Just a few hours before Grandy's train arrived, The Art Institute wreathed its lions Friday morning as it does every year. Inside one of those balls is a wish Levynn wrote on another recent visit to the museum.
Two days later, Mom and the kids went back - this time with Grandy - to make a gingerbread house.
And the kids introduced Grandy to the museum's awesome stained-glass collection.
Meanwhile, Dad was with his friend John in the suburbs fetching this classy desk for Levynn. It's from Granddaddy and Susan, who sent it this way with friends who were visiting in the area. She loves it!
... Dad and the kids ventured down south to the Museum of Science and Industry to see its annual Christmas Around the World display (which we hadn't seen before) and the traveling exhibit "Jim Henson's Fantastic World" (in which cameras are not allowed).
The Christmas display includes more than 50 trees, each decorated by a different Chicago ethnic community to represent its respective ancestral country.
And there was this huge gingerbread MSI with Henson characters, like something straight out of the "Cake Boss" series Mom's been watching.
Has anyone not heard that Illinois thumped Dad's Northwestern football team at Wrigley Field today?
Just asking.
Long before that, though, Mom, Dad and the kids headed out for a series of events all jumbled together as if it was summer here again.
We went to a fireside storytime at a hotel in the Loop, where three people from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago read "Harold and the Purple Crayon."
We returned to the Chicago Public Library's Bookamania, which only Dad and Levynn attended last year. That's Laura Ingalls Wilder talking to Levynn, who thought that was pretty peachy.
And when Dad split for Wrigley, Mom and the kids headed to the Tribune's plaza for Magnificent Mile Lights Festival activities. Since Dad was at the game and Mom had to work, however, we didn't see the actual parade later in the evening.
Now about that game...
Let's just go with some images and leave it at that.
The Art Institute has, in addition to its walk-in programs, a class specifically for ages 3 to 5 called Mini Masters. Levynn attended one such class, and before we knew it she was 6! But now Lincoln is old enough, and he got his first chance yesterday.
The class includes a tour of a gallery related to the project. In this case, we worked with clay after looking at sculptures in the new exhibit of ancient Mexican work.
Levynn finished her rat habitat project - including this diorama - on Sunday and presented it to her class on Wednesday.
Today, we met with her teacher to get her report card and an update on her progress. She's doing very well, as you may have guessed. She earned all As but for a B in math.
We're jumping the gun, we have to admit, but how could we not?
We made a point to see Macy's light its Great Tree in the State Street store's historic Walnut Room restaurant today. We got there more than an hour early to secure a table for lunch.
Also during lunch, Katharine McPhee sang, retiring Mayor Daley spoke, fairies sprinkled wishes, and the kids wrote letters to Santa.
Just a few hours before Grandy's train arrived, The Art Institute wreathed its lions Friday morning as it does every year. Inside one of those balls is a wish Levynn wrote on another recent visit to the museum. 
Two days later, Mom and the kids went back - this time with Grandy - to make a gingerbread house.
And the kids introduced Grandy to the museum's awesome stained-glass collection.
Meanwhile, Dad was with his friend John in the suburbs fetching this classy desk for Levynn. It's from Granddaddy and Susan, who sent it this way with friends who were visiting in the area. She loves it!
