Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. To celebrate, Nate drew this turkey and wrote his name (!!)
Our Chicago Vacation
helloheather's cousin Peter was married (almost) a month ago in Chicago. We decided that, because we did not have an "away" vacation this summer, we would make one out of the wedding weekend. I took the Friday off and we zipped downtown to The Palmer House Hotel.
Friday afternoon we headed over to Millennium Park. It was misting out but we still had a good time. We saw Cloud Gate, the fountains, the temporary Burnham Pavilions, and climbed the new bridge to the Modern wing of the Art Institute.
Friday evening, we were invited to the reversal dinner so we all hopped on the Red Line and headed north. Nate was treated to the quintessential public transit experience: a very loud and annoying (and young) Baptist preacher telling us we are all evil in everything we do and we're going to hell. Nate took it all in stride and eventually ignored the guy. On the way back to the hotel we were treated to slightly inebriated college students. The circle was complete.
Saturday morning we took a cab over to the Field Museum. Nate really enjoyed Sue the T-Rex and some of the other skeletons he saw, but for the most part the museum was over his head. We ran from room to room (he was setting the pace) and eventually decided we were all done for the day. The cab ride back was fun, and the driver quite taken by Nate. When we stopped at the light in front of the Art Institute, the driver asked Nate: "Do you see those lions? Are you afraid of those lions?" to which he answered very matter-of-factly: "No, they're just statues." The cab driver had a really good laugh.
The wedding and reception were held at the South Shore Cultural Center, a beautiful location right on the lake. Nate did a lot of running around with a boy a little bit younger than him and before long we were all exhausted. Gone are the days of being one of the last couples to leave the reception. 
Sunday morning we decided to head out to breakfast rather than eat in the hotel. Nate was a little restless so I took him for a walk while we waited for our food. It was a cool morning and the streets and sidewalks were empty. We ended up in Federal Plaza which contains the sculpture Flamingo by Alexander Calder.
Following breakfast we packed up the car and drove north to Wrigleyville to attend church with my in-laws good friends. By that time the clouds had broken and we ended up with a beautiful fall day. Nate slept soundly during the drive home.