Gabe Goes To Chicago

Special guest-post by Dan!

Sept. 5-Sept. 7: To celebrate his Aunt Emily's 30th birthday, Gabe and his dad got on a plane and went to Chicago to visit her. Here are some highlights:

*Gabe and Dan hopped on an early flight to O'Hare. Dan was smart enough to bring Season One of "Yo Gabba Gabba" loaded onto his iPod. Dan was stupid enough to not bring a stroller (Ed.: Despite Margery's advice.)

*Their first stop was Emily's office -- TeamWorks Media, where Emily's many pictures of Gabe over the past 2 years had everyone in the office ready to finally meet him. Everyone was very nice, and Gabe had his run of the place, literally.

*From there, we went back to Emily and Dave's apartment for a nap. Afterward, we went to Wicker Park to enjoy an all-new playground. (It was a little too cool to play in the sprinklers.) From there, we had a delicious pasta dinner at a local restaurant.

*Saturday was a big day: We went to Lincoln Park Zoo! They had a farm, and Gabe enjoyed climbing on John Deere tractors, petting goats and watching a cow get milked. At the zoo next door, Gabe had his first meeting with a rhino, a tiger, two giraffes and a flock of flamingos. (Daddy sure wished he had that stroller at this point.)

*After that and a nap, we watched college football, then went out to wander around the neighborhood. There was a new Dairy Queen opening that day, and Gabe enjoyed his first dipped cone. Then we went out for Mexican food, and Gabe had quesadillas -- one of his favorites.

*We went on a bus ride back to Emily and Dave's house, where Gabe watched a little of the Florida-Miami football game ("Go Tebow!") then crashed in his bedroom for a good night's sleep.

*In the morning, Gabe and Dan went out to Evanston for a reunion of Dan's old roommates: The Barbaros (Frank, Kim, Benjamin, Henry and new-baby Spencer) and the Sharmans (Jay, Tanya, Eva, Janel and Nora). We had waffles and bagels and played outside in the backyard. It was a wonderful morning of fun (including a stop by Northwestern's football stadium) before heading back to the airport.

We had a great weekend, but we sure were happy to get home and see Mommy!

(Here is a link to all of the photos from the weekend.)