Belated Wedding Anniversary

Tim & I finally went out to celebrate our belated 5 year wedding anniversary tonight. Our meal at JiRaffe was perfect & so I don't forget it I wanted to record our selections here:

• Slow Roasted Organic Tomato Tart -Roasted pistachio-honey tart shell, balsamic onion confit, fresh burrata cheese, ratatouille sauce, basil pesto
• Purple Peruvian Gnocchi - Fresh East Coast rock shrimp, roasted purple pearl onions, mandarin cross tomato concassé, herb infused tomato nage
• Prime NY Bistro Steak - Potato puree, roasted cherry tomatoes, sautéed fennel, roasted shitake mushroom, white wine veal reduction
• Bouillabaise - "fish stew" of clams, mussels, crab legs, shrimp, rock shrimp, swordfish, salmon, fennel, fingerling potatoes, toasted bread with cheese
  
• Butterscotch Bread Pudding - Layers of butterscotch and cream soaked brioche, baked and served warm with espresso ice cream and chocolate sauce

Even better than our evening was Matilda's, who got to play at Marie & Eric's house all night long complete with her best buddy, Molly, a sweet puppy for lots of loving, a gourmet dinner of shrimp and crab pasta, some painting time and chocolate dessert!

Another Milestone

Matilda got her first haircut today (although it was really more of a trim). There aren't any really satisfying before and after pictures since it looks essentially the same, only a bit healthier on the ends. I did witness the even trimming but the back still looks quite uneven to me since her crazy tight curls pull it all up in different directions. As prep for the haircut, Matilda got to go along and watch Daddy get his haircut this morning. By the time it was her turn ,M was a pro and sat quite still, even allowing the hair stylist to use the hairdryer on her. Tim & I weren't terribly wow-ed by the kids salon but Matilda was very happy with her special red Jeep-chair. We also got this snazzy certificate and a little envelope full of wispy blonde curls to appreciate the moment.


We were both looking a little concerned here:

Anatomy Lesson

One of our little adventures for this week was to find some trout to eat. We saw tons of trout and trout fishermen while hiking to this lake last weekend so Matilda's interest was piqued. I decided to finally investigate a fish market over in Glendale that had been recommended to us, Fish King. Not only did the fish market have a huge selection and great prices, they also had a little take out section with fantastic calamari. While driving to the market Matilda decided she wanted calamari and I was nervous as I had never prepared it before. The little cafe saved me that trouble and provided some instant gratification so we shared an order for lunch that day. 

Our trout we prepared for dinner with this recipe. It turned out quite tasty but the best part was how Matilda got to help me manhandle the raw fish. They were gutted and partially boned rainbow trout but the heads and fins were all still on so Matilda got a full fish lesson. Together we figured out what parts to cut off, poked at the eyes, felt the teeth and got lots of scales stuck to our fingers.

Tent Calisthenics

Every time we set up the tent it sends Matilda into hysterics; she goes absolutely crazy for it. Here we've documented her first moments in the tent last weekend.

Kayaking

Long overdue pictures from our kayak outing two weekends ago now:

All ready to boat: Matilda with her raisins, Daisy with her boating jacket.

When we asked Matilda her favorite part of kayaking later that day, she replied "Sitting on Daddy's lap." So sweet.Climbing up the sand dunes with our kayaks and Morro Bay behind her. All the water bird activity was as awesome as we remembered and we were even treated to a sea lion vs. pelican session as they both were after the same fish. As with last year's kayaking adventure, Matilda was just nodding off to sleep as we all returned to dock a little sunburned and full from Anthony and Elissa's delicious sand dune picnic.

Devouring a S'more

Matilda's first bites of a s'more documented:

Catching Up

Still recovering from our two weekend trips with lots of unpacking, laundry and napping around here. 

Last weekend's trip was beachy and cold:

This weekend's trip was mountainy and hot:

Both were jam packed with family fun and good food. There are lots of stories I need to get recorded here. Like how Matilda reacted to her first s'more ("More chocolate. More chocolate, please. More chocolate, PLEASE!"). Or how monstrously huge the dead jelly fish on the beach were. And how Matilda did in her new sleeping bag (up until now she had squeezed in to share mine). I'll save the stories for later as now I must go start more laundry, nap and do more dishes (the dishwasher is broken, how do people live like this?), most likely not in that order. 

Ambidextrous?

I think by now you are supposed to be able to tell which hand will be dominant for your kid. Matilda, however, still mystifies us with her use of both hands fairly equally. This delicious dinner clearly demonstrates her mad skills as she shovels in cauliflower soup with the spoon in her left hand and an omelet with the fork on her right. I have noticed recently that when she throws a ball one handed it is usually with her right hand, so that is our currently our best guess.

Reptile Family

We got to see a great presentation by The Reptile Family at our library last week that Uncle Dan especially would have appreciated. There were five different kinds of lizards, four snakes including the huge boa below, four turtles that got to run around the room, a millipede, and some frogs. This boy was a hysterical reptile know-it-all who kept me entertained with his interjections. I think it takes a science nerd to love a science nerd. He was also fairly protective of the animals when the littler kids got their petting turn, concerned with that Matilda might injure this millipede. Two cute little sisters hold a bearded dragon, like Tucker. The presenter did a great job letting all kids take turns holding the animals, coaching them if they got nervous, and never once misjudged whether the poor critter would get dropped by a spooked little volunteer.

More Justin for Emily & Sydney

Another little tidbit of our Justin Roberts show last weekend. This song's called Meltdown.

Say Cheese

Matilda managed to give me her cheese face everyday during our fun, busy week. She will now pose and request her picture taken.
Monday: "Cheese" with the bear statue we visited while out on a run with Bob.Tuesday: "Cheese" while modeling matching shirts with Amalia during playtime.Wednesday: A not-looking-at-the-camera "cheese" during her art time. She has been keeping quite busy with crayons, construction paper and stickers doing "craft projects" while I cook dinner each night. Please let us know if you would like one, the house is now overflowing with art. Thursday: Two "cheeses" on the beach with Molly today (well, yesterday technically since I am posting this after watching way too much gymnastics).

We leave for a long weekend trip with friends tomorrow (today) so there will be plenty more opportunities for cheese I am sure.

Fostering a Healthy Body Image

My brother & his fiance are getting married soon and have graciously included Matilda & I both in the wedding party. The owner of the bridal shop I am dealing with just told me I am "big all over" after I told her my measurements. Last time we discussed my measurements, several months back, she declared me "very small chested." Thanks lady, like I need any help with self-confidence in the body image department. I mean small-chested, fine, I can totally agree with that. But, big all over? That is just unnecessary. I think she spends too much of her time dealing with prom-dress-buying 16 year olds.

Rocking with Justin

On Sunday we went to see one of Matilda's favorite performers, Justin Roberts, live in concert, complete with toddler mosh pit and a chance to meet the artist afterwards. The show was great in a beautiful outdoor amphitheater and after being paralyzed in stunned-observer-mode for the first 1/3 of the show Matilda got really into it. By the look on her face I would say hearing the D-O-G song was Matilda's favorite while Tim & I really liked hearing Willy Was a Whale.

The groupies, excited in line before the venue doors open. Great seats right up front for Matilda & her buddy S. After all the dancing Matilda shook hands with Mr. Roberts and got him to sign her new album.
Here's our view of the concert with Justin performing "Yellow Bus," Matilda wandering around down front, and Mrs. Orange Shirt, who seemed to be a bigger fan than her kids.

Sesame Street is so Cool