Chicago style fun

Claire survived her first trip to Chicago! She was a champ in the car and slept the whole way. On Saturday I went to my good friend Rachelle's baby shower. She's my friend from college who ended up marrying my second cousin. Rachelle's baby girl is due in April... we can't wait for the third cousins to meet! :)

After the shower, we went to my cousin, Sam, and his wife, Christina's house. Some other family members were there and we had fun introducing Claire to some of her extended family.

We ended the trip with a stop at Trader Joe's and lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant On the Border... two places we don't have in Iowa City.

Claire is sporting her cute new outfit from Rachelle in this pic and I'm sporting my new look...

If you can't tell in that pic, check out this one...

If you look real close, you'll notice a tiny glimmer on my nose! That's right... I got my nose pierced! This is the second time for me -- I originally got it pierced in college but took it out when I started student teaching. Since I'm no longer working in the classroom, I thought.. Why not?! My mom isn't too crazy about my new look, but I'm enjoying it. I think she'll eventually come around, too. :)