Yesterday the three of us trooped on down to Michigan Avenue for the “Lighting of the Magnificent Mile” and other holiday festivities. It was a cold day, so Zak and I bundled up, and then we dressed Zoe like we were sending her to Antarctica for a month to fend for herself. As we walked around we noticed that we were the only parents that prepared their child for such an expedition. We worked our way through the crowds toward the fun stuff, Zoe lying back in her stroller with a huge smile on her face. Starbucks was handing out free samples of peppermint hot chocolate, including whipped cream and red sprinkles and we let Zoe have several sips. It was her first taste of chocolate and she seemed to love it. Zak and I then got to decorate and eat a piece of Eli’s Cheesecake. Yum! Then we had Zoe get her picture taken with Santa Claus. Last year she was way too little to meet Santa, so this was her first encounter with him and she did not like it. I plopped her on his lap then wildly encouraged her to smile and say hi, but all she did was wail! They only allowed a few seconds to snap the picture, so there was no time to cheer Zoe up before another kid got plunked down. The photo is a classic.
We then worked our way up Michigan Avenue trying to find a good spot for the parade. With a couple of hours until the parade started the entire first row spots were taken. We were debated about whether or not we should still try to find a spot or just call it a day. Then we noticed Borders in front of us and decided to try to find a spot in there to feed Zoe dinner. Up to the third floor we all went and we found a great spot on the floor by a window overlooking the parade route. After Zoe’s dinner and a few walked around the DVD sections a man who had been reading offered us the leather couch he was using. We turned it around to face the windows and there we were. All three of us on a leather couch watching the parade for the third floor of Borders. We were warm, cozy, comfortable, and had a great view. It was a fabulous day!
