back at work

Today is my first day back at work.

I'm excited to get back into the swing of things, but I'm sad.  Real sad.  This little munchkin is one lovely babe to spend time with.

We've had a busy past few weeks - there has been so much excitement that I haven't had a moment to tune you in. 

The highlights include...

Having Stefan's lovely mother stay with us to explore SF, help out, and hang with Samantha:

Taking Samantha on her first flight:

Dressing her up for Halloween:

Celebrating my fabulous sister's incredible nuptials:

And spending some time in Milwaukee with my parents:

It's been a pretty incredible finale to this pretty incredible maternity leave.  More details to come I hope although I'm in uncharted territory here with the whole working with a baby thing.  I make no promises.

xoxo

KK

happy birthday mom!

Today marks the birthday of my fabulous mother.

While she's my biggest blog fan, she isn't so into the sappy ones around these parts so I won't write much.  

opening the ceremony at our wedding

showing everyone how it's done at rancho la puerta

dinner out in san francisco on one of her many visits to 

come hang and help out with little samantha

I'll only wish a happiest of birthdays to the best mom a girl could ask for.  

xoxo

KK

happy happy

Today marks a particularly serendipitous day for me.  
Not only is it Stefan's birthday, but it is also my parent's 30th wedding anniversary.  
Two rather important events for me. :)

My parents have celebrated anniversaries in all sorts of glorious fashion.  One year, my dad surprised my mom with a mystery trip to Hawaii that came with one of her favorite things: A Plan with Activities.  Every second of every day was planned out.  (We don't like downtime in our family.)  While they could have gone anywhere or done anything to celebrate this pretty big marriage milestone, they decided to go to - wait for it - Indiana.

Don't get me wrong, I like all good Midwestern states, but their choice seemed a little anti-climatic for the couple that has ridden camels in Egypt, hiked the Inca Trail, and climbed the Great Wall of China.  Still, they decided that all they really needed to celebrate was each other (and some champagne and good golf courses, which apparently Indiana has).

Similarly, I offered Stefan all sorts of exciting options for his b-day celebration including getting a sitter and going out for a fancy dinner with decadent wine, but he couldn't imagine celebrating his day without his new favorite little lady.  All he wanted was to stay in for a home-cooked meal where he could have Samantha by his side.

One of the things that has been most surprising to me about parenthood is how incredible it is to watch the person you love fill their new role as a parent.  Per usual, Stefan took the job very seriously and has exceeded all expectations of what it means to be a father.  Watching him light up as he holds Samantha or calms her down (or changes her diaper!) and watching her as she settles into his comforting arms, makes me fall even more in love with him and this new stage of life for us as a family.

While I could go on and on about how wonderful he is as a father, a husband, and a friend, I'll stop here.  Stefan calls these types of posts my "thank-you" posts and claims they are not nearly as interesting as those where I share my latest mishaps and misfortunes (coming right at ya tomorrow!), but alas - I couldn't help myself in pushing the sappy-meter to shout into the blogosphere how happy I am for my wonderful parents and how much I love that child-at-heart husband of mine.

Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!  Thank you for teaching us kids what it looks like to be an incredible husband/wife, parent and grandparent (!!).

with Samantha

And happy birthday Stefan!  We can't wait to celebrate with you tonight! 

xoxo

KK

foreign cinema

When Sam and my mom were here, we ventured out for our first dinner on the town since July.
Needless to say, I was pumped.  

Since I first moved to San Francisco, I've always wanted to try Foreign Cinema - a top-notch spot in the Mission that plays an old movie on the covered patio when the sun sets.

Note white screen for movie viewing in back

They even have old, drive-in speakers at each of the tables so you can listen in to whatever movie is being played.

The food is really star-worthy as well.

Highly, highly recommend the melon and made-in-house prosciutto, the beef carpaccio, the steak medium-rare, and the melt-in-your-mouth sea bass.
We were very pleased.

Samantha had a blast as well:

Definitely check it out the next time you're in San Francisco!

xoxo

KK

uncle sam

Samantha got to meet her Uncle (and godfather) Sam last week!

Not only do they have very similar names...

...they have very similar haircuts, even with parts on the very same side. :)

These two peas in a pod also share a love for watching the Packers (win, preferably) with their beverage of choice:

As you can tell, they really hit it off.

With my mom and Sam here for the week, we had lots of adventures, including a trip down to Palo Alto to scope out the Stanford Business School campus.

Sam was all about fulfilling his uncle/godfather duties manning the helm of Samantha's stroller whenever possible.

When we checked out the student housing, the woman at the front commented:

"This housing is very popular, but our family housing on the other side of campus is also quite nice," as she smiled at Sam and I and the little bundle tucked away in our stroller.

We just smiled back.  

Our photo-taking on University Ave probably didn't give passerby-ers any other idea either. :)

Sam also fulfilled some domestic duties at home in the kitchen, whipping up some delicious Parmesan Chicken a la Ina Garten...

...as well as some succulent skirt steak for our Packers (and US Open :) party.

Which we enjoyed with some delicious and healthy sides thanks to my mom extraordinaire. 

Samantha, Stefan and I were all very sad to see them go.  

