Girls Day Out

Before the snow came, it was beautiful this week. So nice, in fact, that Lily and I went to the beach. In January. In Chicago. I thought I was dreaming, but in fact, no. We were actually there. And I have pictures to prove it. 

Not that you could ever tell that was my child except by the hair in her face. I'm at a loss as to what to do here. I don't want to cut her hair and give her a mullet until the age of five, but she will NOT tolerate any clip or hair tie for more than a few minutes at a time unless she gets distracted by something else immediately and forgets about it. It's almost long enough to tuck behind her ears, but when I do that she immediately shakes it out. I think it's just something we'll have to put up with for a while longer, but it sure in annoying. 

Tuesday morning I decided to take Lily down to the Field Museum to get a Mold-o-Rama whale. The museum's Facebook page kindly informed me that it would only be there a few days longer and that I should make sure to get ours soon! So of course I had to. I LOVE those things. They're so cheap and stupid and they last for like a week before they melt or break or something, but I don't know, they're just so FUN. So we hopped on the bus and away we went. 

It's not quite as easy to take the bus with Lily as it used to be. Now we have to take the stroller, I can't just count on carrying her the whole way because she insists on walking sometimes. It's just easier to get her in and out of the stroller than any of the carriers, plus she's getting heavy. The actual traveling is fine, it's the transition from street and stroller to bus and lap that's difficult. I have to take her out of the stroller, set her down, try to keep one hand on her so she doesn't run into traffic while trying to collapse the stroller with the other hand (which is definitely a two-handed job). But I managed. 

After getting our toy, it was so nice out we walked along the lakefront up to the Art Institute. By the time I got there Lily had passed out in her stroller so I got to actually wander around and look at some art. It's been a while since I've been able to do that without chasing her or having to be constantly bouncing up and down so she wouldn't cry. When she woke up we headed down to the cafeteria for lunch where Lily sat in a big girl chair the whole time. 

On the way back she sat in her own seat on the bus, too. She's getting to be such a big girl! Later while lying down with Lily to get her to nap I was thinking about how my mom used to take me downtown and it always made me feel so grown up. When I was little I remember taking the train to Marshall Fields and getting my picture taken with Santa. I don't remember the actual picture part, but I do remember eating a giant cookie in one of their little cafes they had. And I remember walking down the street trying not to be afraid of the giant vents in the ground. I also remember going to the Art Institute during school breaks and when I came home from college. It was always a special day, just the two of us, talking more like friends than mother and daughter. 

This is something that I want to continue to do with my daughter. Really listen to her when she talks so she knows that her ideas are important, let her feel like a grown up, let her be a kid, and somehow manage to be both her friend and her mom. And take the time for just us girls to have fun.