Anni's first trip to the Shedd Aquarium

Jason, Anni, and I went to the Shedd today. We used the Great Kids Museum pass (which is very hard to get (like winning the lottery hard) and thanks to our rock star award recipient friend Nicole we monopolized it for 2 weeks instead of the customary one week.) You see I go to the library at least once a week to read books to Anni and to check on the various free passes they have and NEVER in 10 months have they had the aquarium pass, which only served to fuel my quest for the illusive pass. Last week on a morning run I stopped in and they had it, I almost peed in my pants (ok, maybe this proves I NEED to get out more) but still I was very excited so I checked it out. The bummer was last week was 4th of July and then our anniversary date so we never used it. I was determined not to let me found treasure go to waste so I asked my girlfriend Nicole (famed mother of Charlotte) to check it out seconds after I turned it in. A little shady you may say but, hey, I am shameless for free stuff! Plus, thank goodness we had the pass because the price is now apparently affected by oil prices or something (either that or they are making these fishies gold and bling "habitats") because the admission is ridiculous at 18 bucks for kids and like 20 for adults (and that does not include special exhibits)! Ok, my tirade is over but we were able to "steal" two kids behind us in line and let them in for free with our pass so we spread the free love (their mom was very appreciative since she already shelled out 15 bucks for parking)! Unless you enjoy waiting is a crazy long line I would also recommend against going on a Saturday but we were able to enjoy ourselves by chatting it up with everyone around us (we even met a couple with a son Anni's age and the mom was also training for a marathon). We also actually found a metered parking spot which made our day so all around it was a fun cheap day!

Annikah loved the fish, much more eventful than the zoo as she could see them moving and enjoyed kisses the glass and waving at the penguins (I had actual footage of this adorable exchange but being the electronic diva I am I erased it by accident!). The aquarium was so crowded but we were able to see almost everything and Annikah LOVED looking at the fish. She would point as they would swim by her and make her noise we know refer to as her "this or that" noise. She points as if she is saying "look at that!" She also really liked the tank of fish from Lake Tanganyika-see photo (she is all ready for Africa!). It was fun to be able to be tourists in our own city again and this time share something new with Annikah. I think one of my favorite things about being her mom is getting to be the first person to watch her explore and discover new things. She likes the world of fish.