Early September Ups and Downs

The first part of September brought us a celebration and a loss to our family. Admittedly both sound more dramatic than they are because (1) I've already shared with you that we had our one year anniversary - (yes, old news is good news - in case you missed it, we've been married a year and we are still celebrating); and (2) the loss wasn't of a person or a pet, but of a car. However, it really was a very important car to us as it held a lot of memories for us.



First the positive: We didn't get to taste our wedding cake at our wedding last year (by the time the cake was handed out, we were too busy with things to do, people to see) and we wanted to take part in all the important rituals of the first anniversary, including eating the top tier of our wedding cake. So, since we didn't actually SAVE the top of the wedding cake, we ordered a replica of the top tier of our cake. We had a fantastic cake designer, who put a lot of effort into making our wedding cakes gorgeous - here is a copy of the wedding cake and Steve's groom's cake:




Never saw anything like that before, have you?! (Unless, of course, you were at the wedding.)

Condra (who owns Patisserie Angelica) made sure that we had an exact replica of the top tier of our wedding cake so that we could celebrate in style. It was delicious and gorgeous. A very elaborate shipping method had to be used to get this cake to us fresh and perfect.




The picture is from our wedding, waiting to be framed. The flowers were a gift from Steve's Mom and family. Very sweet and thoughtful reminder of such an important event for us.

So, now onto the loss: Steve sold his M3 race car. We fell in love in that car (so it has special meaning to me), and Steve has won two BMW racing championships in that car (so it has special meaning for him). I know he misses it, and it won't be long before he has another one to take its place.

Update to Previous 4D Post - Pictures of Feet Reveal that Baby is a GoodNix

My sister-in-law aptly pointed out, in response to my 4D post, that we hadn't provided proof of whether our daughter was going to be blessed with the famous GoodNix toes. For those of you who don't know about the toes, feel free to look down the next time you see me, my brother or my sister. We all have them. They are unique to say the least. Unfortunately for our child, Steve also has long and thin toes. So did she get them? Well, of course! But, don't take my word for it. The proof is in the pudding - or the pictures anyway:

I was hoping that my child wouldn't have to go through what I've suffered all my life - difficulty buying shoes (think 3-4 hour shopping trips and leaving with nothing), and longing for the beautiful shoes that everyone else gets to wear (think Sarah Jessica Parker's fetish without the ability to wear those gorgeous shoes). Unfortunately, our daughter appears to have the same long skinny foot as her mom, with long toes and skinny heels. If she turns out to be a shoe lover like me, just hope that Stuart Weitzman doesn't go out of business anytime soon. Lucky for her, I'm a patient shoe shopper. Hopefully turn into the same mandatory mother-daughter bonding experience of my youth.

First Anniversary

It's hard to believe that it has been a year since we were married in beautiful Napa Valley. It's been a fabulous year! We celebrated at Abacus last night and were the happy recipients of well wishes from family and friends all day. We feel very lucky to have found each other and to have such wonderful friends and family to share these special moments.

4D Pictures - What a Great Experience

I was literally giddy Friday night and Saturday morning anticipating getting to see our daughter in 4d. Had I realized when I made the appointment that our little one would get in a sleeping pattern in the womb, I wouldn't have made the appointment for 10:00 a.m. - she's always asleep then. We left at 9:30 so we'd have time for a quick sugar/caffeine fix (glazed donut and a coke) hoping that Baby GoodNix would be "encouraged" to move around for the photo shoot. When I first hopped on the table and we saw her, she was in a good position and we got to see her face almost immediately.



But then she settled into a good sleeping position and turned away from the "camera." No amount of poking or prodding on my part could convince her to move.



Shelly, the owner of this StorkVision location, had me get another drink and walk the halls. Unfortunately, nothing I did could convince her to turn around. The hard-headedness definitely runs in the family! Shelly (really sweet woman) invited us to come back in a couple of hours so we could try again. That was just fantastic of her. She did encourage us to eat lunch before you return. We went to Right Start to look at baby strollers and car seats, then had lunch at Pot Belly (no pun intended) before heading back. I was not really hungry, but ate anyway hoping that this would get her moving.


