Retracing the Steps: Daddy's Day Off

It's been way too long since I last posted! I meant to at least post one thing a week, but it's definitely been longer than that. Time for some catch-up...Christmas and the prep for it has certainly kept us occupied.

This first post makes me feel a little guilty, but some rather useful bits of knowledge came from it at least...For about 2 months now, I and the moms of Munch's two little friends have been trying to plan a playdate to the Children's Museum, and we've had to postpone it 3 times already, because we really wanted to go together. At this point it's set for January. Well, on the 19th, Munch ended up getting a solo experience there instead...hence my bit of guilt. Daddy had one floating holiday that needed to be used before the end of the year, so he took that Monday off, thinking we could use the morning time for an excursion of some sort for the three of us, and be back in time for Munch's afternoon nap.

So I went to the library a couple of days beforehand, hoping to find a free museum pass to get us in somewhere. (For those who don't know, a limited number of these passes are available to city library card holders. They allow free basic admittance for up to 4 people per pass--super useful.) We were thinking something along the lines of the Museum of Science and Industry, since that's really fun at Christmas time, and also has a lot of kid-friendly exhibits. Plus I really did want to do the Children's Museum first with my friends.

Things did not work out as planned, obviously, as the Children's Museum was the only baby/toddler-friendly pass available. Then, the night before our planned excursion, I suddenly remembered (thanks to my calendar, which I stupidly hadn't checked before...) that I'd scheduled Munch's next check-up for late morning on the 19th, and she had to have a minor blood test beforehand to check for lead (apparently routine in a city full of old buildings). To reschedule would have cost me $25, as it was less than 24 hours before the appointment. Ugh. So Daddy and I decided we'd try for an afternoon adventure, and just see how it went.

The morning doctor adventure went surprisingly smoothly...even though I ended up way early for the appointment, they called me in right away! I was home before lunch, which hasn't happened in several appointments, and really had needed to happen this day. Yay God! :) For those wondering, the doc was very pleased with Munch's progress, and she's holding steady in the 95th percentiles for both weight and height. I already know I'm doomed to be the shortest...But it runs in my family. :P

So I got Munch home, fed her lunch, packed her bag while she was eating, then put her down for a nap. We woke her at 2 (she wasn't happy with that...), then instead of getting on a bus down the street, we drove and parked near an L line, and took that to the Children's Museum, thus saving us a little of the commuting headache. We still had to make a couple transfers, but it worked out SO much better this way.

So far so good...I've been to Navy Pier, where the museum is located, plenty of times, so getting there isn't a problem (although I did learn a better route there this time). Getting INTO the museum posed the first significant problem, as the only obvious ways up to its second floor entrance were stairs or escalators. I've only ever been there with the preschool I worked with, and of course we didn't use strollers for those kids. So where was that elevator to the museum entrance?? We found one that was WAY out of the way, and managed to make our way back to where we wanted to be...only to discover later when we left that there's an elevator straight to it in the gift shop on the main floor below...but hey, better to learn that now than when there's THREE strollers...right? :) The museum was relatively quiet...for a children's museum--perhaps one nice thing about that time of day, as I KNOW how crazy it can get in the mornings when there's kids field-tripping there. I was also very glad it was free for us, as there were a lot of things that Munch couldn't do yet. We found that she's in that really awkward stage...she's not a baby who will happily stay in the special 'baby zones', but also not quite that kid or toddler who can play with all the other toys. We did find a few things she really enjoyed, and we had fun with them...but she really would do herself a favor if she could be walking properly by the next time we go.

Evening (and its normal rush hour) came upon us all too soon, so we decided to wait out the 'rush' and ate dinner downtown. We finished up only about half an hour before Munch's normal bedtime, then headed for the trains for an approximately hour-long journey back home. You can probably guess what happened. Thankfully, our child is pretty calm, and even when she's fussy she's really not bad. But she KNOWS her bedtime, and she WANTS it when it's time for it. She was out like a light as soon as she was in her crib.

So Daddy's day off worked out well after all, and we definitely had fun. It was very nice to do something special specifically for Munch, as she's often just the added 'issue' we have to figure out on a day we plan for us. As I've said before...still getting used to this thing called parenting. But next time, I will make sure I check the dates and times of doctor's appointments WELL in advance! :) Anywho, here's some pictures of our day:

There were three main areas that we played in:

The Kids Town: