Last month we went to San Francisco for S's first time, to celebrate our anniversary, spend some real quality time with Uncle Reggie (Erwin's brother) and just relax together as a family with friends before baby #2 gets here. It was such a magical trip. We stayed at a lovely AirBnB house in San Anselmo, CA (which is in Marin). It had 4 bedrooms - which really means Sanaa had 3 bedrooms and we had one. The house owners who were away in England had such a warm, welcoming home - even leaving us treats to welcome us. The garden had 4 levels to it, in that very California way. And that was just the house.
S bonded with her Uncle Reggie - finding him to be her path to trashy food that Mom (and even Dad!) would not let her eat, her Legos building partner, her guitar friend, her silly face making buddy, and perhaps most importantly for little girls: the other pillar to the strength of her father. Seeing the 3 of them walking around, playing, etc. was just so heartwarming to me.
I got some much needed time with Wendy/Ben and family, with all of us going to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, chased by bees, "losing" Atticus for a few minutes, and watching S follow Tallulah around everywhere, and Miss T indulging her as she has in the past. It was followed by lunch at a lovely restaurant , letting the dads take care of the kids while Wendy and I looked out on the grass from the porch of the restaurant on a beautiful day in Marin.
Families need trips like this, not particularly scheduled, with lots of friends and family, and in warm, homey places.
Here are some pictures from the month.
But wait! That's not all. This was a month where Erwin and I got to get away for the weekend by ourselves and when S found out her favorite big cousin CC was coming to stay with her, she had this to say, or dance as the case may be. It's just so cute to be that excited about seeing someone.
July 4th meant a block party on our block, and her first time to play out in front since no cars were allowed. A very interesting dynamic manifested as she brought out her toys to the other kids on the block for the first time. The girls were the first to come over, play and then leave. The boys came over later, and stuck around for a lot longer. As Erwin said "so if I sleep in on a holiday, I come out to my daughter serenading a bunch of boys???". See below.
And finally, here are some parting philosophical thoughts by S.
(here's a link to the webpage in case you don't see the videos)
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