Five on Friday

Happy Friday y'all! As usual, the weekend can't come soon enough. Here are a few highlights from the week:

1.) Babies, babies, and more babies! One of my best friends from college, who now happily lives just an hour and a half away from me in San Antonio, gave birth to her first baby yesterday. I can't wait to meet the little guy in a few weeks! And, in a very exciting turn of events, my sister-in-law gave birth to her and my brother's first child yesterday as well-- three weeks early. The crazy part is that my brother was actually in the Austin area this week for work, and he got the call on Wednesday that Brooke's water had broken. So he got in the car, drove an hour and a half from the resort where the conference was to Austin airport, flew to LA, had a layover, and then flew the rest of the way to Portland. Fortunately, he made it with plenty of time to spare. This new little baby (still unnamed) makes me an aunt for the first time! I'm can't wait to squeeze him when I'm home for Christmas.

2.) Big weekend plans ahead... we're heading to the birthday party of one Nicholas' little buddies, Reid, tomorrow morning, followed by date night with two other couples tomorrow night downtown. We're going to try out a new Mexican joint, Benji's Cantina, on West 6th. It's been a loooong time since I've been out anywhere on 6th street, so it should be entertaining to say the least. And I'm always up for a good margarita...

3.) Even bigger weekend plans? That's right... it's the series finale of Breaking Bad. I am going to be so sad to say goodbye to Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, but... wow. What a ride it's a been. Best TV show of all time? Jason still stands by The Sopranos, but I've got Breaking Bad and Friday Night Lights in a dead heat. I can't wait to see how they wrap up this whole suspenseful/sad/crazy creative saga.

4.) I'm reading Sisterland for my book club and can't put it down. I've loved Curtis Sittenfeld's previous books, Prep and American Wife, and this one is no exception. Great writing, suspenseful story telling, and a really creative plot. By the way, I'm super late to the e-reader bandwagon, but after holding out for most of the last decade because I "just like the way a book feels," I caved and got a Kindle last year and am now totally addicted. I kind of miss being able to look at the cover art and read the synopsis on the back, but it's so satisfying to be able to download and read whatever my little heart desires in seconds. Instant gratification-- that's where it's at.

5.) Earlier this week, I guest posted at Stafford Stories as part of Melissa's series on a day in the life of a working mom. Go check it out here!

Working Mommy Guest Post at Stafford Stories

Hey friends-- Happy hump day!

(Tangent: have y'all seen this hilarious commercial? Cracks me up every time!)

Today I'm guest posting over at Stafford Stories where Melissa has been hosting a series about a day in the life of working moms. Click here to read about how I juggle life as a wife and mom, along with my career and other day-to-activities. It can be hectic at times, but it's always worth it.

Hope you're having a great week!

Five on Friday

I'm linking up once again with Darci and friends for Five on Friday. Here's what I'm excited about this week:

1.) We belong to Pedernales Cellar's wine club and they're hosting their annual fall release party tomorrow. We haven't been able to go for the past couple years, but we got a sitter for the afternoon, and we're heading out to Fredericksburg to do a little tasting and enjoy the beautiful scenery. And, bonus, turbulent weather brewing down in the Gulf means that it may actually dip below 90 tomorrow for the first time in five or six months. Sweater weather! (kidding.)

2.) On Sunday, my brother will be making his first visit to Austin since we moved into our new casa. He'll be in town for a work conference, but is spending the night with us before the conference starts. Geoff's visit is the perfect excuse for Jason to fire up the smoker and throw on one of his prized prime briskets. We'll whip up some cole slaw, potato salad, and peach cobbler to go along with it. We do it up right when guests are in town!

3.) The return of network TV next week. I mean, sure, I've enjoyed all kinds of free time in the evenings this summer-- I've read books, I've done some freelance writing, and I've gotten some projects done around the house. But, let's be honest-- productivity is a little boring. I'm ready to veg out on the couch at night in front of some sudsy TV goodness. Nashville anyone? 

4.) Austin's first Trader Joe's opens today. I've gone four long years without TJs. No "Two Buck Chuck." No name-any-one-of-the-amazing-assortment-of-frozen-foods. None of the best hummus in the entire world. This is an extremely exciting event for me. Living without Trader Joe's is kind of like living without coffee. Or sunshine. Or premium denim. Can I get an amen from my west coast peeps?

5.) And, finally, this little gentleman making a "mile!" for the camera. I mean seriously... is he cute or what?

Happy Friday!

A Birthday, an Anniversary, and a Baptism

We've been a busy bunch lately! A few highlights...

I celebrated my birthday at the end of August. The Saturday prior, Jason and I got a sitter and ventured downtown to check out Qui, the new restaurant from recent Top Chef winner (and now famed Austinite) Paul Qui.

We were prepared for a crazy wait and, at two hours, it lived up to expectation. Fortunately, they let us leave during the wait, so we headed down the block to get some appetizers at one of Paul's East Side King trailers behind a local dive bar. Then, we headed back to the restaurant to enjoy some cocktails on the patio. It was a fun high/low Paul Qui experience.

Dinner was worth the wait, and the highlight of the evening was that he came by and shook our hands. He seems like such a genuine, humble guy-- just like he was portrayed on Top Chef. Our seats were at a bar overlooking the kitchen, so we succumbed to our inner tourist and snapped a few (or twenty) pictures of the chefs at work.

My actual birthday was two days later on a Monday, so we celebrated that night with a nice meal at home. Grilled steak, roasted cauliflower, and roasted asparagus, followed by chocolate cupcakes-- a nice way to usher in a new year.

