Chicago -- what an amazing city! I love Chicago and after numerous times there I still find new things to do. It was a long awaited trip by our daughter, who since we mentioned it, has not stopped asking we are going to go. After Lil Miss's birthday we asked Rosie what she wanted for birthday. Coincidentally the American Girl Catalog came in the mail at about this time. Thanks to Uncle Dale for spoiling our little girl with her very own American Girl Doll..... the girl wanted everything in the catalog the roller skates for the doll, a cheerleading outfit, a winter coat so Bella doesn't get cold.... it went on and on. I suggested "someday" we should go to the American Girl Store in Chicago.... and that "someday" became instantly her birthday present. She was clearly warned that if we went to the store that was her present and she wouldn't get any gifts from her mommy and daddy for her birthday. he was well aware and STILL wanted to go without a doubt. So mommy started to plan a girls getaway to the Big City. With the holidays just around the corner and every weekend being booked with parties, Christmas activities, and singing carols... we decided to go last weekend before we got to busy. Rosie was counting down the day for weeks..... so excited!
{YMCA}On Friday, I picked the kids up from school and had our bags packed ready to go. Mommy gassed up the truck and we were out the door! I had planned the trip so we could do as much as possible for as little as possible. To save money we spent our first night near Naperville, IL outside of Chicago. This was convenient because Naperville is close to a mall and IKEA. Yeah for mommy!!! For dinner I let our little girl choose and she wanted milkshakes... so Johnny Rockets is was! Rosie loved the restaurant..... she got to put music in the jukebox and was dancing in her seat. The waiters tried to get her to dance with them but she was too shy. It was a good supper of milkshakes, fries, and burgers. After dinner we headed to the hotel to swim. I think as excited Rosie was to go to the American Girl Store she was AS excited to go swimming.
{Fish out of water} Rosie was the only swimmer in the pool and was practicing all the things she has been learning in swimming lessons. Mommy sat in the hottub and enjoyed the relaxing time. As hard as it was for her to do, Rosie finally fell asleep that night. When she woke up it was TIME!
Bella slept in her bed and was already in the morning to spend the day in the city. 
{The 3 of us} It took about 40 minutes to get into the city, and Mommy parked at a parking garage extremely close to the Water Tower Place where if you ask you could get validated for at the American Girl Store. SCORE -- mommy was doing great at saving money.... until I walk into this.....
{the holy grail}
The American Girl Store, if you haven't stepped into this place before, is 2 stories of little girl madness. The first floor has an American Girl Bookstore, which I think Rosie could have spent all day in there, it also has a photo studio to get your picture taken (mommy saved money by taking our own shots), a gallery of the history of American Girl with the Girls in All their outfits and Books..... and that is just the first floor. As we traveled up the escalator..... Rosie's eyes lit up!! It was every thing imaginable for your doll. Tennis outfits, pajamas, outfits for Christmas, everyday outfits, boots, ice skates, and even earrings for your doll. Yes, you can get your doll's ears pierced at the salon. WOW! We headed to the salon to get Bella's hair done, one of the many splurges of the day. :-)
{we had to look at everything!!!}
The doll hair salon is just a miniature boutique. We had to pick out what style we wanted in Bella'a hair and get our appointment time. Crazy, I know! Our appointment time was for 11:00am which was an hour and 15 minutes later which I thought was plenty of time we might get bored.... NOT! We ended up being in this one store for over 2 hours! We looked at everything, some things 2 or 3 times. Rosie was given some money to get an outfit all by herself and Mommy and Daddy were going to get her a few things for her birthday as well. She had fun picking out just what she wanted. She really wanted a swimsuit outfit, so that is what she spent her money on. She must be a bargain shopper like her mom because her purchase included a package which was 2 outfits in 1! WooHoo! After making our purchases, we headed back up to the salon to see Bella get her hair done.
{Doll Hair salon}
Rosie was in heaven. She learned how to take care of her doll and got to pick out the colors of ribbons for Bella's hair.
The whole process is done slick. There were so many girls there running around and mother's trying to keep track of their girls, but the salon worked really smoothly and was really neat. When we were done, we were both starving so we put our bags on our shoulders and headed out to the city to find a fun place to eat. Rosie got to pick supper the night before, so mommy got to pick where we ate for lunch. I picked a cute little place a couple blocks away and it smelled so yummy as we walked in the door.
{a girl in heaven}
{Lunch}
On the kid's menu was fancy kid's drinks... and what do you know Rosetta's Roman Holiday! Of course that is what our girl had to get.
{Our fancy Kid's menu}
{Rosetta's Roman Holiday Drink}
{Bella's new hairdo}
And Bella got a seat at the table... this lasted until lunch on Sunday when daddy told her the doll isn't real and isn't going to sit at the table anymore. :-( What a party pooper. We shared a wood fired pizza and some bread and dipping oil. Teaching Rosie the finer things in life was priceless. I am so thankful what god has given us and that I get to pass things on to my daughter is an amazing blessing. We enjoyed our lunch and having a comfortable seat to rest our feet. After our tummies were full we headed back out on to the streets and to do more shopping. At this point Rosie was getting a little tired so after a few stores we happened upon the Hershey Store. Yum Yum! After getting a few souvenirs for the family at home and paying for chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolates, we walked over to the park across the street and sat sipping our drinks. As we were sitting there we saw horse drawn carriages trot by ... on impulse I asked Rosie if she would like a ride and picking up our drinks we hopped in.
