Let's go Burlington!

This picture is my desktop photo on my computer at work. Can you blame me for sometimes wanting to crawl into the screen Mary-Poppins-style? But this weekend we're heading there for real! 3 nights (thanks to Cindy's folks who are putting us up on Friday) gives us two full days in my favorite town in the world (except maybe Tours...but France doesn't count...can't throw the baby in the car seat and head out there for a weekend.)

We get to hang with John, Becky, and baby David, and hopefully do some picnicking, raspberry picking, Pub & Brewing, and wistful "I wish we lived here" thinking.

Baby's First Pride!

Uncle Sri and Uncle Jason hosted their annual Gay Pride event (co-hosted this year by Jobi, the self proclaimed #1 brain surgeon in NYC). Boy these peeps know how to throw a party.  Ellie took it all in stride as she danced to Lady Gaga, cheered the Dykes on Bikes, and even found time to nap...twice!

Looking stylish in her "I Love My Gay Uncles" shirt and purple short-shorts, Ellie shows signs of concern at the fashion faux-pas of drag queens wearing both sequins AND feathers.

The Culprit

For weeks I've been storming about my garden, asking "Who's eating my petunias?"

And now we know.

Today's Gay Pride in NYC so we're heading into the city for a party with Sri and Jay. Sri got Ellie a t-shirt that says "I Love My Gay Uncles." Priceless.

Flower Child

Pool Party

Where's my pina colada?

Today we busted out the credit card and blew a whole $6.99 on a kiddie pool. It promptly sprung a leak, but good times were had by all. Sara and Paul hung with us, but I didn't manage to get any good pictures of them, so you'll have to take my word for it.

I'll spare you all the humiliating story about how it took us almost an hour to inflate the pool, and how I then accidentally flooded the backyard and our foam mats were floating all over the place...

Can you believe it hasn't rained on a SINGLE ONE of my Friday's off? I just totally jinxed myself, didn't I?

Sleep

Any advice on how to get Ellie to sleep in a little? This whole 5am-bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed-and-oh-so-ready-to-start-the-day thing? I'm over it.

Ellie's a good sleeper, so I know I shouldn't complain. It's just, well, it's 5am. I don't have to be at work until 10. We could sleep in until 8:30 and still get there in plenty of time. But no.

We've tried keeping her up a little later, but she really seems hardwired to go to bed at 7pm. Putting her to bed earlier isn't an option since we don't get home from daycare until 6. Any ideas?

Comments

FYI - I keep hearing from people that they want to comment on the blog but are having trouble doing so. I think I have fixed this problem.

There should now be an option to comment "Anonymously" without logging in. You will have to confirm you're a human by completing a word verification step...But I think most of you are human.

Oh, and just because you're commenting "anonymously" doesn't mean you can't sign your name within the comment. That's a complicated sentence, but you probably know what I mean.

Anyhow, comment away!

Photographic Proof

Yes, she really does have teeth!

Why We Have a Backyard

Uncle Mike, Aunt Sari, Cousin Leila, and Ellie chilling out back.

Scenes from a Friday

Bliss!! Ellie and I spent all day in Prospect Park with Sara and Paul. That crazy boy can pull himself up to standing. Outstanding and terrifying!

We chilled, ate snacks, watched swans, napped, and totally relaxed. A perfect day.

First Cracker

Really? It looks like a surfboard. I'm supposed to eat this?

I'm going to let my eyebrows express my concern...

Hrm...not sure how I feel about this. Do I still get real food?

Life's Big Dilemmas

If the baby wakes you up at 5am, do you make coffee so you can survive the next two hours, or try to hold off so you can take a nap when she does?

Philly Weekend

Hot damn, what a wedding! Mary and Archer got married in a beautifully simple and sweet ceremony, looking out over the Delaware River on a perfect summer evening. And then, we danced. And danced some more. And maybe danced a bit more. It was a fantastic evening and we are so happy we were there.

The next morning, Ellie picked sides in the Philly CheeseSteak Wars.

Farm Share/Tamale Day!

One of my favorite traditions is Farm Share/Tamale Day. This is our third year as members of the local Farm Share. (For those who don't know, a Farm Share is where you and a slew of other people pay a farmer in advance for a season's worth of veggies. You share the risk with the farmer, so if there's a year with no tomatoes - ahem, last year - the farmer isn't financially ruined by it. We get eggs, fruits and vegetables, and we love it. We can get a bit evangelical about it actually, so I'm going to stop now.)

From June till November, every other Saturday, we walk to a nearby park to pick up our veggies. But first we stop at the Red Horse Cafe for a cup of coffee. Then with veggies in tow, we hit the Lopez Bakery on Fifth Avenue for the world's best tamales. I ADORE these tamales. They were really the only craving I had when I was pregnant with E, and Brian obliged me more than a few times. But generally we save them for Farm Share days. This year the big news is that the Lopez Bakery has expanded from their old hole-in-the-wall to a new sit down cafe amusingly called the Boulangerie Lopez. So long as the tamales are the same it's all good with me.

Anyhow, I'm a sucker for traditions, and Farm Share/Tamale Day is one of my all time favorites. It also cracks me up that we used to have to set our alarm clock to make sure we'd get there in time. Now I'm like "Really, we can't go until 9am? But that's like the middle of the day!"

Today's haul: kale, green garlic, red lettuce, radishes, turnips, broccoli, and spinach.

Morning Photo Shoot

Living for the weekends makes you realize just how quickly each week flies by. It's Friday again, already! And an unbelievably beautiful Friday at that. We're going to chill in the park and maybe go for a nice long walk with Sara and Paul.

Tomorrow we're off to Philadelphia for Mary Black's wedding! Hooray!

Buying in Bulk

Um, make that TWO teeth!

They're moving slowly, but the tips of Ellie's TWO bottom teeth are poking through. Two for the price of one! And Ellie's being a total trooper.

Tooth!

At 7-1/2 months old, Ellie is cutting her first tooth!

(And we have a weeping-wailing baby on our hands...)

Photographic evidence to come as soon as we can.

One More

Naked Baby and Auntie Sarah in the Park...

Whoa, What a Weekend

Wow. We are exhausted, but good lord what fun!

Friday night, Brian and I had date night at home. Mussels and beers in the backyard while Ellie slept away the night. Saturday brought Sarah Boughton to town, and we went all out to show off our neighborhood. Picnic in Prospect Park? Check. Ice Cream Sundae at Sweet Melissa's? Check. Pint at the Ale House? Check.

Ellie had her first sleepover at Uncle Mike's house Saturday night and we went into the city to paint the town red. Dinner in Manhattan made me feel like a tourist in my own city. It's been a long time since I've been out!

Today we capped off the weekend by having "Sunday Supper" at Lot 2, a neighborhood restaurant that quickly became a new favorite. And now? So You Think You Can Dance is on Tivo. Then...we sleep.

Ellie's First Game

Ellie played her first game tonight! While coming home in the stroller, she'd place her right foot on the stroller rail. Brian would lean forward and tickle the foot, prompting her to giggle and pull her foot away. Then she'd immediately put her foot back on the stroller rail and look at Brian until he tickled her again. And again, and again, and again. While we've played peek-a-boo with her and she has seemed mildly amused, this is the first time she has instigated a "game" of her own. Next week, we teach her poker.