More Good Times in Illinois

We did more than just stay at Trump Towers and take our baby to dangerous heights, and that is what this post is about!


First of all, here is how our child looks all bundled up.



How cute is that hat? Thank you Nonni! He was surprisingly happy throughout the Chicago portion of the trip. (Edith -- Luke, like his mommy, enjoys seasons. Who knew?) He started taking naps again, which was a huge blessing. The best part is that he has continued taking naps since we've been home. Just a side note for parents who cross time zones with their babies, we kept him on CA time during the trip so we wouldn't have to readjust him when we got back home, and it totally worked. He didn't eat dinner until 8pm or go to bed until 10pm, but we had no problem getting back to normal when we got home. That may have been Matt's greatest idea ever.

Back to the trip. There is always lots of pizza eating involved in our Chicago trips, but this may have been our best showing, yet. Five days, four different pizzas. The first night was Joe's Pizza, a little place in Matt's home town, Wheeling. Then we headed to Chicago on day two and ate at Uno's.



Well, we actually ate at Due's. They have the same restaurant on each end of the block. Uno's was first and was so busy that they opened Due's. They are either very clever or super lazy with the names.

The next night Matt's friend Vince and his girlfriend, Erica, came and picked us up (both of them are fantastic and we would spend much more time with them if we lived in the same state) and took us to my new favorite pizza place, Pequod's. Bonus points to those of you who know what that name refers to. We met another of his buddies there, Ryan (10 toes), who is also fantastic. But the pizza was the big star. It has overtaken all other pizzas and moved its way to number one in my heart.

We had Giordano's the following night (with another high school buddy, Phil. He's a movie star in Hong Kong. Yeah, that's how we roll.) Giordano's is an old favorite, but refer to previous paragraph to see where my pizza loyalties lie.

Here is where I reflect on the fact that the four previous paragraphs are about pizza. This may explain why I have not lost all the baby weight. Hmm. Something to think about.

On Saturday we headed back to the 'burbs and Matt's parents house for a family dinner. There were aunts and cousins and brothers and nieces and nephews and friends. Lot's of people and lots of fun. The majority of the time was spent being entertained by Matt's great-niece and great-nephew (I think that is what their official title would be), Morgan and Nathan. Both are so sweet and so full of energy. They very much enjoy having their picture taken and then immediately seeing it on the camera. "Take my picture! Take my picture! Let me see! Let me see!" was pretty much all that was said for a good 20 minutes. Here are some of my faves.


Morgan can do a head spin. That is crazy to me. It also freaked me out a little bit to watch it, but impressive none-the-less.

Dynamic Duo

Crazy Flippy Legs

And break time. Luke even needed a drink after all that exercise.

Out of nowhere, Luke decided to begin the "Separation Anxiety" phase of his infancy during this trip. He now must be within arm's reach of either mommy or daddy at all times. It makes me tired but it's also very sweet. We got these pictures with Grandma before it set in and she was no longer allowed to hold or even touch him. Nice Grandson.

Then Luke decided he'd had enough of this picture taking and he wanted the camera for himself. He will crawl over anything that gets in his way, including daddy's face.

On Sunday we went to Matt's friend Edon's house and met his wife, Mel, and son, Logan. Matt and Edon have known each other since Kindergarten, so it was fun to see them together again with kids of their own.

Logan is a doll face.

Luke is also pretty darn cute in his tiger shirt and jeans.

We also met their dog, Gigi. Luke was intrigued.

The grown ups and their sons.

Luke does not like it when people try to force him to kiss things. He is his own baby and he answers to no one.

And sometimes Luke gets so sleepy that he falls asleep while eating in a sports bar during the Bears game.

OK. That's all I got. Great trip, great to be home, long post, Lisa out.