The rest of San Diego

While the birthday party was certainly our big event, we had lots of fun the rest of the time we were in San Diego, too!

Since Natalie was still on a modified version of Texas time, we were subject to 5:30am wake-up calls (extra jarring when the baby is in the pack n' play at the foot of your bed!). However, this turned out to be lovely timing for some nice morning beach walks (bonus: no parking stress when you arrive at the beach before 7am!).On one of our trips to the beach, we stopped at the playground and put Natalie on the swings. She LOVED the swing!Here's a little video:


We also had some nice hang-out time in the big living room.Daddy demonstrated how the vuvuzela works:
We didn't really do birthday presents this year, but Mike and I did buy the girl a little float for the pool.And then we hit the pool!Natalie also got to pet my grandmother's cat / kitty cat / keyh-kah (possibly Natalie's first word, but the jury is definitely still out - it might have been more a case of us feeling excited).Here's a video. The kitteh kah's love, alas, was not mutual.


We also got some good play time with Oma.On Natalie's real birthday, we had a nice family lunch.For those who want to know what it looks like when you give a one year-old tuna, bulgur, and milk (not for the faint of heart!):


We didn't have any cake, but we did have a nice strawberry-raspberry-rhubarb galette with cornmeal crust.Also, on the topic of food, Mike and I were able to slip out to some very delicious sushi:It was a fun time, but everyone needed a rest now and then.

One year old!

I've been a bit delayed in getting this post up, but I think you'll forgive me once I tell you all about Natalie's first birthday party!

Also, can you believe we've gone from this:To this:Crazy, right? I mean, of course, totally expected and normal and lucky, but, still, wow, you know?

So we went to San Diego for Natalie's birthday - we had a four generation birthday celebration, which was really nice. My mom and I (but mostly my mom, let's be honest here!) organized a birthday party in a park near my old high school. We were lucky in that it turned out to be a beautiful day, perfect for flying kites, playing croquet, vegging on the blanket in the shade - all my favorite party activities! We were also lucky enough to be joined by some of our great San Diego friends and some visiting family, so it truly felt like a fest (but not a hyped, commercialized one - instead of gift bags, we gave colored frisbees, etc.).And, yes, there was cake:And Natalie enjoyed it very much, thank you!(major thanks go to my friend Alex - a super-experienced dad - who jumped right in and cleaned Natalie up - boy, did we luck out!)

For people who can't get enough cake, here are some videos:




(Separate posts coming covering the rest of San Diego and Natalie at 12 months [no sign giving her age in months, alas, but I think we all get the idea]).

Fireworks of Loooooove

We celebrated the Fourth of July with Bubbe and Gramps.Bubbe and Gramps really wanted to see Natalie eat blackberries . . . .Here's a video of Natalie eating the blackberries:


Here are some other pictures.Here's Natalie getting her World Cup on:The picture below was taken at the library's story hour. Since it was the Fourth, they had a noisy parade all around the library.I've also been doing a little baking. Here's Natalie helping me prepare by reviewing some recipes:Here are some grilled peaches with a cinnamon-nutmeg biscuit and some whipped cream.And a blueberry-lemon pie (vodka crust, but this time I brushed the interior with egg white - following a tip from a friend - definitely cut down on the bottom crust sogginess)And here's Mike making muhammara kabobs:

Happy Fourth of July!

I remember a year ago . . . I was already on bedrest, thinking the baby might have to come out any day. I spent most of the holiday resting on the couch on my left side, but late in the afternoon Mike and I ventured out to the movie theater to see "Up" in 3-D. We didn't know that Natalie was going to be okay, or even that Natalie was going to be Natalie.

Here's how far we've come!Also, in the spirit of progress (or 1776, or whatever), Natalie has started cruising:


And here's a little video of Natalie and her daddy doing some World Cup cheering: