Do You Still Love Me??? :)

I was going to leave you

the last lemon square,

but it looked so lonely

without the others.

I couldn't bare to watch

its powdered yellow face

in the corner of the pan.

So I ate it

in one bite.

A big head-nod to anyone who can name the poem this was loosely modeled after.

Memorial Day Weekend

We were really struggling with what we should do for Memorial Day, and Memorial Day weekend in general. I had a four day weekend, which was great! But we didn't want to go anywhere too touristy, because it seems like EVERYONE goes camping, to the beach, national parks, etc. We didn't want to battle the crowds, can you blame us? So it worked out well, because we took it easy on Friday, my brother BJ and his wife Shannon came to visit on Saturday, and we ended up going on an outing on Monday.

Madie warmed right up to Shannon! She was really calm and snuggled right up to her.

We ended up going to Point Reyes National Seashore for our outing, which is just north of San Francisco and is ran by the National Parks service.

Point Reyes is most famous for this light house. It's perched on a cliff that overlooks the Pacific. They say that you can see whales migrating at certain times of the year. It's a really cool light house because they let you go in each of the buildings and see what it took to keep it running. The weather was fairly treacherous, with winds and fog. But Madie loved it!

A lot of people weren't there luckily, and we saw a lot of beautiful green pastures.

Camping at Mt. Madonna

I grew up camping at Mt. Madonna, a campground in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It features ferns, redwoods, a view of the coast (very far away), and a lot of wild boar, deer, etc. It was a lot of fun to go back, it brought back a lot of memories. Here is what happened...

Here is a great shot of Madie before we put her to bed. It was a brisk night, so we layered up!

Rules for camping with a 9 month old:

1. Don't forget the pacifier! (strike one)

2) If you are going to make pancakes for breakfast, bring a spatula. (strike two)

3) If you've already broken the first two rules, go to a nearby breakfast eatery and treat yourself to a nice breakfast because you probably only got two hours of sleep and all you want is comfort food.

Madie directing camp.

Fentons

For any of you who have seen the movie "Up", you might recognize this scene. We ate here! It's a legendary creamery here in the bay area where Pixar was founded and is headquartered. My coworker's brother works at Pixar and is trying to get us a tour of the studios. It would be pretty amazing.

Eating My Words and Wanting More

As all young mothers, I have a list of things I said I would never do, and now, even just 9 months into it, I find myself slowly slipping. (Well, I guess not too slowly, since I just said I'm only 9 months into it.)

(Of course, there are still things I will never do because I find them to be shady, dishonest, and harmful to children. But that's a side note.)

Anyway, back to the story at hand. I had decided shortly before Madie was born that I was not going to allow myself to be made foolish--even when no one was looking--by my baby. I would not, for example, army crawl out of her bedroom if I heard her stirring while I was in there.

Of course, this I have not done. Army crawling is for those who really have a scrap of self-respect left. Instead of army crawling when I heard her sigh in her sleep and turn a little, I dropped to the floor like a cockroach hit out of the air. I lay as still as could be, hardly daring to breathe, and definitely not daring to glance over Madie's ultra-low, make-shift crib to see if there was any legitimacy to my concern. I craned my neck to get a look at the door. Ajar, yes, but only about 8 inches. I wriggled my way towards it, head-first, on my back. I turned onto my side so I could fit through the width of the door. I put my arms through first, and slowly worked my way through. When I got to the hallway, I crab-walked to the bathroom, so I would be out of her sight if she was looking (if she was even awake) through the doorway. I stood and came face-to-face with the mirror.

If my reflection were like Mary Poppins', she would have smiled condescendingly. As it was, I rolled my eyes at myself and went into the living room to take a nap.

Half-Moon Bay

We went to Half-Moon Bay last Friday. It was a beautiful overcast and 60 degrees outside. Many might think I was being sarcastic when I described that as a beautiful day, but I'm being 100% serious. Since being away from the coast I have missed the fog and overcast so much! It is nostalgic being able to breathe the same smells and ocean air I grew up near. Half-Moon Bay itself is a very small town that doesn't have a whole lot going on. But it did have a fun little downtown area with a bakery. We of course HAD to stop in and grab a canoli and a creamhorn.

Madie is such a good travel buddy! She is so good for longer car rides and has a very flexible schedule. She loved to watch the dogs run around on the beach and watch the waves crash onto shore. And of course, she loved the filling of the canoli.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, just a little south of Half-Moon Bay. I guess it's one of the largest lighthouses on the west coast.

Morning Routine

Madie is definitely a foodie. That's a good thing--usually. But it does lead to things like this lovely little number.