This past Friday, Jason and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. It's amazing that five years have come and gone-- seemingly in a blink! And, looking back, I'm proud of all we've accomplished: a cross-country move, a graduate degree, new jobs for both of us, lots of travel, the birth of our first child, and the purchase of our first home. Wow. I'm tired just typing it. But it's been an amazing ride, and I'm so glad to have Jason as my partner along the way.

And, last-- but certainly not least-- we baptized Nicholas yesterday at our church. He is a little older than a lot of other babies who get baptized, so I was nervous about how he would tolerate it, but he did great. He didn't make a peep when the pastor poured a little water on his head, and then he calmly let the pastor carry him a little ways down the aisle in front of the congregation. It was his first time sitting through an entire service with us (usually he's in the nursery) and he handled it really well. He was enthralled by the music-- so much so that he loudly exclaimed "Yay!" after a very talented soloist sang a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace. Everyone laughed and it was a really cute moment. 

It was a special morning for us, and for Nicholas, and we look forward to the years ahead as he hopefully grows in his spirituality and comes to appreciate his faith.

Nineteen Months: A Letter

Dear Nicholas,

You are nineteen months old! Your nineteenth month started right before we left on our trip back to the Northwest and ended in late August, so it included lot of travel along with some summer fun at home. We were late getting to the doctor for your 18 month visit, so you had a 19 month check up instead. At 19 months, you weigh 27 lbs., 8 oz.  (70th percentile) and you are 33.5" tall (80th percentile). You are a big kid! They stop tracking your head after this appointment, but it's still off the charts at 50 3/4 cm in circumference. Your pediatrician checked you out and proclaimed that you are in great health and noted that you have advanced speech-- that's no surprise to us!

You are more and more of a chatter box each day, and I can't even keep up with your new vocabulary these days, but you did learn one very important word this past month. On the morning of August 14th, you said your name for the first time while we were flipping through your Elmo Peek-a-Boo book. You pointed out all the Sesame Street characters and then when we got to the last page, which includes a mirror, you saw yourself and then said "Nih-nes!" A little later at breakfast, you pointed and said "Daddy," then pointed to me and said "Mommy," and then pointed to yourself and said "Nih-nes" again. So adorable.

You've also been working on other family members' names. During our trip back home, you perfected "Dzia Dzia" and then christened Daddy's mom "Baba." (We think that came from the Babaloo song they like to sing to you.) In Portland, you christened my dad "Bap-pa" (your pronunciation of Grandpa) and worked on "Gammy." Aunt Laura also gave you some coaching and you can now say "Auntie Wo-Wo." Since we've been home, we've looked at family pictures and pointed out family members for you to name. You've done a good job remembering all of the names, but your favorite people to point out are definitely both of your grandpas. You love to say Dzia Dzia and Bap-pa and will occasionally ask about both of them.

You can now identify and say several shapes, including square, circle, triangle, star, and diamond. Admittedly, your pronunciation could use some work-- right now it sounds like "care," "kerk-uh," "tra-nanah," "car," and "dy-doh." But when you are pointing to the shape, it's clear what you're trying to say. Pretty impressive for just a year and a half old!

You are starting to string together pairs of words. Recent examples include "Daddy pop pop" (you call your popping lawn mower toy your pop pop, so now you like to point out Daddy's pop pop); "den-dul peez!" (asking me to be gentle when I was wiping your face); "Daddy ow-side;" and "that bye-bye, watch!" (pointing to Daddy's laptop and asking him to put it away and pay attention to you instead-- pretty clever!). One of your cutest phrases is "oh no!" But you say it very dramatically with three syllables so that it sounds like "oh no-oh!"

You are still obsessed with all things transportation. One of your favorite expressions as we drive down the road is "ooooh trut!" every time you see a particularly impressive truck. Your recent airplane travel cemented your fascination with "ah-panes," and you're now also curious about boats. Row, Row, Row Your Boat is a favorite song from school, and you will say "wo, wo, wo!" as a request for me to sing the song.

You continue to be a little picky at meal times, but you do have several favorite foods that you will ask for by name-- particularly, pizza, pasta, and yogurt. If you don't like what we're serving you for dinner, sometimes you'll look at me and say, "pizza? peeez?" and then you'll smile and I can tell you are trying to pour on the charm. Other times, we'll just be driving in the car and you'll start chanting "pizza pasta! pasta pizza!" Food is clearly on your mind-- a man after my own heart.

After we returned home from our summer trip, you were moved up to the big toddler room at school. I was a little worried about the transition because the move from the infant room to the young toddler room around your first birthday was tough on both of us. But most of your buddies had already been moved up to the toddler classroom, so you handled the change like a champ. And, since you've been in the toddler room, your separation anxiety during our morning drop off has dramatically declined. We're so happy that you're adjusting well to your new classroom and teachers, and that you genuinely seem to like your daycare.

You still go to sleep around 7:00-7:30pm every night and wake up anytime between 6:45 - 7:30am each morning. Lately, when we put you to bed at night, we will read you a few stories and rock you in the glider and you'll be requesting "bed, bed" before we're even done. You know when you're ready to hit the hay and I can't argue with that. You take one afternoon nap, usually beginning around 12:30pm and lasting about two hours.

Nicholas, you are so much fun to be around! You are growing and changing so rapidly and it's amazing to watch as your brain grows and absorbs something new every day. It's evident to everyone around you how bright you are, and you undoubtedly have big things in store. I am so proud to be your mom!

All my love,
Mommy