Good morning!

Ishu went to bed when we went to bed last night (around 9:30pm) so he is still in bed, while I am in the kitchen, sipping on my coffee and waiting for the scream when he realizes that his mama left him. Ha.

This weekend was WONDERFUL.

We knew we wanted to go check out some lights and there are plenty of places in the city to do so. One of the places is the Botanical Garden, but when we logged on to purchase tickets, they were sold out until 12/30.

Cool cool.

You really have to be on your shit to enjoy the holiday season in a city, I guess.

Lucky for us, Ishu is at the age where he can enjoy pretty much anything, anywhere, at any time. So, despite the fact that tickets to most places were sold out, we had a pretty solid weekend with a combination of indoor and outdoor enjoyment!

Friday

On Friday, while Ishu was home with Bella, I walked over to Whole Foods to pick up our 2021 Christmas tree! It’s still a real tree, but it’s tabletop size. Which is perfect for a tabletop sized toddler.

I was laughing at myself the entire time, joking with everyone who smiled at me, pushing that stroller. “I left one baby at home so I could pick up the other baby,” I giggled. I’m full of the mom jokes.

After his nap, we spent the rest of the day playing with rainbow spaghetti. This will definitely be a repeat activity in this house. So cheap and easy! And it makes for a great snack (because I guess the 85 other snacks your mom put in front of your face were simply not colorful enough).

I also started reading this book that my kind and sweet friend sent me. I’ve been wanting to get it, but have convinced myself to get through half the books I’ve impulsively purchased first. So excited to have my hands on it now! Thank you so much, Julie!

After Ishu fell asleep, Ankur and I finally, FINALLY watched the Black Widow movie while we ate a Hello Fresh meal. I surprised myself by staying awake through the whole thing. But I guess that goes to show you how entertaining it was!

Saturday

On Saturday, we woke up and Ishu demanded a taco. And I, for one, was not going to deny him a damn taco. This kid LOVES to eat, but over the last couple weeks, his interest in eating has slowed down. I thought it was cause he lost his appetite when he got sick. But maybe toddlers just go through phases and he’s currently in a “food? eh, fine” phase.

So, we bundled up and walked over to the local market that sells breakfast tacos. And he happily ate one with a side of strawberries. Ankur hung out with him while I went downstairs to do a quick workout.

And then later in the day, we went to Light Up the Lake at the Navy Pier.

It wasn’t until we reached there that I realized I forgot Ishu’s shoes. Luckily, it was all indoors in a grand ballroom, so he ran around the place in socks.

Nobody even noticed. Or, if they did, they didn’t say anything.

Ankur met up with us after we toured the lights so he brought Ishu some shoes. And then we all went outside and went on the Navy Pier wheel. It was our first time going. And, maybe it’s because Ishu’s been on planes already, but he wasn’t scared one bit when we got to the tippy-top.

I looked at Ankur and said, “Why hasn’t he inherited all the anxieties from me?” It was a JOKE. Because I’m a scaredy-cat at a lot of things, but I’m really, consciously trying to not push those anxieties onto him. And, clearly, he’s doing just fine.

The views from the top were beautiful, but I’d love to go again during the daytime!

We walked around the Navy Pier for a little bit more. Ishu liked getting to go in and out of the stores, looking at the lights, pushing the buttons, admiring the decorations.

Eventually, we plopped him back into the stroller to trek back home to make it home for bedtime. I realize that this weather ain’t bad for the average Chicago-an (it was probably 40 degrees when we started walking home), but MAN, THIS IS ROUGH FOR A CALIFORNIA KID.

Fortunately, the new coat my mom-in-love ordered me arrived this weekend so I’m pretty sure I’m all set. I tried it on and immediately started sweating, so I think that’s a great sign that it’s going to WORK.

Sunday

On Sunday, we woke up and the winds were already going wild. And there was rain in the forecast, so we knew it’d be a stay-at-home day.

We’ve had Christmas music playing non-stop since the tree decorations went up. And Ishu likes to carry the Bluetooth speaker around as he runs around the apartment. Every once in a while demanding we play Baby Shark.

We bought a gingerbread house kit from Target the other day so, after his nap, we put down a sheet and got to work.

Ankur did the heavy lifting while Ishu sat on the side, snacking on the decorations. Ishu helped decorate the roof and, with every gumdrop he placed on top of the icing, a wall caved.

It was delightful and messy and, I mean, what do you expect when you’re trying to do an activity like this with a 1-year old?! Ha.

It stayed up long enough for a round of pictures and then it collapsed.

And then he spent the rest of the night playing with our spice rack, chewing down on some coriander seeds.

We tried getting him to bed by 7:30, but I think the lack of activity and time outdoors made him not-so-sleepy. So we all piled in bed together around 9:30-9:45ish and fell asleep.

His sleep schedule is bonkers. And I’m not going to stress about it because we’re going to visit family again in a few weeks and so, even if we try to get back on track, it’ll mess up once again. So we’re just gonna roll with it.

Today’s a pretty cold, windy day again. So I’m imagining a trip to our (indoor) swimming pool to tire this guy out today! Or lots of time in the bathtub.

Hope you all had a fun weekend!

Questions of the Day:

Do you name your Christmas tree and, if so, what’s its name?

What was one highlight from your weekend?

What’s one thing you’re looking forward to this week?