This time, we got what we were wanted - fantastic pictures of our little one, moving around, kicking, trying to stick her hand in her mouth. It is hard to believe that she is going to be here in just 3 short months (or less)!!

Happy Birthday, Steve

We celebrated Steve's birthday.. all. weekend. long. Unfortunately, the weekend was slightly marred due to Steve fighting a losing battle with some poison oak in the yard. It was a valiant effort, but unfortunately the poison oak won. Steve was sick and itchy late last week and we were both worried that his birthday weekend was going to be spent at home.

We stayed home Friday to nurse him back to health, so he got a home-cooked meal. Apparently the meal was either really good or the drugs the doctor gave him are especially awesome. I've received rave reviews of the meal ever since. I made Portobello Raviolis and served them with an Italian Sausage Marinara Sauce, a Caprese Salad, and Garlic Parmesan Bread.* It was pretty yummy, actually. I'll have to remember to take a picture next time I make a special meal. Yes, it's that rare.

*I capitalized the names of these food items so that the meal would appear more formal and fancy than it actually was. I bought the Raviolis pre-packaged at Central Market in their refrigerated italian section. I simply brown some Central Market-purchased mild italian bulk sausage (about 1/2 pound) and combine it with a Central Market-purchased sauce (Amore brand) and add some seasonings. The caprese salad is a hold-over from our dating period. We cut Central Market-purchased cherry or grape tomatoes in half and place them randomly on a plate with several Central Market-purchased basil leaves. We then place pre-packaged olive oil and pepper-marinated mozzarella (also from Central Market) on the plate and then drizzle the whole thing in olive oil. Top it with salt and pepper, and it is a crowd-pleaser. The bread - also a Central Market purchase (notice a theme?) - was best warmed in the oven for a bit.

On Saturday night, the KreiNiTars had dinner at Tillman's in Bishop Arts District. If you haven't been there, don't go. The place is already too crowded and we don't need any additional competition for a table.






Sunday night we hosted a cook-out/pool party at the house. The Krei's came over (can't get enough of them, though we missed the Tar's) as did Steve's fraternity brothers and their families to enjoy the first relatively cool evening of the Summer (I think it was actually less than 90 degrees on Sunday).
It was the first "Kids are Welcome" party at our home and, boy, did our friends take us literally! I'm not sure, but I think the kids outnumbered the adults. It was fantastic. I got to hold the youngest - a new baby just 1 month old. She was as sweet as could be. Two other friends had their 5 and 10 month olds there. We are definitely a group of breeding couples.
The kids and the adults had a fantastic time and, most importantly, Steve said it was his best birthday ever. EVER! That is high praise. I got these very Steve-themed cupcakes for the party from Tart Bakery - they were a hit. I bought 3 dozen - there are 3 left. Granted I have eaten about 3 of them myself, but still -



Steve's actual birthday was yesterday (the 18th) and we spent the evening at a very romantic dinner at Hector's on Henderson.




It was a wonderful birthday weekend, but we aren't done! Steve somehow managed to lengthen his birthday into a full week and we will be having family time this weekend to celebrate his birth. I'll have to figure out how he managed to do that when it is my turn in May.
Happy birthday, Sweetheart!

Lillie's Morning Visit

Lillie came over to have breakfast with me and Steve this morning. Haven't seen her all Summer because she's been in Boston (lucky!) avoiding the 100 degree heat here. She's headed back today (wonder why?) and so she made time for us to have breakfast and see my big growing belly.

QuakeCon n/k/a Steve's Disappearing Act

I spent a lonely week at home pining over my husband who was toiling away at work last week. He worked so hard on his company's annual show QuakeCon. I wish I could insert a funny quip about how it looked a lot more like Play-time than Work-time ... but, I know better.

Steve was behind the scenes working so hard (insert another funny quip here) and did a great job. I would post a few pictures of the event, but the rooms were very dark and my camera didn't take a single good picture. Suffice it to say that it was Im-Press-Ive. Makes a wife proud.

Here is a token picture of KreiNiTar minus one VIP (shame on her for studying for her board exam - priorities, Woman!) - also the first pics of my big pregnant belly: