Puppy Girl

Once Zoe started noticing Charlie early on, she started imitating him every now and then. When he barks, she squeals and grunts. When he runs to the door, she crawls super fast to the door. She even plays fetch--and is actually much better at it than Charlie! Lately, she has gotten really interested in what Charlie looks at out the window all day. So, now when he plops himself in his spot in front of the window every morning, Zoe quickly crawls on over, cozies up next to Charlie and stares out the window with him. It is total cuteness. Of course, if she starts chasing squirrels in the park this spring and scratching her ear with her foot, I may get a little worried.

And She's Off

We have our very own drunken sailor plowing through the condo. Zoe's been taking many steps these days and is well on her way to walking. The funniest thing is that she always has to have something in her hands and/or mouth as she's walking. I don't know if these things keep her balanced or just happy, but whatever works for her is cool with me. Here's a quick look at a few steps.

Yum

We didn't bring our camera along for the night, but here's a shot of Table 52

Last weekend we celebrated Jody's birthday by eating and drinking our way around the city. We started off with martinis at Il Mulino, a fancy schmancy restaurant in the old Biggs Mansion in the Gold Coast. We were the youngest people in there, but the bar area was quaint and cozy and the martinis were top notch. I don't think I'd had a martini in over two years, so that (combined with the bleu cheese olives) was a total treat.

Then we headed around the corner to Table 52 for dinner. Table 52 is co-owned by Oprah's personal chef Art Smith, who was also on Top Chef Masters, and we thought the meal lived up to the hype. I was worried that it was going to be a snooty place because the person on the phone for reservations had some serious attitude. But once we got there, the service was really friendly and accomodating. The restaurant itself was totally unpretentious too. Just lively and inviting. It is one of those restaurants where the tables are really close together for that sense of community, but far enough apart that you still feel like you have some privacy.

Now onto the meal. The food was awesome. Instead of the usual bread and olive oil welcome, Table 52 gives everyone made-to-order goat cheese biscuits and deviled eggs. The deviled eggs were just fine, but the biscuits were incredible. For our meals Jody got the short ribs (so good) and I got the pistachio crusted chicken (pretty good) and we shared a mac-and-cheese side (amazingly good).

Even though we were stuffed beyond belief after dinner, Jody still needed to blow out a birthday candle, so we headed to the Signature Room for dessert. Maybe it was the food coma or maybe it was the martinis and wine, but somehow we didn't notice that the city was blanketed in fog that night. When we got up to the 95th floor of the Hancock building, it looked like they had frosted over all the windows. Instead of staying up there in the clouds, we headed back to the West Loop and got Jody his birthday dessert and candle at Marche. Even though we only ate about a quarter of the dessert, it was still fun ending the night at our favorite place in the city.

It was a fantastic birthday celebration date night, and we were still full well into the next day!

Cheeseaholic

I think our family is single-handedly supporting the cheese industry right now. True, Jody and I like us some cheese. But, Zoe takes it to a whole other level. She's obsessed.

I mean, she'll humor us with apples, carrots, bananas, chicken, chick peas, yogurt, and the like. But, when she catches a glimpse of cheese, forget about it. She starts grunting, reaching and shrieking until we plop some cubes of cheese in front of her...and we can't seem to put it down fast enough. She just starts shoving them in her mouth. It's ridiculous. I'm hoping that someday we'll find some other foods that get her as excited. For now, though, we've got one cheese-crazed chica.

Update: Okay, I take it back. We're not the only people supporting the cheese biz. The Browns may have to teach Zoe a thing or two about cheese. Well, as soon as she learns how to use a cheese cutter...or a plate for that matter.

Happy Birthday, Jody!

Happy Birthday, Jody! You are the best husband and dad that Zoe and I could ask for. Thanks for making every day fun and full of love. We love you!

Oh Chanukkah, Oh Chanukkah

I have a lot of posting to catch up on. First up, Chanukkah. (Even after 31 years of celebrating it, I still struggle with the spelling. So bear with me for any spelling errors.)

We kicked off Chanukkah with a party at Heather's parents' place with Jason/Heather/Ean, Jody's dad and Heather's family. It was great to catch up with everyone, see how big Ean's getting and to see Jason and Heather in full Mommy and Daddy mode. Despite all her wonderful gifts, Zoe set her sights on Ean's pacifier. She's never taken one herself, but she is obsessed with stealing other babies' pacis. So, she took full advantage of Ean's lack of head control and inability to sit up and defend himself and nabbed his paci without a struggle.

We're not putting the dredels away just yet. We have a final Chanukkah party this weekend with Jody's mom and Mike. Hopefully Ean has spent the past month training and can hang on to his pacifier this time around.

Movie, Chinese Food, Family

Although we typically spend Christmas in Chicago, at the movies and eating Chinese takeout, this year was a little different. Well, in terms of location anyway.

Since Josh didn't make it to Ann Arbor for Thanksgiving, he decided to try to recreate Thanksgiving by having everyone go to my parents' house over Christmas. Even though Lisa and her family couldn't make it in, we three decided at the last minute to head up to A2.

We spent Christmas pretty much as usual, at the movies with Chinese takeout--but this time with the added bonus of being with family. My mom stayed with Zoe while the rest of us saw Up in the Air. I really enjoyed it, but it was much more of a downer than I expected it to be. Regardless, you can't go wrong with a little Clooney on Christmas.

We also took Zoe to Ann Arbor's Hands-on Museum and she loved it! So many things to climb and chew on--sheer bliss for Z. It is an awesome museum. I so wish we had one in Chicago, especially in winter when going to the park is a non-option. I'm going to check out the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier, but I'm thinking that may be better for older kids. Also in Michigan, Zoe learned how to climb the stairs--good times. She basically just crawled over to the stairs and started climbing away. She was quite excited and just so cute, as usual--we just had to pay a little more attention to make sure she had some assistance on the way down.

It was a short trip, but a good one. Great to see Josh and my parents and to get in an extra Michigan visit before the end of the year.