Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue... Aquaruim

If you didn't start singing along with that title then you need more Raffi in your life. I love his silly songs and "Baby Beluga" was always a favorite growing up. Last night JP and I had a delightful dinner at Quartino, an Italian tapas-like restaurant "where the wine is cheaper than water and the pizza is the finest". We love ordering lots of different dishes and drinking lots of cheap wine, so this place was perfect. I wore a very sexy dress loaned from a friend and felt like an almost twenty-five year old woman rather than an almost twenty-five year old mom. We spent 2+ hours eating way too much and drinking just the right amount. It was wonderful.

(Yes, the title does relate to the post, I'm getting there.) Yesterday afternoon JP surprised me by taking me ice skating (so fun!) and promised that my big birthday gift was also something unique to Chicago (well, unique as in we couldn't do it in Austin). When I opened my card at dinner I found out I was going to be a "Trainer for a Day" at the Shedd Aquarium! I am SO excited!! I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was little and have remained fascinated with the ocean and sea life. I'm a licensed scuba diver but haven't been since high school because JP has broken ears (well, there's a more technical name for the problem, but that's what I take away from his explanations) and can't handle the underwater pressure. But on March 8th I will be reunited with a few sea creatures. I'll arrive before the Aquarium opens, don rubber boots and a special "trainer for a day" t-shirt, and follow the real trainers around for four hours. I get to feed the belugas, dolphins, and sea lions and take part in the Oceanarium show (JP and Landon will be in the audience). I think I'm the girl who throws fish to the animals when they do what they're supposed to do- yay!!

Landon and I went to the aquarium this past Friday to check out the fish and hopefully he'll find it more interesting when his mommy is one of trainers.

Actually he had a good time, but dancing with joy in front of the penguin habitat for thirty minutes completely wore him out. Think he'll be generous and let his mommy sleep in past 5 AM on her birthday tomorrow? Based on his runny nose, fussiness, and potential third ear infection this month, I think probably not.

But I get to pet a beluga in two weeks!!!