{On a chocolate High!}
What a priceless moment!!! I have never taken a carriage ride... I had always dreamed of taking a carriage ride with Nate in Chicago with a blanket and Christmas lights... or in NYC in Central Park.... but this was even better (sorry Nate :-) I got to experience this carriage ride with my oldest daughter.
{mommy and daughter -- I Love this pic!}
We got to see the skyscrapers, the lake, and the oldest fire station in Chicago. As we sipped on our hot chocolates it was a picture perfect scene.
{oldest firehouse in Chicago}
I decided to leave Chicago on a high note... before someone got too tired and we headed to the truck. Before we were out of the Parking Garage ... Rosie was OUT!
{the lovely park we ate our chocolate chip cookies}
{she won't remember the ride home... because she just slept the WHOLE way!}
When we got home, she couldn't wait to show all her goodies to her brother and sisters and give them their gifts that we got them. She wasted no time putting her new pjs on and Bella's matching set. We had a wonderful time and I only hope she remembers the trip. It was fun to spend time with her and spoil her just a little. Can't wait for my next trip to Chicago... next time more Mommy shopping!!!!
Bella slept in her bed and was already in the morning to spend the day in the city. 
{The 3 of us} It took about 40 minutes to get into the city, and Mommy parked at a parking garage extremely close to the Water Tower Place where if you ask you could get validated for at the American Girl Store. SCORE -- mommy was doing great at saving money.... until I walk into this.....
{the holy grail}The American Girl Store, if you haven't stepped into this place before, is 2 stories of little girl madness. The first floor has an American Girl Bookstore, which I think Rosie could have spent all day in there, it also has a photo studio to get your picture taken (mommy saved money by taking our own shots), a gallery of the history of American Girl with the Girls in All their outfits and Books..... and that is just the first floor. As we traveled up the escalator..... Rosie's eyes lit up!! It was every thing imaginable for your doll. Tennis outfits, pajamas, outfits for Christmas, everyday outfits, boots, ice skates, and even earrings for your doll. Yes, you can get your doll's ears pierced at the salon. WOW! We headed to the salon to get Bella's hair done, one of the many splurges of the day. :-)
{we had to look at everything!!!}The doll hair salon is just a miniature boutique. We had to pick out what style we wanted in Bella'a hair and get our appointment time. Crazy, I know! Our appointment time was for 11:00am which was an hour and 15 minutes later which I thought was plenty of time we might get bored.... NOT! We ended up being in this one store for over 2 hours! We looked at everything, some things 2 or 3 times. Rosie was given some money to get an outfit all by herself and Mommy and Daddy were going to get her a few things for her birthday as well. She had fun picking out just what she wanted. She really wanted a swimsuit outfit, so that is what she spent her money on. She must be a bargain shopper like her mom because her purchase included a package which was 2 outfits in 1! WooHoo! After making our purchases, we headed back up to the salon to see Bella get her hair done.
{Doll Hair salon}Rosie was in heaven. She learned how to take care of her doll and got to pick out the colors of ribbons for Bella's hair.
The whole process is done slick. There were so many girls there running around and mother's trying to keep track of their girls, but the salon worked really smoothly and was really neat. When we were done, we were both starving so we put our bags on our shoulders and headed out to the city to find a fun place to eat. Rosie got to pick supper the night before, so mommy got to pick where we ate for lunch. I picked a cute little place a couple blocks away and it smelled so yummy as we walked in the door. 
{a girl in heaven}
{Lunch}On the kid's menu was fancy kid's drinks... and what do you know Rosetta's Roman Holiday! Of course that is what our girl had to get.
{Our fancy Kid's menu}
{Rosetta's Roman Holiday Drink}
{Bella's new hairdo}And Bella got a seat at the table... this lasted until lunch on Sunday when daddy told her the doll isn't real and isn't going to sit at the table anymore. :-( What a party pooper. We shared a wood fired pizza and some bread and dipping oil. Teaching Rosie the finer things in life was priceless. I am so thankful what god has given us and that I get to pass things on to my daughter is an amazing blessing. We enjoyed our lunch and having a comfortable seat to rest our feet. After our tummies were full we headed back out on to the streets and to do more shopping. At this point Rosie was getting a little tired so after a few stores we happened upon the Hershey Store. Yum Yum! After getting a few souvenirs for the family at home and paying for chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolates, we walked over to the park across the street and sat sipping our drinks. As we were sitting there we saw horse drawn carriages trot by ... on impulse I asked Rosie if she would like a ride and picking up our drinks we hopped in.
{On a chocolate High!}What a priceless moment!!! I have never taken a carriage ride... I had always dreamed of taking a carriage ride with Nate in Chicago with a blanket and Christmas lights... or in NYC in Central Park.... but this was even better (sorry Nate :-) I got to experience this carriage ride with my oldest daughter.
{mommy and daughter -- I Love this pic!}We got to see the skyscrapers, the lake, and the oldest fire station in Chicago. As we sipped on our hot chocolates it was a picture perfect scene.
{oldest firehouse in Chicago}I decided to leave Chicago on a high note... before someone got too tired and we headed to the truck. Before we were out of the Parking Garage ... Rosie was OUT!
{the lovely park we ate our chocolate chip cookies}
{she won't remember the ride home... because she just slept the WHOLE way!}
When we got home, she couldn't wait to show all her goodies to her brother and sisters and give them their gifts that we got them. She wasted no time putting her new pjs on and Bella's matching set. We had a wonderful time and I only hope she remembers the trip. It was fun to spend time with her and spoil her just a little. Can't wait for my next trip to Chicago... next time more Mommy shopping!!!! 
What a fantastic trip, Lynn! I love Chicago, too. You ladies look like you had the best time together!
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