Last night I got dressed up and put on makeup to attend a law school alumni event...well, 30 minutes of the reception 'before' the event. All while Frank drove around in the car with Meryl sound asleep. (Thank you, Frank!) It felt amazing to join the land of adult living! We came home to dinner cooked by my Dad (thank you, Dad!), and another epic growth spurt eating frenzy for Meryl. Still, she keeps her cute cred on lock.
Xanna and Grandpa arrived last night and will be here for the next week, as Frank is heading to San Jose for a conference. Of course, Xanna can't get enough cuddle time with Meryl!
Getting ready for a clean start to the weekend with a bath time morning. And Lummi made sure to help out by licking Meryl's feet in the tub. Thanks, Xanna, for the cute ladybug towel!
Sushi and cookie dough were the two foods I was most eager to eat post pregnancy. Frank has kindly made me several batches of cookies already, letting me take a few too many spoonfuls of the dough (Frank thinks cookie dough by itself is wasted cookie potential). And tonight he picked up to-go chirashi bowls from a favorite neighborhood sushi spot, Musashi's. While a dinner out for omakase is still far in our future, I must say, this tastes pretty good.
No, no. We didn't recreate the moment when my aunt, Laurel, (as a kid) decided to see what happened when she stuck her finger in a light socket. Meryl had an 'epic' two hour feeding tonight, and this was her hairdo afterwards. Frank and I do like to eat, so this just confirms that she's our daughter:)
Also, Meryl and I visited the Lytle Center today (first independent outing!), to join their drop-in Lactation group, and we learned that Meryl has gained all her birth weight back at then some! As of today, she weighs 7 lbs. 11.6 oz. (she was 7 lbs. 9.2 oz. when she was born).
Wendy dropped in with dinner tonight, thinking that she'd leave her fabulous home cooked meal and jet. Little did she know we'd rope her in with wine so that she'd join us at the table. And what a dinner it was! We started with a wedge salad with garden tomatoes, her homemade dressing and blue cheese crumbles (my first time eating blue cheese since before I was pregnant). Next up, creamy polenta with wild mushroom sugo, braised in her own duck stock. And we finished with a flourless chocolate cake! While I would have preferred to get a picture 'with' Wendy, Meryl chose to eat her own dinner for two hours, preventing any such opportunity - including me eating dinner with her and Frank. So glad we have a couch in the kitchen! Nonetheless, it was great to see her and, as always, hear about life outside the house.
Lola and Tito Edward stopped by this afternoon for a quick Meryl fix. Lola also brought a bunch of blankets and knit hats that she made for Meryl. When fall sets in, we'll be ready!
I used to love it when my Mom scratched my back. Turns out, she did it because she too loved it when her Grandmother, Gonny, scratched her back. Must say, while I hope Meryl thinks getting her back scratched is soothing, it's pretty soothing for me too.
Kristi and Erin popped by tonight to cuddle with Meryl and brought take-out Din Tai Fung for dinner. Fortunately for us, they happily held Meryl the whole night! Kristi is a talented photographer and gave us the gift of a photography session with Meryl! Erin (a nurse at Seattle Children's Hospital) is a baby whisperer and gave us the gift of time watching Meryl so that we can take a nap or do errands otherwise! Score for us! It was wonderful to catch-up with them and hear about life outside the house.
Molly and Justin stopped by today on their way back from duck hunting in Alaska, and on their way to the Ray Lamontagne concert. Best yet was getting to receive Meryl's quilted baby blanket that Molly and my aunt, Lucy, made! It's of Lummi and is on point with her markings too. We're still in disbelief with how perfect it is, and with a honeycomb patterned fabric on the back to remember Molly by as well (she and Justin are bee keepers)!
Today turned out to be sunny and warm (summer is still hanging around in Seattle), so we made an outing to Golden Gardens beach for a walk and chocolate milkshakes from Little Coney. Bonus for Lummi, we also hit up the nearby dog park. Playing with new friends can be outright exhausting! (Also fun was our spontaneous meet-up with our friends, Valentina and Ryan!) And to celebrate going on another outing, Frank made pickle brined fried chicken. Yum!
You like my hair?
Lorraine stopped by to meet Meryl tonight and brought a home cooked meal! She drew inspiration from Chrissy Teigan's lettuce wrap recipe, made Kenji's crab fried rice (from Serious Eats) and, in true Seattle style, also made a kale salad:) Frank pulled a Txakoli wine for the occasion, which brought back memories from our honeymoon in San Sebastián, Spain. It was so nice to catch-up over delicious food!
Lola and Tito Edward visited today, and Lola had a great time coaxing Meryl to show her dimple. Frank's Dad had a dimple on his left cheek as well, so we're calling Meryl's dimple a kiss from him.
Merry Christmas to us in September! Last Christmas, Lukas was our secret Santa and gave us venison and caribou meat that he had hunted in Alaska. Frank turned that around and made tacos tonight, augmented with goat meat from Matt...and got to work on his mise en place. Talk about a mixtape dinner!
Matt, Becca and McKinley stopped by to meet Meryl today. McKinley built pillow forts on the couch and Becca opened our eyes to the possibilities of our Ergo baby carrier. Hello to free arms and hands! But ultimately, the prospect of visiting a new toilet was the grand finale for McKinley:)
Modern technology:)
That's it.
