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:)

 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.