Chicago 2010

Last weekend we made our annual trip to Chicago with Mallory. This trip, however, was monumentally different then the first trip. Last year, Mallory was only 4 months old (almost 5) when we went, so things were very much different. The car ride, for instance, was a lot more stressful this time then last. Last time she slept off and on the whole way there. This time, she was a little more ancy. She wasn't crying but more talking nonsense the entire way there. She did sleep, but it wasn't for very long and when she woke up she wanted to get out of the car and play. Still, it was not a bad car ride. I think a lot of it was that Uncle Dan was in the back seat to entertain when Mommy and Daddy weren't paying attention.

When we finally got there, we immediately realized how much Aunt Erin and Uncle Todd's house is not conducive to a 16 month old so Mallory got constant attention. This was not hard though because Auntie Erin is always playing with her when she sees her anyway. Lots of breakables had to be moved and doorways had to be blocked but we did manage to create a safe enviornment after some instances of trial and error.

We spent most of the weekend hanging out with family and relaxing. Uncle Dan cooked our meals (yummy) since Mallory is not the best in a restaurant setting right now. We did go out for a walk to the park and through the zoo complete with swings, slides, monkeys, and seals which was quite entertaining for her.

In the evenings when Mallory was in bed, the adults sat outside by the fire and Todd introduced us to a new and exciting game called Hammerschlagen. Basically, everyone has a nail and you take turns attempting to beat the nail into the tree stump with the hammer. Catch is, you have to start with the hammer on the stump next to the nail, hold the hammer at the end of the handle, and you have one "hit" each turn to hit it into the stump. It is a lot harder then it sounds! It was quite addicting and fun. Dan, of course, was awesome at it and it took him 3 hits to my 20 to get the nail in. We also watched the "Re-Animator." I choose not to go into a lot of detail about this movie...it was one of those horror movies that was so bad it was funny.

The only downfall to our weekend was that Mallory caught a virus and has been home sick the last two days. She is getting better and getting her rest as we speak. Can't wait until our next family trip to Chicago.