Shedd Aquarium!

Watching the penguins swim by!

We took a family trip to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago last Saturday. Alaina absolutely loved it! I as a little nervous about going on an all-day adventure with her. I thought she might get crabby without her nap, but she did great! She loved looking at all the fish. Her pointer finger was out all the time, pointing to everything she saw. She kept saying "Hi fish, hi fish!" It was so cute. Her favorite part was the penguin exhibit and watching the beluga whales swim in their giant tank. We also watched a dolphin and whale show at the end of our day. Afterwords we bought a mini stuffed animal dolphin for Alaina from the gift shop. She's been taking a nap with her dolphin since our trip. Below are some pictures from our fun day at Shedd.

Watching the penguins walk on the rocks

Alaina wanted her face right on the glass of the penguin tank so she could get a good look!

More swimming penguins, Alaina's favorite

"Look, Momma, more fish!"

Some friendly turtles

Mesmerized by a school of fish

Valentine Concert

My preschool students at our Friendship Concert!

Last Tuesday night my preschool students had a Friendship Concert in celebration of Valentine's Day. We invited all pre-k parents to the concert and had an excellent turnout. The concert was short, only 6 quick songs, but the kids did a great job! We practiced for our concert for a long time. All their hard work paid off with their wonderful performance. They looked so cute standing on the risers in their red and pink outfits. Alaina normally has her music class on Tuesday nights, but I thought she would enjoy coming to the Friendship Concert. We skipped music class and instead I brought Alaina with to watch the concert. She loved watching the kids sing! Nate and my parents watched the concert with Alaina while I helped the children perform.

Chaos in the classroom... waiting for the concert to start with 40 preschoolers!

Alaina and Papou watching the concert

Another picture from the performance

Horray for Warmer Days!

Mommy and Alaina on the bike path

Today was such a beautiful day! The temperature reached 45 degrees! That's super nice weather for mid-February in Rockford. The sun was out and the wind wasn't too bad so we decided to take a walk down by the river. Zoe has been dying to go for a walk all winter and we all needed some fresh air. A lot of snow melted today so the path was wet and slushy, but we had a great time. As you can see form the pictures, there is still a lot of snow left on the ground. I realize that spring is not here yet, but days like this make me feel like it will be here soon!

Ready for a walk! (Not sure why Nate's making that face)

Some pictures of the Rock River. I like how you can see our shadows in this picture.

The Rockford symbol, in all its glory. I still don't get it.

Snowmageddon!

I can't remember ever having this much snow in Rockford! We got about 15 inches of snow on Tuesday and Wednesday. Combined with the snow that was already on the ground, we were completely snowed in Wednesday morning! School was cancelled on Wednesday because of the blizzard and also today (Thursday) because of temperatures below zero. Even City Hall closed on Wednesday so Nate, Alaina, and I were able to have some quality family time at home. Nate spent almost 2 hours outside snow blowing our driveway and helping out some neighbors.

Watching Daddy shovel the sidewalk

Nate's first job was to clear off the 3ft drift on our front step

Shoveling down to the sidewalk

Snow blowing the driveway took a long time!

Today Nate went back to work, but Alaina and I had another day at home together. Although it was very cold out today, we decided to brave the weather and take a little walk outside. Alaina put on her snow gear and ventured out into the cold! She loved walking in the snow with her new pink boots!

All suited up and ready to play in the snow!

This little cutie doesn't mind the snow

Notice how the snow comes up to Alaina's head!

"It's getting too cold out here! I'm going back inside!"

Taking off her wet boots

To end this post, I'd like to add a picture of one of my favorite beaches in Karpathos, Greece. It's a beautiful beach, but during Snowmageddon it looks even more fabulous! Hurry up, summer. I'm getting impatient.