4.27.15 - pancake breakfast!

4.26.15 - My Girl

Clara is sitting in her storage container cooing delightedly at the fan, and "My Girl" comes on the CD player. And I'm talking to her and playing the nose boop game and thinking how this song is the soundtrack to this moment in my life, because I am so in love with my daughter.

4.19.15 - 6th Anniversary celebration

Yesterday Ellen and Bryon drove up from the bay area so they could babysit Clara overnight while Jack and I celebrated our anniversary. They got here in the afternoon, and I spent an hour or so showing Ellen how to diaper and feed Clara and explaining Clara's cues and how to put her down for bed time. It was fun. Ellen is pretty laid back and confident about the whole thing, and I'm confident in her because of her confidence, and because she's smart. Having a babysitter I trust makes a big difference in how much I can relax while away.

Anyway, so Jack and I got ready to go, and, on his suggestion, went to get some sushi in advance of dinner, since dinner would really just be small food plates. We went to our favorite tucked away sushi spot - Ju Hachi - and happened to get there right when their Happy Hour started. That means we got Jack's favorite--California rolls--for $5 each. I also ordered a roll I'd been curious about many times before: the Madonna roll. It's fried chicken in a sushi roll. I don't think it counts as real sushi, but it was still delicious. Another first: mochi chocolate ice cream for dessert. The texture was strange but, hey, it was chocolate, so I was happy.

Fried chicken roll.

Meanwhile the weather was absolutely perfect. Probably low- or mid-70s and sunny. That can make a big difference in the mood too. It was so comfortable.

We drove downtown to check in to our hotel. They charge extra for parking so we parked a few blocks away and walked, but I was kind of glad for the chance to walk around. I'm home alone with Clara a lot--not much walking around in my own apartment. When she gets a little older maybe we'll go for walks together around the neighborhood, but for now I really am just in the apartment a lot. So walking a few blocks to the hotel in the perfect weather was pretty nice.

The hotel (the Hyatt) had automated check-in. Given how long airports have had the same, I wasn't surprised, but I'd never gotten to use automated check-in for a hotel before and I liked it. Skipped the line, just like with self-checkout lanes at grocery stores. And the hotel was beautiful. Huge, and clean and new and pretty. There were a lot of people milling around that were very dressed up (I wasn't dressed up at all). Then again there were also a lot of people dressed for what looked like road and bike trips around the area to have some California adventures. Anyway, we found our room which had a king size raised bed and a view of the state capitol park. I snuck a cat nap before dinner and it was so peaceful and uninterrupted.

Then we headed out to Revolution Wines. We picked that place because we had a Groupon: $32 for 4 glasses of wine and 4 small plates. Some wine tasting places are kind of formal, but this was a very laid back atmosphere. In fact it reminded me of Berkeley in a nostalgic way. We got there about an hour before sunset and got a table for two on their patio. No wait. About 2/3rds of the tables were full, which I think is perfect--you feel like the place is happening but it's not overly crowded or noisy.

I have to say, most of the restrictions I had during pregnancy didn't really bother me, but I did miss drinking wine. Since having Clara I've had a glass here and there, not enough to really savor it and not enough to get buzzed. So this date was the first chance I had to really enjoy wine again. I ordered a white wine described as having flavors of pear and nectarine. It was delicious! Not too sweet. And there's something about the summer evening open air and first sipping wine after not having any in a bit that strongly reminded me of L'abri, also in a very nostalgic way. I really enjoyed that. Jack liked his Zinfandel too.

We got four small plates: bruschetta, bacon cheese dip, a fromage plate, and, easily best of all, a fruit bruschetta. That included the same crusty bread but covered in honey and diced pears and some kind of goat cheese. It was amazing! I'm glad Jack had the idea of getting sushi earlier, because we weren't too terribly hungry and we could take our time and munch and enjoy the flavor.

I really like dates that last a little while. Jack and I nearly always get food for our dates, but we both eat so quickly our dates rarely last even an hour. But wine is different--you sip it slowly--so we were there for almost 2 hours and had plenty of time to talk and joke. It was great. So relaxing and tasty.

Afterward we went back to the hotel and finally got Jack's poor, ancient laptop to play the newest episode of Game of Thrones (we decided to watch it then because we knew we could watch it all the way through, uninterrupted). I barely made it until the end, though, I was so sleepy. Then I passed out in a huge comfortable bed for the night, and that was great too.

When we got back the next morning, Ellen reported there had been no problems with Clara, which is great. I was glad to see her and cuddle her again but also glad for the time one-on-one with Jack. Overall a wonderful anniversary!

