This was one of the busiest Chicago travel weekends of the summer for many reasons - the Taste of Chicago, the Cubs continued their cross-town rivalry against the White Sox, there were numerous neighborhood festivals, and the annual Chicago Gay Pride Parade. For these reasons we decided to stay near home this weekend and limit any travel by car because traffic was backed up throughout the city. Lisa and I have been to the Taste a few times and decided it was just too crowded to bring a baby (and just too expensive), it was impossible to get tickets for the game, and we were not willing to drive anywhere with the traffic this weekend to check out the local festivals; however, the Chicago Gay Pride Parade was one of the largest in the country and passed just a block and a half from our condo, so we decided this was the event to check out! Unfortunately, the weather was too tenuous to bring a baby outside among drunken revelers so that plan was ditched.
What the family did do was attend a dinner, a treat from my residency program, for the last night my friends and I would be medical interns. Zoë came along and met one of my attending's new babies. The music (and my friends) were loud so we did have to leave dinner earlier than others. Plus it was way past Zoë's bedtime, but as usual, Zoë got a lot of attention at the event.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
More visitors from NYC
My friend Ellie was in town this week for a conference. Like my friend Rich, who was here a couple of weeks ago, and my sister (Aunt Becky), Ellie is also from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. I met her when I was doing a short post-doc there after graduate school. She was a huge help in coordinating my work with Dr. Stephen Nimer in their oncology department. We were able to meet briefly for breakfast wednesday before she headed off to her conference. She really insisted on seeing Zoë after following the blog, and Zoë, being well fed and well rested, was in a great mood to meet someone new.
That afternoon my college buddy Brian Yanish flew in from NYC to stay with us for 4 days. Brian was the best man in our wedding, and I've known him since middle school. In fact, we lived less than a mile from each other growing up but never really hung out until college. He currently is marketing a line of characters he's developed for children known as the Scrapkins which you can see on his website www.brianyanish.com. This was also his first time meeting Zoë. The days were packed with plans to see the city - Chicago Institute of Art, Millenium Park, Chinatown, Wicker Park, running down Lakeshore Drive, seeing a comedy show at night, going to a festival in support of bikes called Tour de Fat, and, of course, lots of eating. I was quite exhausted from the activities. Luckily, I was able to keep Zoë in daycare as we ran throughout the city on some of the days. She loves daycare anyway so everyone benefited. The day Brian returned to NYC the whole family was able to hang out, including Uncle Bryan and Aunt Lindsey, at the Tour de Fat Festival in Palmer Park. It was a great day though Zoë did get a little fussy near the end because she didn't get much of a nap during the entire day. Furthermore, Brian unfortunately also missed his flight because the train to the airport was delayed for track repairs. He therefore had to take an early morning flight back the next morning, but we all look forward to having Brian back again soon.
That afternoon my college buddy Brian Yanish flew in from NYC to stay with us for 4 days. Brian was the best man in our wedding, and I've known him since middle school. In fact, we lived less than a mile from each other growing up but never really hung out until college. He currently is marketing a line of characters he's developed for children known as the Scrapkins which you can see on his website www.brianyanish.com. This was also his first time meeting Zoë. The days were packed with plans to see the city - Chicago Institute of Art, Millenium Park, Chinatown, Wicker Park, running down Lakeshore Drive, seeing a comedy show at night, going to a festival in support of bikes called Tour de Fat, and, of course, lots of eating. I was quite exhausted from the activities. Luckily, I was able to keep Zoë in daycare as we ran throughout the city on some of the days. She loves daycare anyway so everyone benefited. The day Brian returned to NYC the whole family was able to hang out, including Uncle Bryan and Aunt Lindsey, at the Tour de Fat Festival in Palmer Park. It was a great day though Zoë did get a little fussy near the end because she didn't get much of a nap during the entire day. Furthermore, Brian unfortunately also missed his flight because the train to the airport was delayed for track repairs. He therefore had to take an early morning flight back the next morning, but we all look forward to having Brian back again soon.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
BBQ and a Paella Father's Day
We had another fun-filled weekend attending another BBQ and a paella party. Saturday Lisa's friend Jamie and her husband Irv hosted a BBQ where Irv made another delicious pulled pork. A lot of kids were there including another Zoë.
