Harper's new bedroom

We are under contract for a new house in La Grange, which is on the train line west of Chicago and has a bustling downtown area with lots of restaurants and shopping (including a Trader Joe's and an outstanding restaurant with a commitment to using organics and local food!) The house is less than a 1/2 mile from the downtown area, which we are very excited about after being banished to the 'burbs in Colorado for the past few years, it will be nice to have many options within walking distance.
I had to go over to the house last week for a second inspection - the house was built in 1925 and there was some concern about the foundation, which it turns out, is fine. I told Harper that I was going to her new house - the "Hershey's Kiss" house. She has seen it twice and her fondest memory of it is that the sellers set out a bowl of Hershey's kisses for potential buyers to help themselves to. When I told her where I was going, she told me, "Mommy, I want the pink bedroom but I don't want the Winnie the Pooh that's on the bed." We have seen dozens of houses over the last 6 weeks so I had no idea if there was a Pooh or not but I went along with her.  Lo and behold, we got to the house and there, parked on the bed in the pink bedroom, was Winnie the Pooh. She never ceases to amaze us!

Day out at the Field Museum

We took the girls downtown to the Field Museum. We actually were heading down to go to the Shedd Aquarium, but once we got there we realized it was a free day and didn't want to deal with the crowds. The Field Museum was a great alternative, Harper particularly loved the Mummies exhibit and we spent a lot of time talking about the difference between mammals and other classes of animals - she was curious about why Reid didn't hatch out of an egg. 

 Sears Tower in the background.

Chicago!

We miss Colorado so much but I have to admit, there's something about the vibe of being a big city that I savor.  Andy and I enjoyed a kid-free night out last weekend to celebrate his birthday.

Goofy girl hiding in the locker at the gym

The girls and I have a deal: they play nicely in the gym "kid's club" for an hour while I exercise and then we get to go in the pool.  Though with the effort and chaos it takes getting them both in and out of the pool, I'm not sure why I need to work out beforehand.  Here's my silly girl, hanging out in a locker.

More walking!

She's gotten better and better each day and she is definitely walking more than crawling now.

A caged Reid

Harper decided that a laundry basket made a good cage for Reid to stay in.  Too bad it only lasted 30 seconds.

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Grandma and Papa Pillari gave the girls a fantastic gift: books that they can read with a special "pen" that lets them hear Grandma and Papa reading to them.  Harper just loves it.  One book she became particularly smitten with is "Tikki Tikki Tembo" and the main character is named Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo. She surprised us, in typical Harper fashion, by telling us the boy's full name at dinner one night about a week after she first read the book. I don't think that Andy or I could say the name yet!