Gra-gra Yoj's Visit

We just had the best visit from my mom and Dodds. Dodds had a conference in Chicago starting on Tuesday. My mom came in the Friday before so we could have some girl time before he got here. Then we got to hang out with Dodds and Yoj until Sunday. So my mom was here almost 10 days. It was THE BEST!!! You might think that I would get sick of my mom (or anyone) after a visit that was that long, but I didn't. I absolutely loved having her here.


Sophie did too. In fact, the very first day she was here, my mom and Sophie got comfy on the bed and were looking through the scrapbooks (like mother, like daughter). I was worried that Sophie would have stranger anxiety, but she warmed up to Gra-gra immediately. It might have been the suckers my mom bribed her with (smart woman started with the candy in the car home from the airport). In fact, whenever Sophie saw my mom's coat or purse she immediately started the "sucker, sucker, SUCKER!!!!" chant. Sophie's big thing was that she wanted to keep tabs on everyone - she had to know where we all were at all times: "Gra-gra bed?" "Gra-gra upstairs?" "Gra-gra pee?" "Oh, where's Dodds?" It was so sweet.

My mom was a huge help too. We really needed to clean out the spare room to get things ready for the baby. Joy was a huge help in both cleaning it out and in wrangling Sophie so that Nate and I could get it done (and it is! The painter is coming this week). We also needed to get some big shopping done (double stroller, bedding, etc.) before Shim/Sheila/NamelessFetus comes and we got all that done too. I feel soooo much more prepared and I don't think I would've gotten around to it anytime soon if I didn't have her help and advice. Thanks, Mom!!

We also did lots of fun things while they were here:



We went downtown on Saturday to celebrate St. Patrick's Day early (which is funny since we forgot about it on the actual day). We got green donuts and saw the Chicago River dyed green. Day-glo green.


We went to the Children's Museum.


And then chased the birds on Navy Pier.



The weather was really nice while they were here so we spent a ton of time outside. We played in the backyard. We chased Darcy. We went to the park and walked to the neighborhood cafes for snacks and drinks.


We finally put together the trike that the Dodds gave Sophie for Christmas and gave it a whirl - HUGE hit!


And best of all, Joy taught Sophie how to do Monkey Face.


We had some really good food with the Dodds too - breakfast at Original Pancake House, takeout from Mamma Thai, etc. We even got a babysitter one night and had an adults night out at Heaven on Seven, which we go to every time they are in town because it's Andrew's favorite. He actually went there three times this trip. We don't mind at all because it is fabulous food.

Thanks for coming, guys! We loved having you here and can't wait to see you again!!!