Good Night Chicago Book - Complete!

How was your weekend? Mia caught whatever's been going around and has a fever and runny nose. To rest up, today was full of cuddling and reading books, including this one...

Love this full bleed cover! What city's skyline beats Chicago's?! {photo taken from the Shedd Aquarium patio} 

I was soooo excited to give Mia {and Doug} this Christmas present!

After 2.5 years, our very own version of the Good Night Chicago children's book is complete! Since Mia was a baby and my sister in law gifted us the Good Night Chicago book, it was my goal to explore our city and take pictures of her at each landmark to recreate her board book. Surprisingly, we actually made it to all the spots mentioned in the book before Mia turned 3!

I made my wedding guest book with blurb.com and used it again to customize this keepsake photo book for my daughter.

It melted my heart today when Mia told me she wanted to read it again because she loves it. I may only have her first year of photos in an album (2 years behind, eek!), but at least I can cross this project off my list! I hope she cherishes this book even when she's older.

Click here to catch up on all the pictures from our DIY book.

DIY Good Night Chicago Book

It's been a fun summer around here and just recently we were able to finish our DIY Good Night Chicago book!  We turned Labor Day weekend into a long staycation by:

Taking Mia into the Loop on the El for her first train ride!

We saw Calder's Flamingo Statue in the Federal Plaza.

It's nice to see you, art.

Grabbed some Garrett's popcorn and hung out by Buckingham Fountain.

Hello, fantastic fountains.

Took Mia to her first Cubs game.

Good luck, Chicago sports teams. You can do it!

It was all smiles at first...

And she survived seven innings before the inevitable...

MELTDOWN!

Later that night, we kicked off Chicago's Jazz Festival with a free outdoor concert in Millennium Park. It was a gorgeous summer night and you should already know I love relaxing on a blankie with some wine and music. It was like Ravinia, but way better because you can.not. beat Chicago's skyline!

Just listen to those blues and jazz musicians.

And that's it for our recreation of the Good Night Chicago book! Well, except the Lighthouse. But realistically, I'm not sure when Mia would ever get out to see that. Now I just have to design and order the actual book, ha. Let's see how long that takes me!

Check out the rest of our pages/pictures here:
Good morning, Lake Michigan. (There's a lot: May 2010, May 2011, July 2011, and many more not blogged about!)
Good morning, Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. Are we ready for a wonderful day? (Not sure this will ever happen.)

Greetings, Navy Pier and Ferris Wheel.
Greetings, Chicago River and bridges.

Hello, great Chicago buildings, reaching up into the sky. or here

Hello, kids and kites in Lincoln Park.
Hello, fantastic fountains.

Good afternoon, gorillas. Isn't it fun to visit the zoo?

Good afternoon, sharks, fish, turtles and mammals at the aquarium.
Wow! Look at those dinosaur bones at the Field Museum of Natural History.
Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry.
It's nice to see you, art.
Hello, historic Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile.
Good luck, Chicago Sports Teams, you can do it. 

Just listen to those blues and jazz musicians.
Good evening, star gazers at the planetarium. Have you ever wished upon a star?

Goodnight Chicago, sleep tight. Thank you for a wonderful day!

Good Night Chicago - Shedd Aquarium

This weekend, we crossed another page off Mia's "Good Night Chicago" photo book that I'm re-creating for her.

Good afternoon, sharks, fish, turtles and mammals at the aquarium.

Even though everyone says it's crowded at the Shedd Aquarium, especially on a weekend, we still went on a Saturday afternoon. And wow. It. was. packed! You see the people under the blue awning below? Yeah? Well the line actually extended three times past that point! I couldn't believe it! I definitely recommend paying the $5 in fees and purchasing tickets in advance to avoid a ridiculously long line. Also check the schedule to see if the aquarium is closing early that day for a special event.

Thankfully, there is an accessible entrance off to the side for wheelchairs and strollers. So even though we didn't purchase tickets in advance, we waited maybe 5 minutes thanks to this accessible entrance/separate line. Phew!

A trip to the Shedd to see all the exhibits is not cheap. The parking garage under Soldier Field set us back $22. Doug and I each purchased $35 tickets and since Mia is under 3 years old, she was FREE. But our Total Experience Passes did include:

The Jellies Exhibit:

So cool! And weird if you think about these unique creatures.

