Lily Takes On the 'Windy City'

Hey everybody!! Word on the street is that my audience has been clammering for a new entry and, if at all possible, some video. Well, I aim to please so I thought I might give you both. The video is a little short but it does showcase one of my newer moves. Daddy calls it the "downward dog" because it looks just like Tucker when he stretches. That and there is a yoga move that closely resembles what I can do. Also on the video you can check me rolling around. Rolling has become my new favorite form of transportation and I have gotten quite good at it. In fact, put me down on one end of the room, walk away for two seconds and I will no longer be where you left me. Daddy is learning quick about all the things he needs to move or, more importantly, remove from the areas I will be roaming. He calls it Lily-proofing the house and says it is important because he doesn't want me to get hurt just because he forgot to put something away. Anyway, here's some video and I promise to post more as I start to do more fun things.

If you are reading this blog, you probably read the title and thought to yourself "Windy City? Hey! Lily went to Chicago!?!" That's right! Daddy has been wanting so badly to take me up to Chicago to visit some of his and Mommy's close friends but a busy summer schedule kept us from leaving Cincinnati. Well, an open weekend finally popped up and Daddy jumped all over it. He booked us a sssweeeetttt hotel room that overlooked the Chicago River and invited Mimi and Papaw to come with us. We had a little delay getting out of town but once we were on the road......I was out for the count. Seriously, I slept pretty much from door to door and only woke up as we were driving into the city. And what a crazy city it is!! First off, you would have thought Daddy had accidentally driven into the middle of a NASCAR race with the way that the people drive in that town. In fact, Mimi and Papaw were so flustered by the craziness that they opted to bury their faces in their books until Daddy got off the highway. But Daddy did great behind the wheel and we got to the hotel in good time and a nice gentleman even parked our car for us. Talk about service. Then we went to our room, got settled in and Daddy let all his and Mommy's friends know that we were in.

Luckily, Mommy's friends Kelli and Erin work right by where we were staying so they cut out of work and came right over. They even brought me a stuffed froggy as a present. I totally love my froggy and he is now snuggled up with Ribbit (Mommy's stuffed frog) in my crib. We hung out in the hotel room for a few hours playing and catching up. I got so excited I accidently spit-up on my outfit and required a changing. When Mimi changed me, she put some pants on me that were so big that they fell down to my ankles when Daddy picked me up. Daddy said that's how they wear their pants on the Southside of Chicago and that it isn't the best look for a young lady. Kinda silly really. After putting on some fitting pants, Daddy's friend Ellen stopped by and we headed out to dinner at this nice restaurant around the corner. Actually, I think this was a restaurant for the hearing impaired because they really had the music cranked up loud. You almost had to yell just so the person across the table could hear you. Loudness aside, the restaurant was fun and trendy and the food was really good too; or so I am told. I fell asleep kinda early as I guess the drive up to Chicago took all my energy. Haha!

We woke up the next morning and after Daddy took a nice run, we were off to explore all the things Chicago has to offer. We walked all over town. We checked out Millenium Park with the giant chrome bean (I mean, who thinks of this stuff), we went to Buckingham Fountain (that thing is hugemungous!!) and we walked down the lake trail. Man were there a lot of people out and about. We even saw an activist march with people advocating world peace. I think it was a high school doing it and the kids were required to walk because Daddy and I saw to flag carriers using their flags as swords and were fighting. It's pretty funny to hear a group chanting "What do we want?""Peace""When do we want it?""Now" and then see two kids using the flags they are carrying as weapons.

Soon after our walking tour, we hopped on the L train and took it out of downtown and into Lincoln Park where a lot of Mommy and Daddy's friends live. We went to this festival that was advertised as Oktoberfest in hopes that Mimi, Papaw and Daddy could score some good german food and refreshments. Instead, we found that there was only one booth that sold brats or sourkraut. Has anybody ever bought Pad Thai at an Oktoberfest? Or, how about tacos? I wish I were kidding you but we have officially found the only Oktoberfest, that is billed as a German festival, that serves virtually no German food. How funny is that!?! Needless to say, we didn't stay long and opted to go sit on a restaurant patio where we met Daddy and Mommy' s friends again. They are such great people and I am so happy that I got to meet and spend soo much time with them. I sure hope they come to visit Daddy and me in Cincinnati really soon. I miss them already.

Sunday we woke up, got breakfast and headed back home so that we could catch the Bengals game (Who-Dey). And again, I bagged one of the greatest naps ever. I slept almost all the way home and woke up only for lunch. Daddy says that I am one heck of a traveler but that he wonders if I will always be this way. He says he suspects that when I get a little older, I will be harder to keep entertained and that I won't be napping as much. Who knows? But for now, plop my rumpus in a car seat, turn the ignition and I am asleep before you get out of the driveway.

Other than an awesome trip to Chi-town, there really isn't too much to report. I have moved from oatmeal to yellow veggies. And let me just tell you, I hate squash. Yiicckkk!!!! Daddy has to fight just to get me to swallow one spoonful's worth. Not sure what it is about the stuff but I just don't like it. I think we might be trying Acorn Squash or sweet potato next. Daddy is hoping that I like those a little better.

Everything else is going great. As you can see from the video, it is only a matter of time until I am off to the races and crawling. I am sure that the videos are going to get much more fun as I develop my skills. Please stay tuned. And if there is anything you want to know about me or Daddy, please post a comment so that we know what you want to learn about. OK, I need to get to bed. Good bloggin with you. Keep it cool!!

Love you all, LILY :-)