A Mommy Story

Did I forget to mention I was going to Chicago this weekend?

Aaron has a stage combat workshop in Chicago every January (yes, we know, what a fabulous time to be in Chicago), and I usually come along for the sightseeing.

So yesterday we packed up the van we’re borrowing from Aaron’s parents, made sure the housesitter was comfortable and ready to spend a long weekend in, and then hit the open road.

Last year, Cordy was 4 months old, so we left her at home with my mom. This year, I wanted her to see Chicago, so she came along with us. Thankfully, so did my mom. Somehow, wrangling a 16 month old all by myself in Chicago seemed a little terrifying.

We were expecting Cordy to not enjoy the drive, but amazingly she was quiet and happy most of the way. Considering she barely slept in the car, this was an occurrence only slightly less miraculous than the appearance of the Virgin Mary at Fatima.

Once we checked into our hotel, it was time to find food. We took a cab to the Rainforest Cafe. It’s a great place to keep little kids entertained – a jungle themed dining area, with large tanks of exotic fish, and animatrons of gorillas, elephants, and other animals making lots of noise. Cordelia loved it all.

I was worried about how well Cordy would sleep. In past months, whenever we have spent the night away from home, Cordy did not want to sleep. She would wake up, generally around 2 or 3am, and stay awake the remainder of the night, screaming.

She did not disappoint last night. 3:15am, she woke up and started screaming. Luckily, we have two hotel rooms, so Aaron wouldn’t be disturbed, since swinging swords on little sleep is just a wee bit crazy. Mom and I stayed up with her, and by 4am, I was ready to attempt the nuclear option: Benadryl.

Benadryl makes many children sleepy. For a small percentage, it hypes them up. Guess which group Cordy falls in. Go on, take a guess.

By 4:30am, we realized that she was not getting drowsy. Mom sent me back to bed in the other room, and she chose to stay up. Bless her. Cordy finally fell asleep again at 6:30am. So the day didn’t even begin for us until after 10am, when everyone was up.

Today’s sightseeing plan was all about the Navy Pier. More specifically, the Children’s Museum. In return for spending all day yesterday strapped in a car seat, Cordy got to run and play in a museum built just for little ones like her.

The Navy Pier is just amazing. There are unique shops, cozy cafes and restaurants, and lots of entertainers roaming the place. Had we been here in the summer, we could have taken a ride on the gigantic ferris wheel or a speedboat. However, today was very windy with a mix of rain and snow, so we preferred to remain indoors.

The Children’s Museum is attached to all of this, and it is three stories of fun. Many exhibits are for older kids, but there were a few designed just for the under 5 set. There were things to climb, water to splash in, bricks to build with.

Cordelia gives her seal of approval to the Tree House, with its wood and rope ramps and platforms, as well as the “stream” where she enjoyed catching plastic fish and shells and then beating them to death on the edge of the stream. Who knew she was part otter?

She also found a ramp and after a little practice discovered that it was great fun to climb the ramp, then flop onto her belly and slide back down it. This was repeated several hundred times.

The only unfortunate part of the day was trying to leave. We had been there for 4 hours, and it was clear that Cordelia was exhausted. But no matter how tired she was, leaving was not part of her agenda.

My mom and I both had to wrestle her into the stroller as she thrashed and screamed and arched her back. She screamed until she was purple in the face. Even her hair took on a reddish-purple tint. We attempted to placate her with chocolate from an amazing fudge shop on the Navy Pier, but she refused our peace offering. Of course, we didn’t really mind that – more pecan turtles for us, then.

Tomorrow we’re planning to go to the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. The Shedd has a fun dolphin show that we’re hoping Cordy will enjoy. Of course, she’ll probably spend the entire show trying to climb up and down the amphitheater seating.