A 15 minute 4D show:

We didn't feel the need to dumb it down for Mia, so we chose Planet Earth instead of Dora chasing a robot butterfly (what?!) or Ice Age.

A 30 minute aquatic show with dolphins, a sea lion and beluga whales:

I don't think it's as exciting as a show at Sea World or actually swimming with dolphins, but it was ok.

Wild Reef, my favorite exhibit!

 This is where the sharks are at! And the floor to ceiling tank and enormous creatures are amazing. Makes me feel like a kid in awe. every. time.

The Oceanarium, where you can see the penguins, beluga whales and dolphins in the underwater viewing area.:

I love seeing all the strange creatures that also kinda creep me out.

We shelled out another $20 for a sandwich, yogurt and hot dog. But when you eat on the terrace with the most amazing view of the skyline and lake, you forget how much you paid for a crappy lunch.

After being at the aquarium for 3 hours, Mia fell asleep in Doug's arms while we navigated through bustling crowds of people to see what creatures resided beyond the glass. So we called it a day and sat on a shady park bench to take in the view while Mia napped.

*sigh* I love museum campus.

Need to catch up on my re-creation of the Good Night Chicago book?
Good morning, Lake Michigan. (There's a lot: May 2010, May 2011, July 2011, and many more not blogged about!)
Good morning, Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. Are we ready for a wonderful day? (Not sure this will ever happen.)

Greetings, Navy Pier and Ferris Wheel.
Greetings, Chicago River and bridges.

Hello, great Chicago buildings, reaching up into the sky. or here

Hello, kids and kites in Lincoln Park.
Hello, fantastic fountains.

Good afternoon, gorillas. Isn't it fun to visit the zoo?

Good afternoon, sharks, fish, turtles and mammals at the aquarium.
Wow! Look at those dinosaur bones at the Field Museum of Natural History.
Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry.
It's nice to see you, art.
Hello, historic Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile.
Good luck, Chicago Sports Teams, you can do it. (If the Cubs didn't suck, maybe we'd have more motivation to go sooner.)

Just listen to those blues and jazz musicians. (This'll be something new for Doug and I, too!)
Good evening, star gazers at the planetarium. Have you ever wished upon a star?

Goodnight Chicago, sleep tight. Thank you for a wonderful day!

Good Night Chicago - Water Tower

Don't worry, I didn't quit blogging. We've just been busy enjoying every. minute. of summer! But since my friends (and even my mother in law!) are calling me out on the lack of postings, here's a quick one...

If you don't remember, my sister in law gave Mia this cute little board book, Good Night Chicago. I'm going to remake this book into a photobook for Mia, with her cute little face at all the historic Chicago landmarks. Just like the book! J Recently, we saw a show near Water Tower (more on that soon) so we checked one more page off the list!

 Hello historic Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile.

Only 4 more pages to go!

Good morning, Lake Michigan. (There's a lot: May 2010, May 2011, July 2011, and many more not blogged about!)
Good morning, Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. Are we ready for a wonderful day? (Not sure this will ever happen.)

Greetings, Navy Pier and Ferris Wheel.
Greetings, Chicago River and bridges.

Hello, great Chicago buildings, reaching up into the sky. or here

Hello, kids and kites in Lincoln Park.
Hello, fantastic fountains.

Good afternoon, gorillas. Isn't it fun to visit the zoo?

Good afternoon, sharks, fish, turtles and mammals at the aquarium.
Wow! Look at those dinosaur bones at the Field Museum of Natural History.
Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry.
It's nice to see you, art.
Hello, historic Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile.
Good luck, Chicago Sports Teams, you can do it. (If the Cubs didn't suck, maybe we'd have more motivation to go sooner.)

Just listen to those blues and jazz musicians. (This'll be something new for Doug and I, too!)
Good evening, star gazers at the planetarium. Have you ever wished upon a star?

Goodnight Chicago, sleep tight. Thank you for a wonderful day!

Good Night Chicago - Museum of Science Industry

As you know, it was Mia's 2nd birthday last week. We ended her special day with cupcakes from Molly's.

But just like last year, we started the day with pancakes. Same time last year comparison!

I tried to get creative this year...

