Trip to Sister Marie

This past weekend, we took a road trip to go see Dave’s Great Aunt and Godmother, Sister Marie. She is a member of the Racine Dominicans, and lives in Racine, WI. Because it was going to be a long drive, we decided to break it up with a stop in Chicago for a couple of nights and see the sights with Luke. We had such an amazing trip, but it was definitely our first trip with Luke in “toddler mode.” We found out that Luke has a lot of opinions…about everything!!! It was a new world for us to adapt to his demands, while keeping him safe in the busy city. He learned about holding hands on the street, and got to ride lots of busses, which he absolutely loved. All in all, it was great to get to spend the time together!

Our first day in Chicago we went to the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum in the morning. Luke just loves animals, so we knew these would be big hits for him. He just loved the aquarium, and really enjoyed running around looking at all the fish, frogs, sharks, and turtles. He continues to crack us up with his speaking, and said so many new words on the trip it was impossible to count! He also is really starting to speak in sentences, and uses a lot of possessives (Daddy’s shoes…), and some verbs (his favorites are running, walking, sleeping, eating, dancing, singing, and washing). At the field museum, we really enjoyed the great dinosaur exhibits (which Luke calls “dino”). It’s a great museum with a lot to do, and I wish we could have spent more time there. By early afternoon, we were headed to our hotel to take a break (for Luke, and for Mommy and Daddy!). After Luke had some down time, we woke up and headed to the Lego Store which was so fun. Dave is such a Lego fan, and I think he has passed it on to Luke. At the store, they have some great displays including Darth Vader, a giant dinosaur, and an owl (which Luke is into lately). After some quality playtime there, we headed to Navy Pier for dinner, and a chance to play in the Chicago Children's Museum (which has free admission on Thursday nights – the night that we were there!). We had a nice dinner, and Luke cracked us up by eating mostly pickles! He liked the first one so much, that the waiter came and brought more over for him. In the Children’s Museum, Luke got a chance to play at a water table, which seems to be his favorite activity (making a mess!). They also had a Native American dance going on, so Luke got to hear the drums and watch the dance. I think the noise scared him a little bit, but he loved seeing the dancing. It was a big day all in all, and we were glad to take the bus and head back to the hotel for the night.

Luke did pretty good in the hotel, but I think the combination of the different place, and the 1 hour time change was a little hard on him. Dave had a brilliant parenting moment when Luke woke up at 5 in the morning, and wouldn’t go back to sleep. Dave moved the pack-n-play over to our big window that overlooks a busy street. Then he told Luke to “watch for traffic and see if you can find any busses.” It was too funny, and the best part was that it worked! Luke watched out the window for almost the next two hours and Dave and I got to doze a little bit more!

When we did finally wake up, we thought we would check out the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is also a free activity in Chicago! Luke got to see Gorillas up really close, and talked about the Daddy Gorilla, the Momma Gorilla, and the Baby Gorilla which was so cute. His Grammy (Dave’s mom) reads him a story about a little gorilla, and I think it came to life for him. He also really liked the lions, the zebras, and the giraffes. We decided to head over to the Hancock Building to go to lunch in the Signature Room (which is on the ninty-something floor). On the way over, we couldn’t believe it, but Luke actually fell asleep in his stroller! If you know Luke, you know that he can NEVER fall asleep when action is going on around him, so Dave and I knew we were really tiring him out. He even stayed asleep while we ordered the food, and woke up just in time for lunch. Although it was a really cloudy day, we still enjoyed the view, and had a great time being up so high. I had been worried that the restaurant wouldn’t be very family friendly, but they were great and it worked out really well. Luke was really funny waiting for the bill, and cracked us up when he was ready to go! We headed back to the hotel for an afternoon break and nap (for Daddy and Luke). While Dave was sleeping, Luke got his shoes and cracked me up shuffling around the hotel in them.

After we had a nice break, we decided to take Luke to FAO Schwartz and then out for Chicago style pizza at Giordano's. We had a fun time at FAO Schwartz, and Luke had a chance to see Santa (who he calls Noah), but he was not interested in getting close to him. By the time we went for pizza, Luke was pretty much done, and Dave had to take him outside to run around while I waited for the pizza. Dave and Luke came back in and we ate really quickly while Luke fidgeted. It had been a big couple of days, and the little man was just done! We headed back to the hotel and let Luke play for a while. He watched the traffic again, and cracked me up hiding beneath the curtain. Luke definitely thought the view from our hotel room was a big treat, and I think he loved the noises in the city like the honking cars and sirens.

On our third day, we were finally on our way to Sister Marie’s, and were glad to be on the move again. She is a member of the Racine Dominicans, and lives about an hour and a half from Chicago in the Sienna Center. It was so wonderful to see her, and to get to introduce Luke to her in person. The convent is right on Lake Michigan and has really long hallways that Luke got to roam. They have a lovely space with an outdoor garden, an indoor room with some caged birds (again a big hit for Luke), a library, a craft room, and a large cafeteria that was perfect for a toddler. Luke got the run of the place, and all of the nuns were so nice about having a loud toddler roaming the halls. Everyone loved having him there and it was fun to see him bond so immediately with Sister Marie. After lunch and a nap (for Luke and Mommy), we went out to check out some of the ministries that the Racine Dominicans have locally. The first was an all green farm and education center that was perfect for Luke with all the animals. They even have alpacas, which Luke had never seen before. The next ministry was a fair trade coffee shop and store where they also offer counseling. We had a nice break for coffee and I got to do a little shopping which was fun. Afterwards we went out for dinner and then headed back to the convent. In the morning, we went to mass right there (how nice to not have to drive to church!). Luke of course was a bit loud, but I don’t think the Sisters minded at all!

We left Sister Marie a little while later, and were so grateful for such a nice visit. Then we drove over to South Bend to have dinner with our friends Mike and Theresa. It was so great to get a chance to visit with them and spend some time catching up. Luke played so cute with them, and gave them each a toy to play with him (I think Mike got the bus and Theresa got a cow – he must really like them!). After dinner, we headed towards the Battle Creek area to spend the night closer to our big finale planned for the next day – a trip to the MSU Kellogg Dairy Farm.

It was a great day to visit the farm, and poor Luke had been asking the whole trip for when we would see cows. He was so excited getting out of the car, and was running towards the barn looking for the cows everywhere. We had a lot of fun looking at all the cows, and had the whole place to ourselves! My favorite were the little calves who were so cute and sweet. I think Luke had a good time until he fell in the mud and started screaming. We did the only thing we could do and stripped him of his muddy clothes and put him in the carseat still screaming. Dave looked over at me and said, “I think it’s time to go home…” All in all it was a really fun trip, and we were so glad that Luke got to spend some quality time with Sister Marie, and see so many things.

Here are the pictures from the trip. I especially love the series of Luke waiting for the restaurant bill (also known as the many faces of Luke). The videos from the trip are below, and be sure to check out Luke wearing Dave's shoes (so cute!), and the video of Luke waiting for the bill which completely cracks me up every time I see it!

Click on the photo to see the slideshow:

Trip to Sister Marie

Videos from the trip:
Luke visits the big turtle in the Shedd Aquarium


Luke naming the animals in the Field Museum


Luke wearing Dave's shoes


Luke likes pickles!


Luke playing in the curtain


Luke enjoying his food at the Signature Room


Luke waiting for the bill at the Signature Room


Luke says "all right!"


Luke looking for the cows


Luke at the Kellogg Dairy