What a Dad

 
 
 
 
What a nice first Mother's Day! Anneke and I went to church,and when we got home Dave had bisquits and gravy ready for us. Anneke got me flowers and a card, and after breakfast I got to sit down with the Sunday New York Times. I left Anneke with Daddy while I went out for a pedicure, but after that I got to spend the afternoon with her while Dave was in the kitchen making Boston Cream Pie cupcakes and strawberry-rhubarb pie for his mom. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Kevin, and Claire all came over for dessert. It's going to be hard to top this come Father's Day--thanks, Dave and Anneke! I'm one lucky mama!

The many faces of Anneke

 
 
 
Now that Anneke is eight weeks old she has really learned to express herself. The only thing missing from this batch of pictures is the big, gummy grin; she saved that for when we put the camera away. Plus today was kind of a diva day, which does not entail a lot of grinning.

Goodbye Bowers

 
 

Many years ago I went on my one and only Match.com date. It was fairly forgettable, except that the guy kept going on about this place called Bowers, and what good sandwiches they had. Little did I know how much Bowers Bakery would figure into my life in the coming years. Sometime later Dave and I started dating, and he formally introduced me to Bowers, specifically their marionberry bran muffins. Bran muffins, you ask? Oh, Bowers served the Platonic form of this lowly quick bread. We tried to copy the recipe, with no luck. They had this crumbly, dense texture and were sweet but substantial. Often I would have half of a muffin for breakfast and munch on the other half throughout the day, but usually I scarfed down the whole thing at once. Anyway, it was a good day when I could sweet talk Dave into walking down the street to pick up a batch, and other times we would walk over together and banter with Dave Bowers, who never met a stranger. For the first birthday Dave and I celebrated together I got up super early to bring him muffins, and I made sure to get a batch of pastries for my family when they came to visit. These photos are of the day it snowed, when Dave and I cross-country skied over for hot coffee and muffins.

Anyway, this trip down memory lane is inspired by Bowers closing. Dave Bowers is moving to Bend for love and a career change. I'm happy for him, but there are rumors going around that the building that houses Bowers and a number of Hawthorne St. institutions (at least in my eight-year-memory of Hawthorne) is going condo. I sure hope this eclectic group of independent businesses isn't going anywhere; it's what makes our neighborhood unique and a must-see on the tourist route.

So we'll see. Anneke and I saw Dave maybe the last time the other day as he was closing up shop. He fussed over Anneke and, noticing the spitup on my shoulder, waxed nostalgic about his own kids being that age. I sure wish we could look forward to bringing Anneke with us on Saturday morning saunters to Bowers, but I guess we'll just have to learn to make our own delicious bran muffins....

Family photos

 
 
Not much to say in this entry except this is Anneke and her Mommy and Daddy at seven weeks old. She is eight weeks old today--maybe for her eight week picture we'll get a photo of the three of us.

Lucky ladies

 
 
 
 

It's Dave's birthday! Happy birthday, Dave!

Here are some photos from our afternoon and evening. We stopped at Green Dragon for a couple of pints; we got tossed out of the bar and sent over to the restaurant because we had a minor in tow. Then we went to a highly recommended Chinese restaurant in a seedy part of town. Dave ordered the steamed fish, as you can see. We were among a very few non-Asian patrons, which is always a good sign. Yum Yum! This is one of the less-eloquent blogs I've written, which is fitting, because it's hard to find words to express how lucky Anneke and I are to have Dave for a husband/Daddy (respectively).

Are you in the house alone?

 

So yesterday I was instant messaging with my husband and he kept remarking on what I was doing--like, asking who I was just on the phone with, and where the cat was and stuff. I was all, how did you know I was on the phone? and he was all I dunno. So today the same routine: we were chatting, and he asked if I was wearing a new sweater. Then he asked where the baby was. And then I noticed the web cam pointing at me, ostensibly purchased to web conference with grandparents.

My husband has been spying on me. He sent me this photo from yesterday's session. It's a good thing I know him well enough to not be creeped out. Dave, if you're watching this I'm blogging about you RIGHT NOW.

Go Hogs, the sequel

 
Faithful readers may remember one of the early posts of me in my gigantic Razorback shirt. Here is our little Razorback at six weeks old.