Up and Down

Tulsa / Ann Arbor

Opening birthday presents with Grandma Nancy:

Afternoon fun at Riverside Park:

Swimming laps in the Vaughn pool:

Crawling around in the grass at the park:

Enjoying a Drillers game at the very cool new downtown stadium:

Playing with Two-Speed:

Hanging out with Chris & Bev (and Connor's new Ugli-doll):

Playing with Great Gram Graham:

Crazy acrobatics with Aunt Elaine:

Petting the goats at Domino Farms:

Reading books and modeling U of M gear with Grandad Peter:

Feeding the geese at the Huron River:

Enjoying our last dinner by the Grill King (Peter):

The Hold Steady

On Tuesday night, we did something that we rarely ever do anymore. We got a babysitter for Connor, and met our friend Dave at Pizza Port in Solana Beach for pizza and pitchers, then walked over to the Belly Up to see The Hold Steady play on the day that their new album was released. It was fun to spend time with Dave, a good friend that we don't catch up with as much anymore. And the pizza/home-brewed beer combo was incredible as it always is at Pizza Port. The show was awesome - great energy, and a nice combo of old and new music. Courtesy of Dylan, we have a short video. The camera does move a lot, I think he was trying to capture Dave's excitement, but at least you can hear the music pretty well!

4th Anniversary

Four years ago tonight, Dylan and I tied the knot at Pacific Union Pocket Park at MCASD La Jolla. To celebrate our 4th anniversary, we hired a babysitter for Connor and had dinner at the ocean terrace at George's at the Cove, with a brief stop first at our wedding park. We arrived at the park right at 6:30pm, which is exactly when we got married on April 30, 2006. A museum photographer happened to walk into the park just as we got there, and he agreed to take our picture:

We walked into the park through the same entrance as we did on our wedding night, and left the park through the same exit, tracing our walking route to George's, right along the cove.

We arrived at the restaurant just in time to enjoy the last bit of warmth of the day, and a gorgeous sunset over the ocean, complete with swaying palm trees and frolicking seals down below.

After a round of cocktails and artichoke bruschetta, we ate crisp and flavorful salads, then dinner: Loch Duart salmon with peppers, fennel and polenta for Dylan, and the herb crusted halibut with sweet corn, cherry tomatoes and snap peas for me. George's never ceases to amaze us with their impeccable meals - amazing flavors, beautiful presentation and a lovely atmosphere.

Mid-way through the dinner, I excused myself and stole a minute to head downstairs to the room where we ate dinner on our wedding night. The restaurant has been completely redone since, and although it is now a different looking room, it still occupies the same space. I cast my gaze upon that space for a just moment, remembering the details of the wedding dinner, reflecting upon the life we have built together since, and feeling extremely thankful that Dylan and I continue to prioritize each other and our togetherness over all other things. By the time I returned back upstairs, the waitress had brought complimentary raspberry champagne and we were toasting to each other, to our anniversary, and to our future.

New Word of the Day: Bubble

Connor has figured out how to say "bubble" after several days of experimenting with various "b" sounds, mostly while reading the bathtub page (filled with bubbles) of "Big Dog and Little Dog Go for a Walk". Just like most things, he appears to be a bit cautious with his spoken words, preferring to perfect them internally before sharing publicly. He is currently working on "balloon" and "sun". I know this because when we look at books with balloons, his finger presses them while he quietly says "ba..ba..ba". When we look at a sun he tentatively says "sssssss" and then gazes up at me shyly.

Swim Lessons

Now that naps are more flexible and awake time is longer, Connor has gotten involved in some great activities lately. His favorite thing so far, hands down, is swim lessons at Murray Callan. He started last Thursday afternoon, and I could not believe how happy it made him to be in the water. I think I was grinning from ear to ear the whole time because the smiles and giggles from Connor were contagious. He loved our instructor, Martina, and seemed to really enjoy the feeling of gliding through the water. We also have lessons on Monday mornings at 8am so that Dylan can get in the water with Connor too. This morning I was able to take a few pics, and also document on video Connor's first venture with his head underwater.

He did great and appeared to be unfazed by the whole thing. He's our little fish!

Artichokes

Our artichoke plants are yielding delicious 'chokes for the first time after a month of neglect while we were away.  We had our first ones last week and they were awesome.  These guys will be boiled tonight and dunked in lemon butter, alongside our salmon burgers and salad.