For our Father's Day entry, Mom has been invited to write an entry. Father's Day was spent sleeping in as a family, stirring to the sound of Zoë happily cooing and playing with her feet. Decidedly tired after weekend chores (never-ending laundry!) and pancakes and sausage, we took a much-needed morning nap. From there, we ran some errands, made some fresh strawberry crisp, and headed to Uncle Bryan's place for the first ever Paella Party! Using a recipe from Rick Bayless, Heather (one of Bryan's roommates) organized the cooking of a sizable amount of paella over an open fire in the backyard. Zoë and I watched from afar as Chris helped stir the dish to keep the fire from burning our dinner. After sampling the paella (yum!), enjoying the strawberry crisp and lots of fresh salsa, Zoë headed into her bedtime hours, and we headed home smelling of vegetable broth and smoke. We've decided that every Father's Day needs to involve Chris stirring a large 10 gallon pot of food over an open flame.
For our Father's Day entry, Mom has been invited to write an entry. Father's Day was spent sleeping in as a family, stirring to the sound of Zoë happily cooing and playing with her feet. Decidedly tired after weekend chores (never-ending laundry!) and pancakes and sausage, we took a much-needed morning nap. From there, we ran some errands, made some fresh strawberry crisp, and headed to Uncle Bryan's place for the first ever Paella Party! Using a recipe from Rick Bayless, Heather (one of Bryan's roommates) organized the cooking of a sizable amount of paella over an open fire in the backyard. Zoë and I watched from afar as Chris helped stir the dish to keep the fire from burning our dinner. After sampling the paella (yum!), enjoying the strawberry crisp and lots of fresh salsa, Zoë headed into her bedtime hours, and we headed home smelling of vegetable broth and smoke. We've decided that every Father's Day needs to involve Chris stirring a large 10 gallon pot of food over an open flame.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Zoë's Great-Grandparents Visit from Taiwan
My grandparents (Zoë's great-grandparents) were making their annual visit to their 3 children who live in the States (1 lives in Taiwan), their 10 grandchildren and the new addition of 3 great-grandchildren. They stopped through Chicago with my mom this week to meet Zoë for the first time. Zoë really enjoyed the time with them as you can tell in the photos.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Swimming!
Zoë went swimming for the first time this weekend. There is a baby swimming group organized among Lisa's resident friends who have toddlers. Lessons are led by a swimming instructor. I was at work when this occurred but Lisa said Zoë did well though she was very cautious being in the water. One of Lisa's colleagues took photos of the event.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Surprise visits (again) from Penn friends
My college buddy Rich stopped into town from NYC for a conference last weekend. As usual he gave me 24 hours notice which I've gotten quite accostumed to among a few friends now. Rich is an attending at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as a hem-onc specialist. He was one of the first people to meet Zoë in the hospital within a few hours after she was born. Though this past visit was short, it was nice to catch up, and Zoë seemed to enjoy seeing Uncle Rich (again).
A few days later, another college buddy of mine, Todd, also was in town for business. Zoë exhibited her first social smile with Todd so it was a reunion of sorts. We didn't get a chance to snap a photo with Todd because we had a late dinner, and Zoë was cranky and tired. Instead, here are some random photos from the past week of her playing with the cats and her toys.
A few days later, another college buddy of mine, Todd, also was in town for business. Zoë exhibited her first social smile with Todd so it was a reunion of sorts. We didn't get a chance to snap a photo with Todd because we had a late dinner, and Zoë was cranky and tired. Instead, here are some random photos from the past week of her playing with the cats and her toys.
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