American Girl

Excited to leave!
Hot chocolate for breakfast

She spotted the doll she wanted

Ready for bed

In the lobby

Cold at Navy Pier

Emma & Hannah

Garrrets popcorn = a long wait but worth it!

Michigan Ave

Looking out our hotel window

Ground level of the Sears Tower

American Girl Cafe

Tic Tac Toe Pizza

Birthday cake

Trees in the cafe

Dessert

Doll holders in the bathroom stalls!

Hersheys store

A ride from the bellman

Pinkalicious Cast

Pinkacilious

Getting the hang of riding escalators

Going home

Talking to "Anna"

Hannah and I took our long-awaited girl trip to Chicago the weekend before Thanksgiving. Tracy and Emma came with us and we had a great time. Our plane was of course delayed 2 hours leaving Omaha but we still managed to get into Chicago, take the subway to our hotel, eat dinner at Rainforest Cafe and make it to the AG store for Hannah to pick out her doll all on the first day!

The store was 2 stories and huge. Hannah couldn't believe her eyes. She already had the girl picked out that she planned on getting and she did not change her mind. Within 20 minutes of entering the store we had paid for her and had them pry her out of the box. We spent a lot of time looking. They have a salon where you can have your dolls hair done and her ears pierced, a Sweet Shop, a doll hospital, and a cafe.

The second day we slept in and walked to Navy Pier. It was windy and cold so we did not spend a lot of time there before heading to Michigan Ave. I wanted to take Hannah to the Sears Tower (now called the Hancock Tower) to show her where dad proposed to me. She was really excited to see it and was very impressed with the views. She spent a lot of time looking out the windows and then asked me what "engaged" meant even though I had already tried to explain it to her. She really enjoyed it and asked if Jack was with us when we got engaged. I don't think she clearly understood but she will always remember it! On the elevator ride down I thought she was going to throw up. A guy in the elevator looked at me and said "she doesn't look so good!" We got her outside to get some air and some food and she felt better.

We did a little shopping, headed back to the hotel to get the girls' dolls and back to the AG store for dinner at the cafe. The cafe was all pink and Hannah was in heaven. The dolls get their own high chair, plate and tea cup. Hannah ordered tic tac toe pizza and shared it with her doll. Although Tracy and I were not impressed with the food and the price was steep, Hannah said it was her favorite part of the trip.

On the last day we were able to get tickets to Chicago's Broadway show of "Pinkalicious". The girls were tired so this was the perfect way to spend the morning before we left for the airport. The play was really cute and Hannah knew every scene before it happened since we have read the book so much!

It was great having a couple of days with just Hannah. I am quickly realizing that she is growing up faster than i would like and I want to capture all of her "little girl" memories before she doesn't want them any more! It is always difficult to find the time to create a trip like this and spend the money on it but it will be something that she will never forget!