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So this past weekend was Emiko’s Christening and my aunt Diane flew in from Santa Fe to take part in the celebration. We picked her up from the airport on Saturday afternoon and drove to Superdawg, the only drive-in in Chicago, for some hot dogs and hamburgers. We also headed down to the new loop location of Pastoral to pick up some bread and cheese. The new location is three times as big as the original location, but since it’s in the loop there is no place to park. We ended up parking in a lot which cost $11 for 40 minutes! The cheese was totally worth it, though!

Our church celebrates the Day of the Dead during the Halloween service so there was a New Orleans style band that started off the service, followed by the remembrance of departed loved ones by our pastor, Bonnie. All around the church were names written on colored paper, along with an altar of all the Illinois service men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Then came the Christening portion of the day. There were three other babies being Christened at our service, and they all behaved very well! The water that pastor Bonnie uses comes from all over the world. She encourages people who travel to bring back some water so that it can be used in future Christenings. Diane filmed Emiko’s Christening, which can be found here.

Afterwards, some friends came over for Emiko’s Christening party, and some of them brought gifts for Emiko which was totally unexpected. Our friend Nancy gave Emiko a farm truck which moves when you push down on the cow truck driver - I believe that was the big hit of the party! Diane had to leave for the airport after the party which was a shame because it was such a short visit. We are definitely going to try to visit her this summer!

I was on my way into the Dominick’s on Western and Roscoe yesterday when I ran into our friend Sharada, and she mentioned that she had finally made it to Sol De Mexico a couple of weeks ago. Some backstory - Sharada, Amy, and I had previously tried to go to Sol De Mexico on Tuesday, February 20, 2007, but it was closed so we ended up at Taqueria la Oaxaquena instead. How do I know the exact date you ask? Well, that was the day that Amy went into labor (although she didn’t know it at the time.) Interestingly enough, when Kyle was in town a few weeks ago, we also ate at Sol De Mexico for the first time (following our trip to see Pat Bertoletti win the jalapeño eating championship) so I asked Sharada exactly when she had gone there. Turns out that we had both gone there on Sunday, September 16th, also known as Mexican Independence Day. We probably just missed each other!

Sharada had eaten there with her friend, Katherine, and they both loved it. She mentioned that Katherine had just given birth, so I inquired whether it was just after their dinner at Sol De Mexico. Sharada said that it was a week later, but it was just after they had gone to Hot Doug’s. I guess the moral of this story is that if you want to go into labor, make restaurant plans with Sharada!