Baby Laughs

I love the weekends. I get to spend all day playing with Charlotte and figuring out what makes her smile and laugh. It might be peek-a-boo one day and squats the next. Here's a great video of her laugh at its best while daddy gets an excellent workout.

This weekend was great. Justin came home from a work trip on Friday night so Charlotte and I picked him up from the airport. Then we went straight to the Hotel del Coronado for some wine and cheese with some good friends. By the time we got home, Charlotte was ready for sleep.

Today, we hosted a little BBQ at our house for family and friends in the neighborhood. We made beef, buffalo, elk and portabello mushroom burgers; grilled veggie couscous with a black olive vinaigrette; grilled eggplant and tomatoes with basil and Parmesan cheese; raspberry lemonade; and warm strawberry crisp with whipped cream. Yum! Afterwards, we headed to my big brother's house for a swim party and even more food! Oh my goodness...belly very full...

Charlotte and Zen, the Magical Husky

Uncle Adam went sailing with Pappy up in Seattle over the Fourth of July weekend. So we dog sat Zen for about a week. I generally kept Charlotte away from Zen, but I came outside one morning and saw the two of them playing. It's so hard to get her to laugh so I was excited to get this on video!

In other baby news, Charlotte started eating solids this week. A small bowl of rice cereal mixed with milk. She is such a mess at times but oh so cute too! :)

Charlotte so full now...

Beach Weekend

What a fantastic holiday weekend! BBQ, taco trucks, beaches - what is there not to love?

Spent Saturday afternoon at Mission Bay Park for a mini family reunion that my cousins put together. They did a FANTASTIC job and we had a great time. It was Charlotte's first time at the park and she got to hang out on the grass for a bit. Jenn and I beat Justin and Big Brother at bocce ball. Add some awesome Vietnamese food and you have the perfect afternoon.

For the Fourth, the family headed out to Coronado for a friend's BBQ, San Diego style of course. They had a taco cart and a frozen margarita machine! We spent a few hours there before heading home. We wanted to see some fireworks but Charlotte's teeth decided to start hurting. That's okay though. We saw a few fireworks go off in the distance from our front yard. Maybe we'll catch them next year!

Dinner at La Scala

Justin, Grand Pappy, Charlotte and the owner of La Scala.

After work on Thursday night, the family met up with Grand Pappy and Grammy for dinner at La Scala in Point Loma. This place is a landmark in Justin's family. They've been going here for dinner since 1988 and it's as Italian as you can get in San Diego outside of Little Italy. Unfortunately the owners have sold the restaurant and will be closing their doors soon. There are plans to reopen in Mission Valley sometime in the future though.

Charlotte was pretty good. A bit fussy though but I think that's because she's teething. Grammy's oldest son also just had a new baby boy! This baby is a seriously handsome baby.

Hope everyone had a fabulous fourth of July!

Back at Work

It's Thursday and my fourth day back at work! Remarkably enough, Charlotte is still sleeping. I woke up at 4 am and ran to her room, thinking that the baby monitor stopped worked. She was knocked out. I couldn't go back to sleep. I sat in the glider thinking that she would cry at any moment. It's nearly 6 am and she's still sleeping. I can't complain.

Thanks to everyone for your warm wishes of support during this first week back into the real world. So far, things are going as well as they can.

We started trying solids with her yesterday. Oooo...she's waking up! Gotta go!