Oh, Chicago.

The highlights of our weekend with my sister.

• We walked in the door to Karina's apartment and within 20 seconds (no exaggeration) the people below her are banging on their ceiling/her floor. I guess we were disturbing them with our walking. We were trying to be as quiet as possible because Jack was sleeping. The irony lies in the fact that in the last five years, Kyle and I have called the police more than we can count on the people in that apartment because of noise in the middle of the night . . . and that doesn't include all of the times my sister had to call when we weren't there. Plus, based on the "aroma" coming through the vents, we're pretty sure that they smoke more than cigarettes.
  
  Then again, maybe it's someone new living down there. Either way, cut us some slack.
  
  
• Nothing brings out the crazies in Chicago like St. Patrick's Day. On the el, there were three 18 year old girls already drinking it up. All of them were in short sleeved t-shirts. It didn't get above 40 degrees on Saturday.
  
  
• Three people referred to Jack as "she." My sister then confirmed for me that unless he wears blue, he really could go either way. This was brand new information for me.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Jack was amazing on the entire trip! He cried a little on the way there (it was past bedtime and he couldn't get comfortable) but didn't cry at all for the 4-hour drive home! We were out and about all day Saturday and Sunday and wasn't fussy at all. He seemed to enjoy the stroller a lot more than he usually does on our trips to Target. He even slept in the stroller for a little while (which never happens). His favorite was the botanical gardens at Navy Pier.
  
  
  

• Jack tried to capture the attention of every person we encountered . He was successful about 98% of the time. This includes one lady who asked if Jack had ever seen a black person before. He was quite methodical about it. First, he'd try to catch someone's eye. Once he had it, he'd duck his head behind something and then pop out in an effort to play peekaboo. He'd do it until they played along. He had never initiated peekaboo before and I was a little surprised by it. Not a single person seemed annoyed. Most people guessed he was about 15 months old.
  
  
• The el shut down for about 15 minutes on our way into the city. Not just stopped . . . the power shut down completely. This has never happened to us before and Karina said it had never happened to her either. I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• On Sunday, we went to the suburbs to IKEA and to the mall. At IKEA, we ran into some friend from our small group. We didn't even know they were going to be in Chicago . . . how random is that?
  
  
• On Monday, Kyle and I had a chance to grab breakfast in Arlington Heights with my friend Annie (Steve had to work). Jack met Alex for the first time and it was good to catch up with her!
  
  
  
  
  
  
• My sister lives about two blocks from Lake Michigan on the top floor of her building. If her building were two floors higher, she'd be able to see the ake (and would probably pay twice as much for her apartment). Even though she has a waterless view, the sunrise on Monday morning was beautiful.
  
  
  

We had a great time and were sad to leave, but it's really good to be home. Its a crazy week and I'm glad I had a little time away to relax and come back refreshed!