Come back soon!

xoxo

KK

visitors!

Last week when Stefan headed back to work, my parents and sister Gretchen came to visit and hang out.

Samantha was SO excited to meet her aunt...

...who quickly earned the title of "Baby Whisperer" for her magical ability to calm Samantha with a simple tummy rub.

Since we're pretty particular about letting Samantha be around other people before she gets her vaccinations (more on that another time), we spent lots of time hanging out at home - 
taking care of wedding to-dos for Gretchen's exciting nuptials coming up in November, 
eating delicious home-cooked meals, and 
watching some good (and not-so-good) movies.

We also took loads of long walks and had lots of lunches sitting outside at La Boulange:

Their fluffy, warm eggs are perfection on a cold, San Francisco August day :)

It felt like the week was over before it started.  Luckily, my mom and brother (!) are visiting next week to keep the babe and me company.  Samantha is already counting down the days.

xoxo

KK

coming home

Sadly, Stefan had to head back to work today.  We've had such a blast these past three weeks being home together with little Samantha - getting to know her little habits and squeaks, having yummy dinners in, watching movies, and establishing a quazi-routine.

Luckily, however, my parents and sister are in town this week to visit and help out.  I could not be more excited!

We were also lucky enough to have my parents come visit right after Samantha was born.  They came out the day before we went home from the hospital and took care of us getting our house in order to bring baby home.  Since I had thought we had another 2 weeks, I hadn't washed any of our baby clothes, sheets, or blankets.  Thanks Mom! :)

Because I was feeling great and Samantha was doing excellently, we left the hospital one day early so we could also have an evening of celebration at home with my parents.

Before we left, we thanked all our favorite nurses with some decadent La Boulange pastries.

My parents were waiting at our house to welcome us:

They then spoiled us with a decadent home-cooked meal which we enjoyed with a bottle of Veuve!

seared ahi tuna steaks with mango salsa, 

roasted veggies, fruit salad, and amazing grilled bread

They even got us a scrumptious cheesecake (Stefan's favorite!) to celebrate the big day:

We were sad to see them go, but knew they'd be back soon.  Details on this visit to come!

xoxo

KK

a shower for gretters

I have the great honor of serving as my lovely sister's Matron of Honor for her upcoming nuptials this fall.  While there are many important duties in such a role, one such obligation is that of the Bachelorette party - a critical rite of passage for many a bride.

Unfortunately due to Gretter's school schedule (she is a schoolteacher and is going to school herself) and my baby schedule (most airlines ground pregnant ladies ~1-2 months out for fear that they may go into labor mid-flight and force the plane to land), we couldn't find a date that worked.  After much discussion, we decided to have me opt out of said Bachelorette and instead have me host a more pregnant-lady-friendly bridal shower.

With the help of my party-planning-extraordinaire mother, we orchestrated a lovely get-together for friends and family at the condo Gretchen and Al recently bought in New Canaan, CT.  (What grown-ups!)

We opted for a low-key brunch with lots of yummy goodies catered by a local spot:

We did make-your-own yogurt parfaits, 

to-die-for mini muffins and scones, 

made-to-order lattes and cappuccinos,

fluffy, decadent baby quiche, and 

- since no bridal brunch is complete without some bubbly - assorted Mimosas.

Note: custom linen napkins with Gretchen and Al's wedding logo on them

Who doesn't love an excuse for Champagne at 11am?

After chowing down (and drinking up!), we watched as Gretters opened up some top-notch gifts - many of which would be put straight to good use in their brand new place!

There's nothing like some good place mats!

Note: coffee cups with G&A's wedding logo stamped on -

you know how I love stamping

We chatted and sipped and chatted some more as we showered the soon-to-be bride with advice, gifts, wisdom, and love.  While not quite a Bachelorette, the morning was a charming celebration of this lovely soon-to-be bride.

xoxo

KK

honesty

So this past Tuesday was my mom's birthday.

Since she has everything she could possibly want (and my dad always manages to take the cake in terms of presents - this year, he surprised her with a new BMW), us kids usually opt to send her a bottle of good champagne (her fav) to wherever she is dining that night or a nice bunch of flowers (who doesn't love fresh blooms?) to brighten up her desk.

from here

 

from here

This year, however, she happened to be down at their place in Florida, and unfortunately 
1. their go-to restaurant for dinner out (the Pink!) was closed (so they'd be dining at home), and
2. our go-to Gasparilla Island florist wasn't open until the end of the month.

Not wanting to stray from our original idea, we decided to just try out another florist.  The woman assured me they had a beautiful arrangement of Gerber Daisies (my mom's fav) in a lovely basket that would do the trick.  How bad could it be?

The answer to that question is:
very, very bad.

As soon as the flowers were delivered, she sent us kids a text:
"Thanks so much for the flowers! xxoo"

Curious as to whether our trial florist fit the bill, I responded:
"You're so welcome!  Are they cute?"

To which she replied:
"No not cute sorry!! I will send you a picture.  They are awful!!!!"

Gotta love her honesty.
Live and learn: don't use a florist you don't know.

Perhaps, we'll get our act together to pull this off for next year:

from here

Happy weekend!

xoxo

KK