Thanksgiving

We had an activity-filled Thanksgiving this year. First, Zoë got a contusion on her left cheek after slipping on the hardwood floor and hitting her cheek on a shelf. She was fine, but it left a noticable mark on her face.

From Black eye

From Black eye

We celebrated Thanksgiving first with our resident friends from Comer Children's Hospital hosted by Steve and Kelly.

From Bachta Thanksgiving 2008

From Bachta Thanksgiving 2008

Lisa had to work the friday after Thanksgiving so we weren't able to head to her parent's house until friday night. We therefore celebrated Thanksgiving with the Preston household on saturday. Zoë enjoyed playing with her cousins, Avery and Rowan, as well as all the toys in the house. We also enjoyed the fall weather by tossing the ball in the backyard and playing in the piles of leaves.


The morning after the Thanksgiving celebration, we were surprised to see a significant amount of snow on the ground. The plan was to play in the snow. However, the morning started with a visit from a possum in the backyard by which Uncle Tony ran into the backyard barefoot and caught the animal barehanded. The animal was not harmed in any way and was released a minute later. In fact, some food was left in the yard for him (at least we think it was a male).

From Thanksgiving 2008-3

Everyone then bundled up and made snow carvings in the yard. Zoë didn't thoroughly enjoy her first snow experience, but we hope to get her used to it soon. We returned to Chicago later that afternoon stuffed with poultry.

Appetizer to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is certainly a favorite holiday in this household. Who can complain of eating and relaxing? The days before Thanksgiving we started to wind down after a very busy month - Lisa was finishing her call month in pediatric physical rehab, and I was finishing in the NICU. We spared no time in taking naps and eating good food this week. We also just tried a great Italian restaurant in the city, A Tavola, which was fantastic! Zoë especially liked the homemade gnocci. Unfortunately, we had to skip dessert because we were fast approaching Zoë's bedtime, but we certainly look forward to Thanksgiving these next few days! And we'll be going back to A Tavola for dessert!

Lisa's brother visits for the holidays

Lisa's twin brother, David, flew in from California for a 2 week visit with the family. He will be staying with us for a couple of days before heading down to Normal to see the parents. We'll all meet up with the Preston household this weekend after Lisa gets off work friday, so Thanksgiving will be a later celebration for us. While David was here, Lisa's other brother and his fiance, Bryan and Lindsey, came for dinner. I was post-call after my last NICU shift EVER (unless I decide to moonlight) and was quite tired. I wasn't feeling too well when I got home and later realized I had a case of gastroenteritis. Nonetheless, I was able to snap some photos of Zoë playing with everyone.

Mom joins Peach for lunch

Zoë's daycare had a special Thanksgiving lunch where the parents were invited to have lunch with their children. Dad stayed home because we had an electrician come and replace some lighting fixtures but mom, being only a few doors down, was able to have lunch with Zoë. This was also an opportunity to meet the other parents.

Obama, mutts and mutant fungi

A lot of hype has gone into President elect Obama's recent statement about being a "mutt" which we find interesting in our household since we're probably going to produce a few. We snapped a recent picture of Zoë during dinner. Some say she looks like me, others say she looks like Lisa. I think this picture really shows the mix of both parental genes, wouldn't you agree? Go hybrid vigor!

From Hyrbid vigor

And on a totally none related issue - during this same meal, Lisa found a huge mushroom in her Chinese dish. Does it remind you of anything? Kind of ruined our appetites.

From Hyrbid vigor

From Hyrbid vigor

Beginning steps

Zoë has been getting better daily walking with support and lately she has been standing for brief moments on her own and even taking tiny steps between mom and dad. We suspect she'll be walking on her own any day now, and her daycare teachers agree. In the meantime, I bought her a toy that converts between a walker, pull wagon and a steerable single seat truck which occupies a significant amount of her playtime at home.