The Windy City

In mid-May, Dahlia headed to Chicago for her Aunt Erica's graduation. Erica received a master's degree from the Illinois Institute of Design.

All ready for the special event:

There were two ceremonies, and the first one was outdoors. Dahlia was not impressed by the commencement speaker or by the layout of the chairs. She kept herself busy during the ceremony by walking up and down some of the empty rows, knocking down and (usually) picking up any chairs that she felt were out of place:

Very proud of Aunt Erica and of her own "chair layout" skills:

Here are a couple of family portraits that were taken between the two ceremonies. Congratulations, Erica!

Erica's graduation was a family affair. In addition to Aunt Erica, Dahlia got to spend some quality time with her ojiichan, her obaachan, and Aunt May. Ojiichan remains her favorite. He is always quick to provide Cheerios and tasty Japanese snacks, and he is a great playmate:

Dahlia also got to do a little sightseeing while she was in Chicago. Here she's staring in wonderment at the famous "bean" in Millenium Park and thinking to herself, "Who is that good-looking girl in the stroller, and why is she staring at me?"

A family portrait next to the bean:

During her last day in Chicago, Dahlia got to meet Eli, the son of one of Kaori's friends. Eli and Dahlia got together for a playdate at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Watching the polar bears together:

When Dahlia was ten weeks old, she flew through Chicago to get to St. Martin. Eli and Dahlia were supposed to meet at that time, but Dahlia's flight was delayed and they narrowly missed seeing each other. Eli was so happy to finally meet Dahlia that he got her a matching tiger to commemorate the event. Roar! Thank you, Eli!