These days, I find myself sounding like a combination between Dory's whale impersonation (from 'Finding Nemo') and Charlie Brown's school teacher. The lower the tone the better. Add in a lip flutter for some vocal texture and my soundtrack is complete.  Oh yeah, and 'shooshing.' Definitely, 'shooshing.'

Meryl's first trip to Costco. 

Lummi loves Meryl:) 

Kristi and Erin dropped off Erin's homemade enchiladas on their way to watch the UW vs. Stanford game. So cheesy and delicious! (Plus, I love red enchilada sauce.)  Of course, we had to capture a pre-game pic with Meryl in her UW socks.

We all worked out! Frank went to bootcamp, Kel ran, and I walked Meryl to the top of Queen Anne hill and back today, So, naturally, we had to gain back all the calories we burned off.

Last night we were treated to dinner at our neighbor's across the street. So we went 'out' for dinner! (Jenna and Scott just remodeled their kitchen, so I invited ourselves over to see their hard work. It's gorgeous!) Jenna made tacos with fresh guacamole, and Amelia scooped ice cream for dessert. Bonus, Jenna held Meryl the whole time and fed her too! I must also say, we learned a few tips and tricks from Jenna's stories about Amelia and Trevor when they were Meryl's age too:)

We met up yesterday with Mouni and Jordan (one week Meryl's junior) for coffee and a stroll. Lucky us, Meryl and Jordan decided to cat nap and let Mouni and I catch-up!

 ...Because Meryl wore this onesie, right? 

Frank and I joke that there is nothing more beloved in Seattle than Ellenos yogurt (even over the Seahawks), and Lummi agrees!  Somehow, from the furthest possible place in the house, she can hear us opening the container and trots on in to sit sweetly in her spot and await a spoonful...today, she got to lick the container clean:)

While Little Miss. Fussbudget demands quality snuggle time (we think she's going through a growth spurt), Frank has the following on his docket for today: tomato soup (a combo between the Dahlia Lounge and Nordstrom recipes), gluten free pasta, and pastitsio (a Greek lasagna with béchamel).  When my hands free up, I'm going to make banana bread (a re-do from last week because it was so good) and granola. Lummi is lounging like a pro.

Allecia, Seth and Silas came over tonight with ribs! Seth is a meat smoking extraordinaire and made us Memphis style ribs that he seasoned overnight and smoked for four hours today. They were downright delicious! And, with steamed artichokes, homemade mayonnaise, and quinoa n' cheese. While Seth isn't in the picture, I must say the ribs are a solid alternative.  

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:)