Last year we took Mia to Navy Pier for her birthday. This year we took her to the Museum of Science and Industry to knock out one more page of my DIY Goodnight Chicago book.

Just like last year at Navy Pier's Children's Museum, Mia loved playing in the water area at MSI.

For Doug and I, the model trains were the highlight of the day! The mini city was so cool!

I was in awe of the buildings and trains in this little model city just like I am of the real city!

(Side note: I canNOT wait to show you my latest from the A-Z photography challenge!)

I was amazed by all the details. I spotted Lasalle and the Board of Trade and the river and bridges just like in real life!

 I waited excitedly for the el and Metra trains to go by.

Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Thank you, MSI for a wonderful day!

Only 5 more pages to go!
     Good morning, Lake Michigan. (There's a lot: May 2010, May 2011, July 2011, and many more not blogged about!)
     Good morning, Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. Are we ready for a wonderful day? (Not sure this will ever happen.)

     Greetings, Navy Pier and Ferris Wheel.
     Greetings, Chicago River and bridges.

     Hello, great Chicago buildings, reaching up into the sky. or here

     Hello, kids and kites in Lincoln Park. 
     Hello, fantastic fountains.

     Good afternoon, gorillas. Isn't it fun to visit the zoo? 

     Good afternoon, sharks, fish, turtles and mammals at the aquarium.     
     Wow! Look at those dinosaur bones at the Field Museum of Natural History.
     Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry.
     It's nice to see you, art.
     Hello, historic Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile.
     Good luck, Chicago Sports Teams, you can do it. Can they??  (ETA - summer 2012)

     Just listen to those blues and jazz musicians. (This'll be something new for Doug and I, too!)
     Good evening, star gazers at the planetarium. Have you ever wished upon a star?

     Goodnight Chicago, sleep tight. Thank you for a wonderful day!

Here's Mia with her first camera! She totally wants to be just.like.mommy. And even took my stance saying, "Mommy do that." The Vivitar camera cost just as much as a Fisher Price camera, so I figured I might as well get the real looking one! She even said it looks just like Grandma's. Then she posed Daisy for pictures J

I'll be having wine & cheese flights on the Mag Mile tonight, followed by the Luminous Field at the Bean! Then Monday is a restaurant week dinner, mMmmmM! Have a great weekend!

Good Night Chicago - Lincoln Park

Last year, I decided to put together our own version of the book "Good Night Chicago." After we take pictures all around the city, I'll make it into a book. Then when Mia grows up, she'll have pictures with Chicago's iconic landmarks and can hopefully show her kids to see how the city has (or hasn't) changed.

When my cousin came at the end of October, I convinced her to take our babies to the Lincoln Park Zoo. You never know when Chicago weather will turn cold or wet with no more warm sunshine for the rest of the year...so I had to spend any chance I could outside! Here's the view of Chicago's skyline (John Hancock, Trump Tower, Sears Tower and everything in between) from the bridge by the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Hello, kids and kites in Lincoln Park.

And because I couldn't pick just one...

  *sigh* I love this city. And this silly little girl. © And I guess this guy too.

 

Only six more pages to go!

     Good morning, Lake Michigan. (There's a lot: May 2010, May 2011, July 2011, and many more not blogged about!)
     Good morning, Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. Are we ready for a wonderful day? (Not sure this will ever happen.)

     Greetings, Navy Pier and Ferris Wheel.
     Greetings, Chicago River and bridges.

     Hello, great Chicago buildings, reaching up into the sky. or here

     Hello, kids and kites in Lincoln Park. 
     Hello, fantastic fountains.

     Good afternoon, gorillas. Isn't it fun to visit the zoo? 

     Good afternoon, sharks, fish, turtles and mammals at the aquarium.     
     Wow! Look at those dinosaur bones at the Field Museum of Natural History.
     Choo! Choo! There go the model trains at the Museum of Science and Industry. (ETA - 2/9/2012)
     It's nice to see you, art.
     Hello, historic Water Tower on the Magnificent Mile.
     Good luck, Chicago Sports Teams, you can do it. Can they??  (ETA - summer 2012)

     Just listen to those blues and jazz musicians. (This'll be something new for Doug and I, too!)
     Good evening, star gazers at the planetarium. Have you ever wished upon a star?

     Goodnight Chicago, sleep tight. Thank you for a wonderful day!

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