We took the day off to celebrate her big day.
Here, she is on our way to the L stop....

Our first stop was the L station to get her fare card. In Chicago, kids ride free until age 7... then they can get a reduced fare card. You don't get them out of the machines, you have to ask the attendant for one. Clara has been coveting Alex's fare card for a while now. Yesterday she walked up to the attendant, told her that today was her 7th birthday and may she please have a fare card! The CTA attendant was fabulous... making a big deal about and wishing her a very Happy Birthday. The Red Eye guy and several CTA patrons wished her Happy Birthday as she went to the kiosk to add fare money to her new card.
She's a card carrying seven year old now...

We left the L station to get on the bus to Michigan Avenue.
I think this was her doll Kit's first bus ride...

We started with lunch in the cafe...



She was quite the celebrity!
We finally hopped in a cab home, exhausted from our shopping. But before we could get too comfortable, we had to take the dog to the vet. She has an ear infection, that we knew. What we didn't expect was for them to find a heart murmur. They're not too concerned at the moment. We go back for her check-up in January so they'll see what's going on then. The vet was very sweet and let Clara listen to Friday's heart (Clara claims that she wants to be a vet someday).
Then, we were finally home for good and Clara could play with her new purchase.
Kit's best friend, Ruthie...

Okay... time to run to violin!
WOW! What a fun day :)
ReplyDeleteI'm completely jealous of Clara's birthday fun - even as a (ahem) thir-mumble.mumble, her day sounds like bliss!
AND the Ruthie doll? Memories to last a lifetime, Tracie!!
Okay, Tracie, it's a testament to your stellar photography that you can make the inside of a CTA bus look clean and pleasant :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Clara! What a day!