4.13.15 - 6th Anniversary

Jack first asked me out in December of 2008, but it wasn't until April 13, 2009 that he asked why we shouldn't date exclusively. Today is our 6th anniversary (6 years together, 1 year married (already!)).

Love this man.

We probably won't be able to do much because it's a weekday and we have Clara and, most of all, Jack worked 3am to noon and is exhausted. That's okay--we are celebrating this weekend while Ellen watches Clara. But meanwhile we are marking the day in some small ways.

First of all, Jack came home on his "lunch" break (around 7am). I was asleep, and pretty out of it, having already been up with Clara and to pump. I remember waking up when he came in and realizing I was very hungry, but I didn't want to get out of bed and lose precious sleep time when Clara was still asleep. I muttered something to Jack about how it would be nice if we had some ham and pineapple pizza (no idea what made me think of that specifically).

Fast forward to a little after noon, I'm hanging out with Clara in the kitchen (she was fascinated looking at the spice rack) and Jack comes home with a ham and pineapple pizza and 2 liter of diet cola (okay, it was Pepsi - can't have everything :-P). I didn't remember that I'd said anything that morning, and Jack's boss often buys him lunch after a difficult shift, so I asked, "Wow, did someone get that for you?" and he replied, "No, someone got it for you! ...It's not much, but Happy Anniversary."

I thought that was the sweetest thing.

So we ate pizza and watched videos of Clara that we haven't uploaded yet. Meanwhile Clara slept in her swing.

Later tonight I hope to have some mini Reese's cups and Lambrusco wine and watch Scrubs - all of which are things we did often when we first first began dating. Or maybe we'll watch home videos of our wedding instead. Or maybe both.

4.12.15 - Loving daddy

Because I already get up every 3 hours to pump, Jack is almost always the one who gets up with Clara in the middle of the night. I know that's hard for him to do because he works every day and he is also tired (Clara makes the whole family tired, herself included). Sometimes I wake up enough to hear her fussing or crying as he tries to feed and diaper her and get her back to bed. I imagine he'd feel frustrated, but instead I often hear him laughing or talking sweetly to her as he takes care of her. She's not even a month and a half old yet, and he is already a loving, actively involved daddy, and that is definitely a joy to me.

*kiss*

4.11.15 - Clara's progress

The first week or two home from the hospital, Clara would wake up multiple times throughout the night, sometimes with only an hour or less of sleep in between. We expected that. What we didn't expect was that by 4 weeks old she was sleeping 3 or 4 hour stretches every night, and getting into a routine without us hardly doing anything. At first I thought it was a phase, too good to be true--and I suppose it still could be. But we are halfway through week 5 and she still only wakes up once in the middle of the night, and that is definitely a joy for us. In fact I've discovered if I give her a bath shortly before "bedtime" (between 10 and 11pm) she'll sleep 4.5 hours straight, which gives Jack a nice stretch of sleep too, since he is usually the one to get up with her.

Talking to her crib.

Also, in the last 4-5 days I've noticed I can put her down in her crib or in her "bassinet" (the under-the-bed storage container we let her hang out in while in the living room) and she won't start fussing right away like she used to. In fact she will hang out and stare at the slabs of her crib or watch the ceiling fan or stare at Hobbes (if I set him near her) and just kick and coo and exclaim to herself for sometimes 20 minutes at a time. This is a joy both because I think she's adorable to listen to and because it gives me a break from holding her incessantly and lets me get other things done, like cleaning up a little or writing a Joy Inventory blog post, haha.

Talking to her best friend Hobbes.

I've also noticed she smiles more often when I'm singing to her. In fact just a little while ago she was being pretty fussy and I wasn't sure why - she was full and I just changed her diaper and she didn't seem tired. I tried walking her around and it didn't help much, so then I just held her right in front of me and started singing "Oh Darling" by the Beatles. The moment I started singing it (I've sung it to her many times already) she broke into a grin, and then she reverted to being upset for just a moment, and then broke into another grin. As I sang to her she mostly stared intently at me but she also smiled two or three more times. It's delightful. I love to see her smiles any time but it's even sweeter to think she likes when I sing to her.

She seems like a pretty easy baby so far. I feel lucky.

4.8.15 - Jack quotes

Jack put Clara down and she instinctively threw both her hands above her head. Jack: "Yeah, this is a stick up! Put all your hugs and kisses in the bag!"

Once Clara was down and still sleeping, Jack got his lunch. She startled when he opened a can of Diet Coke. Jack: "What was that?? Was that the sound of a Diet Coke can?? ...That's right, opening Diet Coke cans sounds different than opening other soda cans. So refreshing and delicious."

