Chicago is really delivering on summer this year. It’s been the most beautiful one I can remember on the weather front, and we’ve had SO MUCH FUN already even though technically it’s only been summer for like.. 1.5 weeks. But come on, we all think of summer as June-August, right?

Jason and I often talk about the summer fatigue that can set in. There’s a lot to squeeze in to just three short months! (So much so that Bravo made a terrible reality show about it that I definitely didn’t watch every episode of.) But never fear, we are all powering through. June is my favorite month of the year with the temperatures, the promise of summer ahead, and ahem, my birthday 😃

Here’s what we’ve been up to:

On the days that I’m home with Hudson, it’s all about being outside as much as we can. The Streeterville Farmer’s Market opened up which has been an excellent destination for us between naps. Huds LOVES strawberries, so we go greet the people and pick out some strawberries, and then hang in the park for a strawberry picnic. Other things he likes to eat at the park include sand, wood chips, and the edge of the swing, all despite my best efforts. How does anyone make it out of babyhood alive? My inner germaphobe is dying a slow, painful death.

Navy Pier is doing free folk music for babies every week right now, which one of us is loving. (Hint: it’s me.) He enjoys it for about 15 minutes, and then he just wants to practice standing up and sitting down, which I’m not wild about happening on the floor of Navy Pier’s foot court. But at least 15 minutes is enough for me to get some new baby songs for my weekly repertoire, because there is an upper limit to the amount of times one can sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Old MacDonald without losing it—and that was reached about a month ago.

I’m happy to report that our lackluster experience with swimming lessons did not do any permanent damage, and there is never a happier Hudson than down at our building’s pool. Huge smiles and squeals, and he is even starting to kick his feet consistently when I “swim” him around the pool. I think he’s inspired by the big kids splashing around, because he has even been practicing putting his face in without me dunking him. It’s usually pretty quiet during the week and I love the times when it’s just him and I! But the best is when we all go down there together on a Sunday afternoon to beat the end-of-weekend blues.

We also have hit up the beach a handful of times, which I sometimes have to talk myself up to. Getting a stroller through the sand is no small feat, and we have to strategically time our visits so that I don’t freak out over the crowds… which usually means like, a Tuesday at 4pm. But in the spirit of the Summer of Yes, I suck it up and of course, every time we go, it’s awesome. Hudson loves digging in (and eating) the sand and watching the people and the waves. And even after 15+ years in the city now, I’m still not over how strikingly beautiful and bizarre it is to be sitting on a sandy beach like you’re on vacation, and then look up at the entire city skyline directly behind you.

On the non-baby front, our social life has been WILD lately! We have done more in the last month and a half than we did in the previous 6 months combined, I am certain. Both Jason and I celebrate our birthdays in June and we had friends in town—all equating to lots of fun. Grandma and Papa have gotten (given us!) lots of weekend Hudson time lately, for which we are so grateful!

We went to see a Cubs game for Jason’s birthday and because I was there, they won! You’re welcome, Chicago. We should really go to more sports games. (Somewhere, Jason is reading this and dying that I said “sports games.”) We channeled our 2012 selves and spent some time hopping around Wrigleyville after the game–I could not get over how different the whole area around Wrigley Field is now. But some things have stayed blessedly the same—we ran into Ronnie Woo Woo at Sluggers at about 6pm, did a $2 jello shot, decided the day had peaked and headed home.

I somehow have no pictures except this one from the lakefront from a great Saturday spent with Jason’s best friend and his wife who were visiting from KC. We spent a great day playing tourists in our own city, hopping around the river walk and the lake front, and even checked out the Gold Coast Art Festival which is inexplicably in Grant Park. The only thing on our list that we did not accomplish was taking them to a rooftop bar to show off Chicago. Apparently, Chicago is getting awfully big for it’s summer britches: charging $50 covers and showing off lines that wrap through building lobbies to go up to some of the hotel rooftops in the heart of the city. The Laura that used to talk her way into any bar is officially dead, (or at least has packed her bags and permanently relocated in Adulthood) because I think we all literally said NOPE and headed into an Irish bar. As soon as we sat down, it poured–validating our decision times a million.

That weekend, we also celebrated Jason’s first Father’s Day. Like everything he does, Jason has really nailed fatherhood and I couldn’t be prouder of the dad he is to our little dude. (And Blitz.) I love this photo of three generations of Bean men together! We headed to Southern Cut, an adorable and DELICIOUS new BBQ restaurant in Streeterville by the Chicago Cut restaurant family for Hudson’s first BBQ—something we’ve all been joking about for a while given his love of meat. It did not disappoint.

My birthday is towards the end of June and despite all of the fun we’d had in the beginning of the month, I still believe I got the best celebration of all. Jason was traveling on my actual birthday in the middle of the week, so my sister came to spend the night with Hudson and I. We made dinner and chatted outside on the balcony until it got dark. Could not have asked for a better way to kick off 33!

Until Saturday, when she came back down with her hubby. Jason lined up the best day ever for me: brunch at Hampton Social Club and a sparkling wine tasting at Eataly. We also got to go to TWO rooftops after the tasting was over: our favorite Streeterville rooftop, Ivy Terrace, which is always inexplicably empty-ish but of course I sort of love that about it, and J Parker in Lincoln Park for friends’ going away celebration. We ended up back at our place grilling burgers and attempting to stay up for the fireworks at… 10:15 😃 The weather was as perfect as it comes in the mid 70’s, and the day flew by too fast. I would like to go back in time and do it again, please. A day I will always remember.

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So now, it’s not even July and we’ve basically checked everything off of our city summer bucket list: rooftops, river walk, street fairs, Cubs games, lakefront, etc. We are heading to Lake Geneva in a few weeks with my bestie, her husband and her daughter (Hudson’s BFF!), which I am so looking forward to. We also have a wedding coming up for a good friend here in the city, which is SOMEHOW both mine and Jason’s first true Chicago wedding and we are so excited to celebrate with them! But beyond those two things, there is nothin’ on the calendar for the rest of summer, and I intend to keep it that way. Having checked off a whole lot of summer fun, we will be ready for some slow, lazy summer weekends in July and August. And oh my gosh—August is Hudson’s first birthday. How?!

Life lately has been pretty great, my friends. I hope yours has been the same!