didn't have to wait in the coat check line. With just my parents' coats and the boys', we were able to shove them in the stroller tray or drape them over the handle. We headed up to the lobby to wait for my dad. It took him about 45 minutes to get the tickets. Note to self: order the tickets online next year!

Some fun pics from our day. There are so many neat creatures to see there. Holden loved the sharks and was also excited to see "Nemo and Dorry." :) Hunter found everything interesting and entertaining. He was also happy to be carried around between the four adults since we had everything else (coats, diaper bag, food bag) in the stroller. This is the case half the time with our stroller. It's kind of like a rolling suitcase.

Papa, Grammy, and Hunter in front of the Chicago skyline. Hunter was super impressed.

The one thing Holden really remembered from last year was the pengin play area and the submarine. He again had a blast in this area this time around. I was happy to see him being more assertive-to the point I had to remind him to take turns at one point. I would prefer that to last year, when he was so tiny and got walked all over by some of the kids.

Peek-a-boo! Look who's outside the submarine!

Love this picture of Holden watching the baluga whales. He had no idea one was over his head.

I only got one good picture of the dolphin/whale/seal show. There is no flash photography allowed during the show for the safety of the animals, and my little camera mainly got blurry shots. It was different than the show we saw last year because it was still holiday themed. Santa actually flew through the air in a boat and went out to see the animals.

Fish gazing.

We had a really fun day! Holden really wants to head back to Chicago soon to one of the other museums. I think that's a great idea-when it's about 60 degrees warmer than this day was!