Chicago, With Boys

Sam pretending he has to go to the bathroom at the Planetarium

Sam playing Legos in his room

Sam and Steve on the Magnificent Mile

Sam, once again, pretending to pee

I just got back from Chicago. Steve had a conference there, so I decided to tag along and bring Sam for his birthday. Of course, traveling with boys is a different experience.

For example, every time I said, "Smile," Sam struck a pose pretending to pee. He thought that was hilarious. Hence, all the pictures of Sam pretending to pee, or needing to pee. Quite ironic, since I never once heard him tell me he needed to go to the bathroom for the entire trip.

We stayed right on the Magnificent Mile. Truly, a shopper's dream. But it was not destined to be. Sam had some things he wanted to do, like every museum in the city and the Sears Tower. After two museums, I said it was enough. After getting to the tower, paying to go up, and actually arriving at the top, Sam declared that he was ready to go. Apparently, he was disappointed that he couldn't hang over the edge.

However, in terms of traveling companions, Sam was quite easy. He was never hungry, thirsty, tired, cold, hot, in need of a bathroom, or even of a companion. He got Legos for his birthday from the Lego store. We took them upstairs to our room. He immediately wanted to open them and begin constructing. I said (I really wanted to get my shopping time in), "Are you sure you don't want to go back out?" He said, "No, I'm fine." So I said, "Okay, don't open the door for anyone. And if you need something, go find Dad. He's on the 5th floor." And then I went shopping. When I returned, he was still building. And he informed me that he had heated up his leftovers from lunch for his dinner. So nice to have a kid that can take care of his basic needs.

One morning, at about 9:50 (so we slept in), he came creeping into my room. Steve was already downstairs working. He saw me in bed and said, "Oh, I was just checking to see if you were here. But you can go back to sleep." And then he walked back to his room and worked on Legos. If it had been any of my other kids, it would have been a different scenario.

My favorite was the plane ride home. Steve got upgraded and wanted to put me in first, but I really didn't care because my legs aren't that long, so I insisted he stay up there. I have to admit that I rode first on the way out, because of his upgrade. He'll be ticked if I don't mention his kindnesses. Anyway, the point is, we were separated. I was sitting by Sam. He pulled out his book and started reading when the plane began taxiing. Unfortunately, we didn't take off, due to weather. So we sat on the runway for an hour. After about 50 minutes, Sam looked up and said, "Where are we?" I said, "On the runway." He said, "You mean we haven't even left yet?" And then, during the flight, Steve walked back to me with a sandwich. He reached over Sam to hand it to me. He said a few words and then went back to his seat. I said to Sam (still in his book), "Do you want some sandwich?" He looked up and said, "Hey, where did you get that?" Obviously, his observation skills did not improve with age.

Anyway, it was fun. I got a look into what boys love to do. Sam wanted to spend all his spare time trying to touch a bird. Steve and I laughed as we watched him chase them around Buckingham Fountain. Steve said, "We are raising a puppy."