The weather lined up so well for the past three-day weekend. It was unseasonably warm here in Chicago – up to 70 degrees! – so we made the most of it and got outside.
Well, at first we hung out inside and experimented with new hairstyles. Saturday was my morning to get up with Ada (Will and I alternate) so she and I played in the living room and busted out some warm weather clothing (t-shirts, yay!).
That afternoon, Ada and I went up to my sister’s neighborhood to meet up for pizza. Kerry’s birthday was earlier that week, so we were getting together to celebrate. Ada and I were a little early, so we stopped by Hartigan Beach Park to swing and people-watch.
Look at that view of the beach! The snow fence looks a little comical given that I’m in a t-shirt, but I think this is one of the best swing-side views in the city. That said, Ada is far more interested in the little boy facing away from us in that picture. She loves kids who are just slightly older than she is and will twist around to watch them whenever they are present.
After pizza, we went back to the park to check out the sunset. I mean, look at this!
Magic, I tell you.
We had to get some Ada-and-Mama pictures, of course:
I’m not sure what’s better – watching the waves roll in or watching Ada’s “good grief, mother!” face as I try to get her to smile at the camera.
Sunday was equally sunny and warm, so Will and I took Ada to Wrightwood Park. This park is a favorite of mine because of the flowering trees and rosebushes that bloom in the spring. There’s also a decent little-kid playground for Ada to explore.
Her current favorite thing to do at parks is attempt to climb up the slide. I let her unless there are other kids waiting to use the slide in the other, more conventional direction. Lately, Ada loves to try to eat random things she scavenges from around the house or beyond, so we moved on from the slide when she refused to stop eating the sand that had blown over from the neighboring sandbox.
Watching her walk through the playground holding her dad’s hand just fills my heart up so much. Oh boy.
On Monday, Ada was off of school for President’s Day, so she and I drove up to the suburbs to visit her grandma and her grandma’s friend, Diana. We all had lunch together (salads for the adults, mac and cheese for Ada) and Diana gave Ada her new favorite toy – a little leappad laptop. I love that it folds up really small and Ada loves that it plays music. Her favorite song appears to be a counting song – literally, it just counts from 1 to 20 – because whenever that song plays, Ada dances with abandon.