Chicago ~ Lizzie's Bat Mitzvah ~ day 1

This morning we got up before the sun to fly to Chicago for Ben's cousin Lizzie's Bat Mitzvah. We underestimated the time we needed to get to the airport and through security (my fault - I'm so used to being dropped off at the airport and forgot to account for parking time), so we missed our original flight. But not to worry! There were 5 more flights out to Chicago that day and we were lucky enough to get on the one right after the one we missed, so it was okay in the end.

We landed in Chicago around 11am and once we picked up the rental car and Ben installed the car seat, we were off to check out the windy city!

Grandpa Marshall had the perfect lunch spot picked out - Lou Mitchell's diner. There were donut holes waiting for us when we walked in! We had a really nice brunch (Owen LOVED his Mickey Mouse pancakes) and then headed over to the Shedd Aquarium.





Unfortunately for us, when we got to the aquarium the line for tickets was out the door. It was a 50 minute wait just to get to the ticket booth. So in lieu of the actual aquarium, we toured the gift shop! :) Grandma and Grandpa Marshall got Owen a new bib, two books and a wind-up scuba guy for the bathtub.

We checked into the hotel around 5pm and freshened up before heading over to Ben's Aunt Sue & Uncle Greg's house for dinner. We had a great time catching up with everyone and Owen got tons of love and attention. He lasted until about 8pm, when we went back to the hotel to put him down for the night. I was a little worried about the crib situation, since the hotel provided a Pack 'N Play, but it only had the paper-thin mattress it comes with (they didn't have the additional mattress for it that you purchase separately). So I improvised and used the cushions from the sofa in our room - I squished them into the crib and we called the front desk for an extra sheet which I folded around the cushions. It worked out so well! He slept through the night without a peep! I'm sure it was because he didn't really nap much during the day, but I like to think it had a little something to do with a softer make-shift mattress. :)