Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

I took the day off on Friday and Marin and I headed downtown together on the train. We met Auntie Molly and Uncle Bri and Brian's sister Jessica, her husband Jay and their three children, at the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. The children loved the dancing animals on the walls and the rainforest sounds, plus Jack and Remy got light up cups that about made us all blind, but were festive and fun. Marin ate like a champ but didn't save enough room for the volcano brownie and ice cream that came literally on fire at the end of the meal (the waiter yelled "VOLCANO!!" as he brought it to our table). I helped her out by eating her share as well as my own. Hey, I couldn't let that go to waste- think of all the poor starving children who don't get a volcano cake! It was great to see the Herold Family and catch up. And of course, it's always a treat for Marin to get to see her Auntie Molly and Uncle Bri.

After lunch, Marin and I headed to Daddy's office for a visit. Marin ran around the halls saying hello, and every time she saw someone new she would lift her dress over her head and giggle. Not sure if I should be concerned about this??? In any case, after Marin had well flashed half of Jason's office, we headed out for Marin's first el train ride and a sleepover at our friends Ross and Emilie's place. Ross and Emilie live in our old building, right across the hall from our old house. So it felt a little strange sleeping in their guest bedroom instead of in our own (old) house 5 feet away, but we decided we like it better that way! Sleepovers are too much fun! Friday night we had some cocktails and then headed out in the old hood to one of our favorite spots. Marin slept in her stroller the whole time, and we took advantage by having a nice, lazy dinner over a few bottles of wine and lots of good food. When we got back to Ross and Emilie's the girls got into their jammies, Marin went right to bed, and Emilie and I stayed awake talking and snuggling with their puppy, Charlie, until I had to hold my eyes open.

Saturday morning, we headed to brunch at one of our favorite breakfast spots, Over Easy, also in our old neighborhood. Fueled by our favorite egg dishes, from their we headed for the Lincoln Park Zoo. We met Aunt Lindsay on the way there and we all enjoyed watching Marin's face as she saw the animals live for the first time. She stood at the fence peering at the animals in amazement, and then she would get so excited she would dance her little feet up and down and then she would go to the next part of the fence and do the same thing. Marin loved the giraffes and the monkeys. She climbed up the little step at the giraffe cage, and learned to say "oo-oo-ah-ah" like the monkeys say. A few of the gorillas were right up against the glass, so Jason took Marin over to them to have a closer look. The gorilla took one good strong look at Marin though, and she decided she'd rather not be so close to a 400 pound furry thing with big teeth. Fair enough. Marin got to see the itsy bitsy spider, (although it was neither itsy or bitsy), and she really liked the exhibits where the fish were right at her level and she could watch them swimming under water. She stood at the glass for so long, until she found a step that was just her size, and she decided to sit there for a while and watch the fish. We also walked through the farm in the zoo. That was old news; her Uncle Bob and Aunt Vee have a farm much bigger than that one, but Marin enjoyed it all the same. What she especially loved at the farm zoo were all of the animals; specifically, the ponies. She waved to them and said, "Iiiiiiii!!", which is her way of saying "Hi". She loved sitting with her daddy on the tractor for the first time.

After a great long day at the zoo, we headed back home Saturday night. Marin made a friend on the train- only problem was that he was about 21 years old than she. Marin was sitting on my lap facing me, with her head on my chest when she caught this boys eye. She darted up as quickly as she could to wave hello. When he waved back, she blushed and hid her head back in my chest again. Then she darted out waving again about 30 seconds later. And then back into my chest as soon as he waved back. This flirting continued for about 15 minutes. Luckily, this young man was nice and didn't mind being hit on by a one year old blond with a how-can-you-resist-me-smile and killer blue eyes. :)

Sunday we caught up on a few things at our house. Marin and Norah played in the yard a while before we went to my parents house for a belated birthday celebration for Aunt Katy. We loved chatting with my family. Aunt Katy let Marin help her open all of her birthday presents, and Marin delighted in ripping the paper off and then stomping on it afterward.


Lately we have been reminded all too poignantly how precious and short life can be. I have been holding Marin a little tighter, hugging her a little longer, leaving the dishes and the laundry for tomorrow. In the end what we will remember is not how clean our house was or how tidy we were, but how many times we laughed with our children over nothing at all. At the times we set everything aside to be together and live life as fully as possible. Hug your babies, let the dog kiss your face. Go to the zoo. Get down in the grass and play with your kids. You will never regret the memories that follow.

And now, for a video of Marin showing us what the monkey says. Nevermind that Jason and I make complete fools of ourselves in the meantime. :) (I remembered half way through to turn the camera, so stick it out...)


Here are a few more pictures of our weekend: