American Girl

I have always said that for Eleanor's 5th birthday, I was going to take her to American Girl in Chicago.  It just so happened that Eleanor was off school on January 19 and I happened to have some extra vacation.  So I started planning the day...and of course Grandma had always planned on coming too...because what is a retired lady supposed to do?  Aunt Melissa was supposed to come to as Eleanor is her honorary daughter...but the Monday adventure didn't work with her schedule.

 

I tend to not tell Eleanor things ahead of time.  I love surprising her and this way, I don't need to hear "How many more days until XX??"  (Although, I did solve part of this problem, by buying her a calendar for Christmas!)  And actually, these plans almost really got spoiled when Oliver got sick...

 

Sunday night we told Eleanor that we were going to take the train to Chicago and go out to lunch.  The next morning our adventure began....

 

 

We took the 8:05 train down to Chicago.  I was a little worried about the time - I wasn't sure how many commuters we would be dealing with so early on a Monday, but it really proved to be a non-issue. 

 

Eleanor did great on the train.  Obviously she had several questions and had to narrate most of the trip down for us, but for the most part, she was great.  She started to get really excited when we pulled into Union Station and tried sneaking past Grandma to get into the aisle.  She knocked her 1/2 drank cup of hot cocoa over, which proceeded to explode on the ground and up some poor business woman's pants.  The woman was NOT pleased to say the least and she was oh-so passive-aggressive about it.  Poor Eleanor was just so excited...but she should have just staid where she was.  It was a bag of emotion for me!

 

My mom seemed a little uneasy about certain parts of the trip, but I assured her, I had taken this same train several times and was confident I could help us navigate the city.  Once out of the station, we grabbed a cab and headed to Water Tower Place.

 

Mom was slightly disappointed we weren't in a "Yellow Cab" because she wanted to get a picture of Eleanor in her first cab...and a first cab can't be orange!  Love that my mom is a traditionalist! Eleanor was floored by the fact that for the second time that day she was traveling without a car seat or a seatbelt.  Although, she totally called me out and said, "Mom, there ARE seatbelts in here...so why aren't we wearing them?"  #momfail

 

 

We were dropped of at Water Town Place and of course, the first store we see is American Girl.  Our lunch reservations weren't until 12:30.  I assumed we would hit up some of the other stores and do American Girl before lunch...but once Eleanor saw that sign, there was no avoiding it.  Darn literacy! 

 

I wish I would have videotaped Eleanor walking in American Girl.  Her head was like it was on a swivel!  She wasn't sure where to start.  Where to look.  To be honest - I wasn't really sure where to start either!  Have you ever been to American Girl?  They have displays on all the exterior walls, with little cards saying what it was "Caroline's Party Dress" and then below the displays they have the actual merchandise (Why didn't I take a picture of this??). 

 

Of course, Diane and I didn't help the situation - "Eleanor, look at this", "Eleanor, look at this".  "Eleanor". "Eleanor." "Eleanor"!! 

 

Although Eleanor had no idea what she wanted, she knew what she wanted.  So we helped her select her purchases.  My mom found a dress she really liked, so she bought that for Eleanor.  I told Eleanor I would buy her one dress.  Anything else she wanted, she would have to purchase with her own money.  She picked a purple dress that she insisted was Rapunzel's.  Last time I checked, Rapunzel wasn't an American Girl...but who am I to argue. 

 

 

I mean - I find it oddly cute that all of the American Girl "stuff" comes packaged so neatly in these little boxes with tissue...and yes...yes Eleanor and "Kendall" are wearing matching outfits.  Couldn't you just die?!

At this point we finally told Eleanor that we would be eating lunch at American Girl Place, but that we still had some time before our reservation, so we wandered around Water Tower Place, made a few purchases, and ate some delicious Garrett popcorn.  Then back to American Girl for lunch.  When we first walked in to the restaurant my first thought was...wow...this. is. pink.  Hot Pink actually.  But everything from that moment on was just so sweet.  They cater to their clientele very well. 

Kendall got her own little chair that attached to our table and was also served with her own plate and cup.  Also, since we were celebrating Eleanor's birthday, they both got a birthday crown. 

Lunch was pretty good...I mean, it was what it was.  And then when lunch was over, they brought out a birthday cake for Eleanor, complete with 6 candles and singing, "Happy Birthday dear Eleanor".  Eleanor looked at me and said, "Mom, there are just so many surprises today!"  I think that was Eleanor's way of saying "Thank You".

After lunch our little Eleanor was fading FAST!  We decided that we would at least start heading toward Union Station, but we still had some time before we really needed to be there.  But the 3 Dianes on Michigan Avenue can feel very overwhelmed.  The first store we saw was H&M and we went in an poked around for awhile.  Of course we made a few purchases and then started our walk again. 

 

OK - I have to admit... I can never remember if the light is on or off when a cab is in service...So we just walked up to a cab that was parked on the side of the street and just kind of got in.  It was nice that we got to Union Station with plenty of time which was nice to not have to rush around.  My poor Eleanor was just so exhausted! 

I really thought she was going to fall asleep on the train or at least stare out the window...but she did neither.  She was just as active and engaged all the way home. 

 

It was just an amazing day!  We had so much fun and I just loved my day with two of my favorite ladies!