David's birthday

First, a quick update from today. This morning I had the great pleasure of going to 26th and California (lovely lovely neighborhood) for jury duty. Not just any jury duty, though. Grand jury duty. On the first Monday of every month, 16 lucky people (plus 10 alternates) are chosen by the Cook County circuit court to serve as grand jurors every Monday through Friday for an entire month. Yikes. I'm not sure who has an entire month of weekdays free to do this, but fortunately I wasn't chosen or shot to death in the parking garage.
This afternoon David had his surgery follow up. He had his catheter removed (hurray!). He may or may not have a fistula that will need to be repaired in a few months. That would be a bummer, but at least it should be a shorter surgery with a less painful recovery. There was obviously a hole in a location where there should not be one until the catheter came out, and then it because much more difficult to see. So we're letting him heal for 6 more weeks and going back for a recheck.
Now, the birthday stuff. We kicked things off right with a trip to O'Hare Friday afternoon to pick up Grandmama and Granddaddy. As a bonus, we were stopped by a freight train on our way there, which brought David a great deal of joy. That night he ate his body weight in gnocchi at the Pasta Shoppe and then enjoyed a sundae courtesy of Uncle Adams and the Oberweis Sundae of the Month Club. It was disturbing to see how much food can fit into such a little person.
Saturday we checked out the children's museum at Navy Pier and tried a new Chinese restaurant in Oak Park. David had a seat with a view of the kitchen and the el tracks, so he spent most the meal yelling either "hot!" or "choo choo!" The food was great, and you can't beat trains and fire for entertainment, so we will definitely be going back.
Yesterday was the big day. We decided to keep things as low key as possible and just have a day that David would really enjoy. He opened a couple of his presents in the morning--a real kid-proof (or so they claim) camera and a vacuum. Both were big hits. After taking a number of pictures of his own feet, David agreed to get dressed, and we hit one of his favorite spots in the city--Shedd Aquarium. We saw all the highlights, including the Wild Reef exhibit with the see through floor (not sure how much the rays swimming underneath the floor really add in David's mind) and the local exhibit that includes a tent and canoe to play in. After a nap, he helped prepare the icing for his birthday cupcakes, and it even thawed enough for him to get in a little time outside with Kevin and the pups. In the evening, David played host to all four grandparents, great-grandma Lil, Uncle Dave and Katie. He thoroughly enjoyed yelling at the Superbowl and put on a brief halftime show featuring the music of Beyonce. I think he had a really good birthday.

David enjoying the interactive snowball fight exhibit at the children's museum.


Playing with his new camera. Performing quality control on the icing.