We made it! All six hours of it! Probably a mix of a little more confidence and knowing what to expect, but Meryl was a champ and we even got to watch a movie. Well, it took 'all' six hours to watch the movie:) And, yes, we remembered to pick up Meryl's bag at the baggage claim. (The hozon made it too.)
Catching our last meal before the plane at Old Ebbitt's, a DC classic and a favorite of my Dad's.
Always a favorite visit when in DC. And I'm always amazed, and pleased, when I see so many people spending their time watching the Julia Child videos at the National Museum of American History.
Always a tradition when we're in DC, we make sure to meet up with Jenn and David to eat! And tonight, we added Meryl to the mix (with laser eyes). I love that we get the chance to see them twice a year...talk about food (of course!), and hear about their world travels (Scotland and Japan are up next!).
Today we got to meet up with Kira for lunch at Momofuku in DC! And I had what might be my favorite dish of the year. First, it had rice cakes, wich are made from pounded rice and the closest I can get to a gluten free version of gluten. Second, which made the dish, it had this rich cheesy seeming umami sauce that I couldn't get enough of. Turns out, the sauce is made from a Momofuku house fermented chickpea paste (akin to a white miso), called hozon, and bolstered with 'a lot' of butter. I was in heaven! Thankfully, as Kira works for Momofuku, she convinced the chef to hand over a little hozon my way:) Bonus! Now to recreate the dish at home. We of course stopped by Milk Bar for dessert on the way out (cereal milk soft serve and corn cookies!).
Today, jetsetting in DC, Meryl is two months old!
DC city lunch date! Anne drove down from Philadelphia to meet us for lunch and hang with Meryl. It was great to catch up with her and her daughters, Ellie and Norah. We all ran around in our hotel room after (well, Ellie and Norah did most of the running), and then Frank, Meryl, and I crashed for a nap afterward:)
Frank and I went to see a musical a while ago, and he proclaimed at the intermission that we were getting 'cultured like yogurt!' So here we are, introducing Meryl to her first museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, less than a month after it opened. And here she is with Venus and Serena Williams! Lucky us, the fall Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) Board meeting kicked-off with a curated tour of part of the museum! Mom and I parted ways to attend the meeting after, and Frank had a Dad and daughter day on The Mall with Meryl! Go Frank!
We made it! Yesterday, Meryl took her first flight, and a cross-country one too. While I won't say that she didn't cry, I will say she actually did pretty well. However, when we landed early and had to wait on the tarmac for our gate, her eruption voiced what everyone else was thinking, "get me off this plane already!" What no one anticipated was Frank and I completely forgetting to pick up her checked bag at the baggage claim! (At least we remembered Meryl!) We realized it 'after' we got to the hotel (at midnight) when we were getting Meryl ready for bed and noticed her pajamas were missing! Frank headed straight to the airport to only get the chance to stare at her bag in the baggage office, which had closed for the evening. (Testing the pin pad combinations to unlock the door was a heavy consideration.) Then, eaaaaarrrly this morning, he went again to the airport to pick up her bag when the office opened. So we survived both the flight and the first night! And, we won't forget Meryl's bag again!
What a day! Playtime with Xanna in the morning and lunch with Xanna's college friend, Susan. This afternoon...a total blur. Meryl got a case of the fussies, and while I almost posted a picture of her 'finally' sleeping, I noticed that I snapped this sweet one this morning; a much better option:) Now I'm craving popsicles and ice cream bars.
We went out (across the street) to dinner tonight! Aubrey and Andrew (+Sadie, Ruby, and Henry) had us over for chicken tostadas with (bonus!) Velveeta cheese sauce. Lucky for us, Sadie, Ruby and Amelia (from next door) performed a new(!) dance routine by their group, The Queens. We learned that this type of dance is called Aggressive Competitive Dance (ACD), and it was just that. Henry followed their performance with breakdancing. And Ruby also closed out the night on the piano. We've got a great neighborhood block, and a talented one too!
BOTH Xanna and Lola were over today to fawn over Meryl. I think the house voice frequency was at an all time high. And, they must have had the good luck vibes too because the Seahawks won!
Xanna and Meryl have been plotting their ranch for a while now. Thus far, they are going to have two ponies named Pumpkin and Stripe, as well as a burrow named Jenny. (Xanna grew up with a burrow named Jenny.) To fuel the brainstorm, Meryl wore her new ponies giddy-up get-up.
Grandpa with the house red, and Meryl with a bottle of the house white (she's already outpacing him). Xanna and Grandpa arrived last night for the weekend and we're hunkering down during the storm with a fireplace fire. (But only after we headed downtown today so that Xanna could get a haircut and Grandpa could get some new Nike kicks for flossin'.) On the food front, Frank made a tasty Thai larb dinner last night and Grandpa made stuffed veal chops tonight. I think we'll weather the weather.
Janell and Bo came over last night, in the pouring rain, with a hatch green chili verde and fixings. So perfect for a blustery night! We've been eagerly awaiting our dinner with them because they're due in February with a baby boy and we've got advice to give! We spent all night talking about baby mania, checking in every so often to make sure they didn't want to switch the conversation. I remember being so overwhelmed with information while pregnant, and we definitely added to the hype. Nonetheless, it's exciting for them!
Meryl got her vaccines today, a little ahead of schedule as we're headed to DC next week. She wore a onesie like none other to give her special powers to make it through the doctor's appointment. (Thank's to my cousin, Megan!) All in all, she was a champ. However, I foolishly ran out the door without my diaper bag, and Meryl of course happily spit up all of her breakfast while taking one of the vaccines orally. So the ride home was wet and smelly, but a success overall. And as of today, she weighs 10.4 lbs. and is 21.75 inches tall.
The sucker in me has been unleashed. This chair was on clearance at a store today and I couldn't help myself. Just add a stack of books and let the imagining begin!
