Herschell and Liana stopped by last night with sushi and teriyaki takeout for dinner. So glad they did! And yes, those are jazzercise leggings:)

We've been working on building neck strength as of late, but Meryl has found that afternoon naps are much more enjoyable.  

Chelsea stopped by tonight to drop off a home cooked dinner by David, and a delectable dessert made by her (among her many talents, she has a custom cake business). I must say, we ate dessert first! She made rice crispie treat brownie bars. And for dinner, we had a Lao comfort food dish, pickled cucumbers and braised kale. So good.

They say it takes a village, and we love ours. Thank you to our family, friends, Meal Train dinners, the Lytle Center, our welcoming committee (Lummi), Tim's Cascade jalapeño chips for me, Ben & Jerry's Milk & Cookies ice cream for Frank...and of course, Meryl, for putting up with our rookie moves! We've been parents for one month now, so we can officially give advice! And as of today, she weighs 8.8 lbs. and is 21 inches tall.

Long time family friends, Jo and Peter (Peter also officiated our wedding), sent Meryl a bunch of adorable shoes. Notably, silver oxfords that will certainly need to be paired with my own for a mother daughter outing!

Pam stopped by today to visit with Meryl and help out with the Bungalow next door (which we now own and are planning to rent out when family isn't already visiting). Pam has been so helpful over the years with the interior design of our house...and gets complete credit for our love of our kitchen couch! Yes, the same couch that is in pretty much every picture on our blog:)

Melanie, Gus, and Liam brought over dinner tonight and stayed a bit to catch-up. Dinner was delicious! We had Thai style pork larb and a tasty tomato and cucumber side with fresh herbs - and rice, of course:) It was fun to hear about Melanie's recent trip to NYC to see Hamilton, and, as always, life outside the house.

Coast to coast telepathy! Coincidentally, my aunt Lisa, in New York, and Frank both made plum tortes today! 

Football Sundays have arrived. This means that from now till the end of the season, 'nothing' is planned on Sundays. While we're at home, and rarely showered, we usually plan a bunch of cooking projects for the day. Today, Frank is making a couple of different broths (now that fall is here, we like drinking broth for breakfast), banana bread, and a plum torte. Meryl and Lummi are doing a good job lounging. And I pay attention to the TV to try to keep up with my Fantasy Football team (Frank has five teams) and catch a rare 'octo-box' sighting on the Red Zone football channel.

Good morning! Meryl has slept a little longer between feedings the last two nights, so it was a great morning for all (me in particular!). Good thing, because today Meryl had lots of cuddles with Xanna (she and Grandpa leave tomorrow), Kristi stopped by for a walk to the coffee shop (we left the house!), Frank comes home tonight from his conference (hooray!), and my cousin, Molly, is staying over tonight while she attends a 2-day basketball referee camp. Let's hope Meryl sleeps just as well tonight!

Mom, Dad, Meryl and I headed to the Queen Anne farmers market this afternoon. Dad had to try west coast grown beefsteak tomatoes to see how they compare to the New Jersey beefsteaks of his youth...a good tomato, but nostalgia won out.  

Lummi's been hanging out this week at her upstate retreat (AKA Frank's Mom's house), where she's spoiled by Frank's Mom and brother. Bonus, she met a new friend. Here, they're catching some cool points in the shade after playing. 

FaceTiming while he's conferencing in San Jose.

 Today we got to catch-up with Nancy up the street over coffee and sweets. Nancy also lives on Queen Anne and serves on the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibits Service (SITES) Board with my Mom and I, and on the Smithsonian's National Board with my Mom. She brought Meryl a knit hat that she made(!), a knit sweater by a friend, and Sophie the Giraffe (because those are a must have!). It was a treat to meet-up with one of Meryl's Smithsonian aunts!

Thanks for the picture, Nancy! (I 'dream' of getting a haircut.)

Yesterday, Mom and I braved a much needed outing for pedicures! While I could say that three generations were getting our nails did, Meryl opted to nap in the Ergo as her form of being pampered (but really, we won out!).

Lots of cuddles during football Sunday today! Xanna and Meryl are plotting their ranch of horses and Grandpa is piling up Wall Street Journals and Golf Digest magazines to read to Meryl. If you haven't already noticed, we spend a lot of time on the kitchen couch:)