I've been struggling ever since we landed in the United States because I knew, before I got back on an airplane, my baby would be four years old. Four. Years. Old.
How is that possible?!?! I know that she's now officially at the point in her life where any moment could be one of those moments that she'll remember for life. I still remember my Nana taking me to the mall for my 4th birthday to get my ears pierced. I don't remember screaming. I don't remember it hurting. I just remember my Nana and the mall and the shops and the experience. Normally, with birthdays it's all about gathering friends together and having a fun time hanging out and trying to keep things as low-key as possible.
This time around, however, I know the days of "low-key"and "friends/family" oriented events are fast approaching the end. So I wanted to do something special, something family-geared, and something she'll remember. Thus, the trip to Chicago was born. We took the train up and even though it took too long for Todd's liking, the kids were thrilled to be on an actual train. We got out and hit the city, going to a great restaurant on Michigan Ave, and then hitting some of the sights.
Aren't they just the cutest ever?
We went to The Bean and had a lot of fun waiting for a large group of teenage girls taking pictures on each of their iPhones. But once they were done, the kids had a blast seeing themselves in the reflection.
Cooper couldn't stop laughing, which made for some great pictures.
And then, the ponce de resistance... We planned it so that Cooper fell asleep on Todd's back and Harper was fast asleep in our borrowed stroller. He took them off while Em and I went to the American Girl Store. It took nearly 15 full minutes for her to be able to grasp all the dolls, all the dress-up clothes, and all the girliness.
We went to the Bitty Baby section and found a baba for her. She had a rough time choosing because she wasn't drawn to the dolls who looked like her, but all the dolls' hair was a part of their head, even the Indian and African-American dolls. Em knew that those babies had proper hair and thus, the dolls weren't "right" which made me laugh and left the little sales boy scratching his head. If you could have seen my little girl explaining how she knows that the babies that look like this (the Indian one) have their heads shaved and babies that look like this have curls that their granny puts into little twists, you would have been laughing too!
We got hungry in all our shopping and had to stop for a special treat... which Em was so excited about!
Em decided to name her dolly Abby, after her friend in South Africa. I was surprised she remembered Abby because it's been a long time for a small kid.
The last part of the day with just her and Mommy was to share tea in the special Tea Room. I have to admit, I felt a bit out of place in my denim with all the pink and other girls and their mothers who were all dressed up, but this girl is worth it.
Best part of the day for me? Em asking our server for Rooibos tea (which they didn't have) but then settling on herbal and making the tea all herself. She's so big, so grown-up but at least I like the grown-up version she's becoming... this beautiful, sweet, independent proper big girl of mine.
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