The good, the bad, and the thankful

Erica, Norah, and I traveled to Taylor Ridge, IL a few weeks ago to celebrate thanksgiving with the O'Connors. The trip up was much less terrible than expected thanks to the Backyardigans and the portable DVD player that I strapped to the rear headrest. It was a great thanksgiving. We laughed with family, stuffed our bellies, played with the donkeys (yes, there were donkeys), and ate again.On the way home, we stopped to spend the night in Cape Girardeau, MO. The next morning got a little exciting when Norah did a swan dive off the bed. We called our pediatrician, and he assured us that she was fine. On the following Monday, however, an x-ray revealed a minor buckle fracture. The good news: her hot pink cast was pretty cute; the bad news: it prevented her from sucking her thumb, which was much worse than the broken arm since it is her main method of self-soothing.
After only two weeks her cast is off. The actual removal was quite an ordeal, but she is so happy to have her arm back. She spent much of the day pointing to her arm and clapping. That night, she stuck her thumb in her mouth and went right to sleep...all is right with the world.

Side story: During the car ride, I convinced Erica to listen to two past episodes (which I carefully selected) of my favorite radio show, This American Life. My hope was to get her hooked. I struck out. She liked the show but says I picked depressing episodes.