The birthday week begins for Anna

Anna's birthday is on September 11th, and she turns 6! We went to dinner with the grandparents on Sunday at The Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown St. Louis. We love this place for the following reasons: great atmosphere, family place, great food, & brings back memories for me. My family (there are 6 kids) rarely went out to dinner because it was too expensive & too crazy, but we did go to the Spaghetti Factory. We all loved it because what child doesn't eat pasta? Plus you get a great salad & spumoni ice cream (the BEST Italian ice cream). Even when I buy it on the Hill, it tastes better at the Spaghetti Factory. Pete & I & the kids agree it is our favorite place too, so we asked the grandparents to join us for Anna's birthday celebration. I was able to reserve the trolley car in the middle of the restaurant too.

Our three daughters smiling away!

In our trolley car ordering dinner.

Anna & I made her cake together even though none of us could eat one bite of cake after our dinner!

Opening her gifts from the granparents. She got a bunch of American girl outfits plus some accessories. She's a happy girl!

Early morning activities

On Saturday morning, the girls decided to make a fort while I made breakfast. We tend to have a pretty hearty breakfast on Saturdays since we usually have a few soccer games, birthday parties & whatever else a typical weekend brings.

Jo with her "scrunched-up eye smile" - she was actually strumming Pete's guitar too but stopped to smile for me.

Navy Pier - our last sightseeing spot

We took a water taxi from Shedd Aquarium to Navy Pier, and it was a perfect day to be on the water. Josephine wouldn't sit still, so I had to hold her up the whole way. We were glad we did not take a longer boat ride because she might have jumped in. When we got to Navy Pier, we met up with Marc & Lilly & of course, got ice cream (actually dippin' dots).
We let the girls choose the activities on Navy Pier, so we did the Ferris Wheel & miniature golf. Unfortunately, both activities were an hour-long wait. The girls were very patient because they were doing what they wanted! We were very lucky that day as three different people gave us free ride tickets. Pete & I kept saying "thank you, thank you, thank you." It was awesome! Then, we finally walked back to our hotel because we were all worn out, and we were ready to relax & eat Chicago pizza. Can you tell we ate lots of good food (not necessarily good for you).

On the water taxi - Jo was actually sitting down at this time.
Anna & I on the ferris wheel smiling away. We felt a wonderful breeze on the ferris wheel which was quite welcome!
Trying to catch the awesome view of Chicago.
Rosie & Pete waiting for miniature golf. This picture makes me laugh because I made Rosie sit down because she kept causing trouble in line (do you see that sassy little smile?)

Our sweet little Josephine in Chicago

Sorry for the delay, but I still have to write posts about our Chicago trip. Silly work got in the way! Ha Ha!

Below is a video of Josephine at American Girl giving me kisses. I just love baby kisses, and I really love them from Jo! Isn't she cute? She loved these little cups & they were exactly her size (our little bitty baby).

Love this picture of Jo smiling - she wrinkles up her eyes when you tell her to smile!

Next Stop: The American Girl Store

We made it, and I have to say I was even excited to visit this store & eat brunch (I'm pretty sure Pete & I were more excited for a good meal!) By the way, breakfast is my FAVORITE meal. We all love eggs of any kind.

Rosie & Anna in front of the infamous store with their dolls. My mom bought them dolls for Christmas this year. Rosie has Julie & Anna has Nellie, and they play with them a lot. We actually made it out of the store without any purchases! They agreed that it is more fun to spend money doing fun things together versus buying another outfit for their dolls. It took a few minutes to convince Anna, but we did it! I'm such a penny pincher.....

Here they are at the table with their dolls who had little high chairs. They think of everything at this store! Jo fell asleep at brunch (we discovered later that her 1-yr molars broke through this weekend), and someone gave me a double take when she was in my arms. They looked at me & said "I thought you had a Bitty Baby doll in your arms." Pete & I called her our Bitty Baby the rest of the day- too funny!

Rooftop swimming

The hotel was very nice, but Pete & I decided that our family is too big for just a hotel room. We concentrated on price only & were able to snag a great hotel, but we really need an Embassy Suites or something like that next time. We always learn from our trips & get smarter each time. Anyway, the Hilton had an 8th floor swimming pool, so the girls thought it was pretty cool. After the Aquarium, we swam & rested for a bit (Jo needed to run around). Then, we found an Italian restaurant & came back & were in bed by 9pm! I love going to bed early for once! I actually feel pretty rested from the weekend.

Labor Day Weekend in Chicago

We all needed to get away, and we did! I left the computer at home, and Pete booked a great rate at the Chicago Hilton & off we were to Chicago. We left Friday night, and we didn't make it to our room until midnight (the kids pretty much slept the whole way). Jo got a little stir crazy right before we hit the city, so I was in a very uncomfortable position while I kept my hand on her right arm (that was the only thing that kept her from screaming).

On Saturday,we went to Shedd Aquarium which we all agreed is an amazing place! The picture below is in front of the statue which Rosie & Anna thought was so cool. We couldn't use the flash inside but we saw everything: Kimodo Dragon, dolphin show, Beluga whales, sharks (Anna's favorite), turtles, seahorses, & much more. The dolphin show has the most amazing view of the lake - it is so incredible - I just wanted to sit there & look out the windows all day. We also had the best weekend to visit Chicago - sunny & warm & perfect. We did a lot of walking!!!