4.7.15 - Morning baby

At 9am Clara seemed awake but not hungry and I really needed to pump, so I asked Jack to watch her until I was done and then I'd take her so he could get some more sleep. She ended up falling asleep on his chest (always adorable) so it wasn't too big of an issue.

When I went to get her about half and hour later she stretched and stretched and seemed to be waking up. I don't like to shove a bottle in her mouth unasked, so while I was waiting for her to show signs of hunger I started singing to her. Before I started singing she had been kind of squirmy and grunty (not upset, just active), and when I started singing she held still and focused on me. At her age, focusing on anything is an accomplishment, so that was pretty cute. Then I was singing "Kiss the Girl" (Little Mermaid) and she gave me two huge open-mouthed grins! If only I'd had a video of it! I tell you what, her smiles just delight me. Maybe it's just in my head, but it does seem like she smiled more often when I sing to her, and I love the thought of it.

She's also started cooing more and having more of a range of noises she makes, which is cute.

Then we did some tummy time on the boppy pillow, and not only did she do a few good head lifts, at one point she lifted her whole upper body up on her elbows. It's definitely a joy to watch her develop. I like to think she's pretty excited about her new found super power of holding herself up for a few seconds. :) Love my little one.

This smile is not as big as the grins she gave me today, but it's still pretty darn cute.

4.6.15 - Rocketism

Jill  "awwed" a cute baby on the side of the road, and Rocket asked her to please not tell him about human babies, but tell him about dog babies immediately

4.5.15 - Dad, Jill, and Rocket's visit

Dad, Jill, and Rocket came in town to meet Clara last week. They got in on a Wednesday afternoon, and that evening they, Jack, Clara, and I all went out to Bandera for dinner. We got a nice round booth in the corner of the upper floor, where we could see everything. Rocket sat between Jill and Dad, and Clara slept in her car seat between Jack and me.

We had roasted artichokes and cheesy cornbread, potatoes with scallions and filet, and plenty of Diet Coke. One of the many nice things about being around Dad and Jill is the sudden abundance of Diet Coke everywhere, haha. Clara slept the whole time. Rocket got really into "shooting" the sugar bowl. Jack ate his food and a lot of our delicious leftovers. And Dad and Jill and I talked a lot. Later we were ordering dessert and the server let us know that they had apple walnut cobbler (not listed on the menu). When she said that Dad literally pushed back in his seat and put his hands to his cheeks in happy surprise. It was hilarious. Obviously we ordered one, which was delicious. We left the restaurant happy and full (in beautiful summer evening type weather, by the way).

The next morning I had a follow up job interview. Dad, Jill, and Rocket came over pretty early so they could watch Clara while I got ready (Jack had to work at 7am). Jill stayed with Clara and Dad drove me to and picked me up from the interview. We dissected the pros and cons of it on the way home, and that was satisfying.

Over the next two days, Dad, Jill, and Rocket hung out at our apartment, making lots of food and generally helping with Clara. Well, Rocket wasn't a huge help, but Dad and Jill were. Rocket mostly watched stuff on the Kindle and rough-housed with Jack when Jack was around. Like this:

On Friday afternoon while Jack was at work, we all took a trip to the park up the street. Rocket enjoyed the playground while Jill watched, Dad worked, and I mostly sat and fed Clara. It was nice to get out in the beautiful weather though.

On Friday night, Dad and Jill took Clara back to the hotel and watched her so Jack and I could have a dessert date night. We went to the Elephant Bar (literally next door to their hotel, convenient) and got the dessert platter and took our time. It was delicious and enjoyable. It's more important than ever, I think, to have so me focused one-on-one time with Jack when neither of us is on a laptop.

Of course the brownie is the best part,
but it's all pretty good.

Another highlight: throughout the trip Dad and Jill checked out a bunch of my scrapbooks. I think that's the most anyone besides me has looked at my scrapbooks, and I really enjoy sharing them.

There were also several times when Dad and Jill would watch Clara so I could take a nap, and that was a huge joy. I get pretty tired in early evening. On Saturday we all went to the hotel and I slept while Dad, Jill, Rocket, and Clara hung out near the hot tub (obviously Clara wasn't in the hot tub). I slept solid until Jack came to visit us all on his meal break and run around the hotel halls with Rocket. It was a good nap.

Overall it was a really nice visit, albeit too brief. Hopefully they will start visiting us in Sacramento more, now that Jefferson is always rented out. I know they really enjoyed seeing l'il Clara.

Easter eggs!

Always loved this as a kid.