Magnolia & The Bean

With our time in Chicago drawing to a close, I'm looking for any excuse to squeeze in more time downtown. On this crisp autumn day, I decided the family absolutely NEEDED to have some cupcakes from Magnolia so I loaded Liesel and Ireland in the SUV. Again, Brent was happy to get some one-on-one time with the newest Wuehler and catch up on some football. After a completely traffic-free drive, we parked and headed towards State Street via Daley Plaza. Since we weren't on any time constraints, the girls could slide down the Picasso to their heart's content. The moment Liesel got to the top and sat down I realized the white jeans were a really horrible idea. Ireland wasn't too keen on the slide-she only went down once-but she loved the fountain.  

Liesel's expression says it all, don't you think?

Eventually we headed over to Magnolia. In a stroke of serendipity, it was the Chicago location's 1 year anniversary. Before we even got to the door we received samples of banana pudding and cookies. The girls got to decorate mini cupcakes with different frosting and toppings. Ireland lit up when they presented her with an array of sprinkles. Then they decorated chef's hats. The cupcakes we planned to buy anyway were on sale! There was a photographer wandering around and when she spied the girls, she immediately began clicking away. 

Those cupcakes were gone just as soon as they were decorated!

The girls are up for anything involving glitter.

I took the girls to lunch at Millennium Park and told them we'd stop by The Bean afterwards. While Ireland positively devoured her salad, Liesel peppered me with questions about the "B" and what did it look like, what color was it, etc. I think she was expecting one of those foam letters you see on Sesame Street. When we rounded the corner and she saw it for the first time, she cracked a HUGE smile and excitedly laughed and pointed. They loved looking at themselves and each other in the reflective surface. 

Healthy self-esteem, that one!

The drive home had a bit more traffic but it didn't matter because the girls fell asleep from exhaustion. I had a rare moment of quiet time which I soaked up like water in the desert.