Little Miss: Walking :)

Here's a clip of Sadie walking.  Just a couple days later, she has so much more balance. Last night she was a walking machine...people tell us that we're in trouble! This morning she started climbing, she successfully got to the top stair of my wobbly step stool on her own, oh no! We shall see...


On another note, Mark and I have the tradition of volunteering on MLK day. Any good ideas of local volunteer work we can do with Sadie in tow?

xoxo
Rebecca

PS. It's my favorite sister's bday today! Make sure you send some bday love her way- because she is just that fabulous!

Date Night (with Gather + True Grit)

Tuesday I turned the big 3-2...which seems not too notable or exciting. Since we had such a downer of a day on my birthday (travel + jet lag), we decided that this would be birthday week! Last night my mom babysat and we had a date night- I can't remember the last date we've had. It was the perfect birthday treat.

We started the night off at Gather. It's this amazing new restaurant near the UC Berkeley campus. The food's local, sustainable, and all that good stuff. The chef  is young (he looks like a grad student that wandered off the school's grounds across the street), and hailed as a best new chef by various foodies and media outlets. With Gather's righteous attitude towards food and all the fanfare we thought the place would be pretentious, but it was quite the opposite. After leaving the restaurant Mark and I were talking about how several Bay Area restaurants serve upscale, to-die-for food, while remaining completely down-to-earth and approachable. Gather has instantly become a new favorite for me: most everything in the decor is salvaged material (including bench upholstery made from old leather belts sewn together), every bite of the food was flavorful and completely enjoyable, the waiter was warm, knowledgeable, and not too into himself/explaining the food (a plus at this type of place).

Food and Wine Magazine voted Gather's Vegan Charcuterie (pictured below) a top ten restaurant dish of the year. Umm- it was amazing! I can't describe the flavors- but I wanted to savor every delicious bite.

Here's what we had:

*out of 4 starts each

Vodka Smash (Cocktail) **

Bitter Rose (Cocktail) **

Vegan “charcuterie” ****

Sausage

– pork belly, chile, Fontinella ****

Barbecued young chicken

– farotto, turnips and tops, punterelle, cheese rind oil ***

(farotto= farro risotto and was freaking awesome!)

Scoop of cream cheese cranberry ice cream **

(The choc mousse looked tasty- but we were pretty full by then)

Bottom line: Go here. It's awesome.

After dinner we walked two blocks over to see True Grit at the California Theater.

I'm not one for westerns- but this is a must see. It was funny and touching. Jeff Bridges and 14-year-old  Hailee Steinfeld stole the show. I won't ruin it, but young Mattie is out to avenge her father's murder.

 Matt Damon is also in the movie, and provides a lot of laughs. I usually bristle at the Cohen Brothers violent movies, but this was entertaining and not too violent at all.

All in all, a great date night.

My (belated) Birthday!!

Thanks for my party guys! I love being one. It was so cool to have a party at the park!

I liked playing in the sand with the big girls.

 Mmm bangers and beans. Grandma Ruff cooks up some mean beans!

Uncle Aaron cooking with his crazy face on.

I like playing with my baby friends (hi Audrey!), but I play nice so that I can sneak away their food.

 Mmmm- I like to make use of my 8 teeth!

 My cousin Roro

 Some more friends!

 Kate- I got my eye on your bread stick!

 Judah and Micah take a whack at the sticker-filled Zebra.

 Judah got very attached to the Zebra. He didn't quite understand why we were hitting it and why treats eventually came flying out if it.

 I loved when you all sang me happy birthday! I felt so special!

 All done! I liked my purple frosting the most!

Can't wait for my next party!

Love, Sadie Fern

Chatterbox

So my camera's battery is dead, and I can't seem to find the charger anywhere. And can you believe that Cannon charges $95 for a new charger! Hmmm, we'll need to shop around.

Sadie is one- who hoo (pictures to follow at a later date)! We had a lovely celebration for her in the park with family and friends. It was a perfect fall morning. At her 1-yr healthy child visit, her fabulous doctor, Dr. Tenney, reported that she is in the 90% percentile for height, 90% for her head size, and 50% in weight. Sounds like her dad!

Sadie motors around all day, here are some highlights:

• playing with toys- whether sanctioned or off-limit items
• constant talking, including her catch phrases, "uh-oh" and "oh yeah". and she started saying "happy" after her birthday- for reals!
• praciting her standing and taking a tentative step! Perhaps more will follow, soon!
• being a yogi constantly with the downward dog yoga pose
• playtime with friends- she's learning to be gentle and not grab hair
• she's loving food- homemade soups, vegetable/fruit medleys, crackers, yogurt, and of course, cheese

Here's a video shot a couple of days ago- Sadie is in her element. And, she calls this caterpillar toy A-B, because it sings the A-B-Cs. Hmmm, I think I have a little chatterbox on my hands.

Have a great Thanksgiving!!! XOXO

Sadie's 4 Months Today!

Sadie is 4 months old today!

What a big girl! She celebrated by laughing while she was playing! She's been having a lot of laughs to herself lately, and it's a blast to see her having so much fun. We love her so much, especially those cheeks!

Happy 4 months, sweet sadie!

For the Love of December 28th!

Yesterday was my 31st Birthday! I had a great day relaxing at home with my little family.
Yesterday was a day of eating well. Since Sadie was sick (her first cold), we stayed close to home. Mark made us a scrumptious breakfast- Eggs Benedict with fried potatoes. I think this should be a new tradition because it was a great way to use the leftover Christmas ham. For lunch, we walked to Farmer Joe's and got some yum sandwiches. Then, we had some of my mom's pumpkin pie with Cool Whip for lunch dessert. Sooz, Matt and Mom came for family birthday dinner. Mom made one of my childhood faves for an appetizer- potato skins. Mark cooked up some steak. Oh, it was delicious. Here's a shot of our bfast: