The Mouse Family Blog

This week some of the nicer restaurants in Chicago are running a special program that allows families with young children to dine in their restaurants. The event includes an ample supply of high chairs, as well as a special menu designed for kids.

So tonight we headed to "160 Blue" to dine on lamb loin, sea bass, gnocchi and fine wine. Lauren did well, though she did decided she needed to get "Up!" in the middle of the meal. She even decided to use a few crayons, before ultimately deciding she'd like to a sample taste of them as well (they weren't to her liking). She had ice cream with berries for desert and liked it well enough.

Our friends Vann and Amanda joined us, along with their daughter Charlie.

Ian Pogany celebrated his birthday today with a Bob the Builder themed party!

Lauren had a rare treat -- S U G A R !!!! Over the past month, we've somehow managed to dupe Lauren into believing that a rice cake is a "cookie." She now asks for them incessantly. A typical "conversation" with Lauren goes something like this:
Up?.....Outside?....Cookie?.....Bubbles?....Cookie?....Cookie?.....
.....Cookie?....Purse!....Cookie?....Cookie?

We've decided to keep up the ruse as long as we can.....until she learns she can get the same taste by gnawing on any available cardboard box, or until she heads to therapy -- whichever occurs first.

But Ian's party was a special day, and Lauren enjoyed digging into her cupcake with yellow frosting.































































































And after her cupcake got replaced with a plate of vegetables....

Park moved to it's new building today. Liz and I were scheduled for our regular rotation of helping in the nursery. It seems that no one wanted to miss the big day, so the nursery was really packed. Here's a look at the "Wee Walkers" room, along with a second photo that let you take-in the Trump Tower that is rising the south of the building. These kids are going to have some impressive views!















And now that you've seen the still photos, brace yourself for the live action.....

Labels: Movies

We got this puppy for Lauren for her birthday, but waited a while longer to give it to her. Now that she's walking well, she enjoys taking her puppy for a walk and giving him a pet. Like her Indy, we've been trying to teach her not to "wag his tail."


And here is a photo of Lauren showing off her new shoes. They're not the easiest shoes for a new walker, but Lauren never complained. First is was purses and now it's on to fancy shoes. Daddy isn't sure he likes where this is headed....

Labels: Movies

Tonight after putting Lauren to bed, I spotted a glimpse of the moon rising over the Sears Tower. Not wanting to miss the moment, I grabbed my camera and vaguely told Liz we needed to head to the roof, which -- in what is probably a not so subtle metaphor for our married life -- she lovingly indulged my whim.

Here are the photos I captured. I think having the skyline as a backdrop gives a quick reminder of just how fast the moon moves across the sky. When I first caught the view, the moon was just peaking out from behind the tower. By the time we made it to the roof, it had just about passed over it. After a few more minutes, it was firmly above it and headed into the clouds.



Here is a photo looking west from our house. The distinctive building is the Flatiron Building, located at "six corners" in the middle of our Wicker Park neighborhood. I've never been inside, but I've always surmised that the turret had windows at the top. This photo offers some nice proof, with the sunset shining through them.















And here is a photo of the skyline, looking east. You can see the Hancock Tower to the left, the Sears Tower the right, and the new Trump Tower rising in the middle. There are also two more towers rising in the middle of the skyline, but I don't know much about them.

Almost forgot to get this post in here. Happy Father's Day Jace. And happy Father's Day to our own dads and brothers who are dads and friends who are dads and cousins who are dads...you get the picture. Speaking of picture, here are some good ones of Lauren and her dad.

Would you believe this little butterfly landed in the garden at our house at just the time when Jace had his whole camera setup out and ready?


Well that would make for a great story, but that wouldn't be what yielded this photo. :) Instead, this photo was taken at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum here in Chicago. I don't think we had very high expectations for the museum, but we were pleasantly surprised. They had a nice children's tree house area where Lauren was able to slide, and she enjoyed playing at the water table and other exhibits. The highlight was the butterfly garden, which had hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of butterflies.


Best of all, our trip the museum was free! All the Chicago libraries stock a set of free museum passes that can be checked-out like a book. Unforuntately, they are hard to comeby, because they can't be reserved in advance and the staff aren't allowed to say when they are due back. Liz happened to be at the library as passes for several museums were being checked back in.

Labels: Movies

Lauren's pool got an upgrade. I ordered some foam tiles online to create a softer, non-slip area on the deck. So far so good. I'm curious to see how these tiles stand up to sun, weather and our dog's long toenails.

Lauren and Charlie (and Indy) just hanging out.

Labels: Movies

Here's Lauren getting in touch with her agricultural roots by helping Mommy pick some lettuce for dinner.

Lauren has developed an insatiable craving for "outside!" She asks to go out constantly. It seems that no matter how long you go out, on the return indoors it's only about five minutes before she wants to go outside again.

She continues to enjoy her pool. She especially loves climbing in and out of the pool repeatedly. After 30 minutes or more, she'll still fuss when it's time to return indoors.

In unrelated news, I thought it would be good to upload a video that shows how Lauren is walking these days. She loves to toddle around. She's pretty stable for the most part, but ramps and grass still pose a challenge.

Labels: Movies

We bought Lauren a little baby pool from K-Mart. Today temps were above 80, so I put in a few inches of water and in she went. The water was pretty cold at first but she got used to it and enjoyed walking around in the pool and pouring water out of the cups. Eventually she even got brave enough and sat down in the water. I had fun putting my feet in the pool to keep Lauren company. Now if only I had a beach butler to bring me a frozen drink.