The Millers' Oak Park Baby: that toddling town

hard to believe its been over a year since we visited one of chicago's best summer attractions-- millennium park. it simply got overlooked with baby harry and busy challenging life at home. so glad we made the trip this week. it was lovely.

this time mom came prepared with swimsuits and a towel for the boys. jude didn't remember his previous trips to crown fountain. but he giggled as i explained at home that we would see giant people faces with funny lips in an 'o' shape. and that when the 'o' appears, water shoots out.

Crown fountain - Millennium Park - outdoor water playground

in typical jude fashion, he surveyed the park, carefully walked around at first and then took off running, splashing some bigger kids but not getting into the big downpours at the glass towers. harry spent the first part enjoying a snack lunch.

harry's first visit to crown fountain

after snack it was playtime for baby. when i first sat him on the wet stone surface harry cried. but then he realized he could smack the ground...and it made a splash! harry soon took off in a high speed crawl around the busy fountain.

i wish i had a picture of harry's water adventure. tourists were actually taking pictures of my little man moving so fast among big kids. but i am learning it is much harder to get good photos of your second kid. i walked over harry at times, even holding out my arms to protect him from excited running children. but then i also needed to track and engage jude. which meant no time to pull out camera!

lest you think it was all about water, we also enjoyed the great Target family fun tent. if you visit chicago, you have to check out this free activity zone. the fans make it feel air conditioned. the rubber surface was great for harry to explore. jude enjoyed story time with a guy sitting in a cartoonish oversized chair. reminded me of the old lily tomlin as edith ann sketch on sesame street.

target family fun tent - stories, big blocks!

we then hit the hoola hoops and the giant blocks. jude is still not really into crafts so we skipped those. i remember jude's first preschool teacher saying with emphasis that she 'tries' with him and crafts. i wonder if harry will be the same?

so now to mom's favorite moment of the day. the grant park symphony open rehearsal in pritzker pavilion. they sounded amazing. jude actually asked if we could stop and listen for awhile.

music break

listening to live classical music somehow clears my head and makes my heart happy at the same time. what a great treat in the middle of our day! thanks grant park symphony.