Yes, she started laughing! Not a belly laugh — I can’t wait for that! — but a nice cute little giggle. She’s also been playing with her hands, and putting them in her mouth a lot. Other accomplishments so far: rolling to one side; holding her head up straight and high; and making vowel sounds like ah and ooh. She also has the cutest little sigh you’ve ever heard.
And here’s a little video of her laughing:
More photos, after the jump.
Sam and I will be spending lots of time together over the weekends from now on. Greg got a great new job copy editing at The Daily, and his hours are Saturday and Sunday nights. It’s so terrific for Srimp. No day care once I have to go back to work on Feb. 1. It’s not so terrific for spending quality family time together around the Farm. So we’re a little sad about that. But the good far outweighs the bad, and Srimp and I had quite a few laughs this first weekend. I held her and we practiced smiling and making talking noises, and then she went to bed and I sewed some vintage buttons on my coat.
On Sunday, we walked down to the farewell potluck supper at church for our Rector, Richard Gressle, who has retired after 16 years. He will be missed!
I’m sure we’ll find plenty to keep us busy these weekend nights. But we will miss Hunna lots!
While I’m off work, I’ve been attending a Wednesday morning Mom group that focuses on breastfeeding. (See, this is a food blog, after all, right?) Breastfeeding Arts, a group run by my lactation consultant (and now friend), the incomparable Deirdre, and her partner, Lenore, have organized what’s called the Breastfeeding Cafe and New Mother Support Group. It’s a laid-back, cool place to talk about breastfeeding and other new mom things — and also a nice place to meet other moms. The group meets at a studio in Nyack Yoga @ 42 Main. I’ve loved to just hang for an hour and realize that I’m not alone in this whole new mom thing! Here’s Sam with Alon, whose birthday is just three days before Sam’s.
A few cute photos of the babies, after the jump.
Maybe it was the rice and beans from Maura’s the night before, but I had a hankering for Harry’s. And the weather was so gorgeous that we decided to make an afternoon of it. We walked down the long way, stopped for lunch, walked a bit more, stopped for coffee, and then headed home. Come along and share our outing!
Harry’s chilaquiles, which are top-notch.
We’d heard the chicken pot pie from The Market in Palisades was killer. The guy behind the counter told Greg people get pissed if they come and he’s run out. So while we were at The Filling Station for burgers, we picked one up for our New Year’s Eve supper.
We ate our pot pie and salad while watching a movie. We barely made it to midnight. Happy New Year!
Christmas 2011 came to a close with a pork tenderloin dinner and a delicious chocolate dessert from Didier Dumas. Chris was truly in love.
I must have walked past the main branch of the New York Public Library a hundred times, but I’ve never been inside. Today, that all changed. We took in the sites, including those famous lions, a Gutenberg Bible that was on display inside, and, of course, the Rose Reading Room.
Yes, we’re back. We thought it would be a fun spot to take Sarah and Chris and the kids. Indeed, it was! We got a table by the ice rink and sat under the heat lamps, enjoying burgers and soups. We even got to see Boo, who was able to join us last minute. What fun!
Jane stayed home, and Mae was beside herself about being alone with her Mommy in the city. “I don’t even have to share my hot dog!” she exclaimed. What’s better than that?
I have some pretty cute video of Sam cooing and smiling, both in her basinet and as she stares up at the mobile on her changing table.
Thanks to Sari and Brian for the super-cute pink elf outfit, too! Videos and more photos, after the jump.
With just two children opening gifts,the living room at the Ranch got just as trashed as if all seven adults and three children were participating. The joy of giving!
And afterwards, we had a reprise of what is sure to become an SCF winter classic: Joan Nathan’s brisket (recipe here). With a bit of creamy polenta? My god is that good.
More presents and dining, after the jump.
For a little holiday diversion, we took the kids to see the butterfly exhibit and the dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Oh how Mae hoped a butterfly would land on her hand. Alas.
Everyone, however, was sufficiently wowed by the T-Rex and his cousins on the fourth floor:
Sarah and Wilson and the girls arrived late on Boxing Day. We’ll open the presents tomorrow. Today, Mae and Jane just really want to meet “baby cousin.”
And after the kids went to bed, Sarah had some alone time with Sam:
Our annual Christmas tradition: tamale supper.
This year, we started with margies, too.
We spent Christmas morning around the Farm, having coffee by the tree and talking to family members from afar. Here’s Sam, Face Timing with Jessica and Reece:
Yes, that’s one of her three Christmas outfits.
You think she knows how cute she is? A few more pics, after the jump.
We had a quiet Christmas Eve this year. Chris is here, and the folks, of course. But Sarah doesn’t arrive until Monday. And of course, Grandmom isn’t here anymore. But we welcome a new family member to the table. Merry Christmas, Samantha.
We started the evening off by walking down to church. It was a brisk evening; the kind where the wind chafes your cheeks just enough to keep them pink, but not so much where you need to draw your lapels closer.
Then we all gathered at the Ranch for Perfect Parallels, Beef Bourguignon and Honey-Spiced Madeleines with Ice Cream. Once again, Sam had milk.
Come see our evening, after the jump.
We celebrated Christmas Eve Eve with Kelli and Patrick and their family. Cathy and Ed were down from Syracuse, Mary Ellen was there from Vestal and the entire Leon family was in from Virginia to celebrate. Here’s Ralph with Meghan and Alicia:
We celebrated Leigh’s birthday with a delicious supper at the ranch. In attendance were Sam, naturally, and Les Gilberts: Peggy and Jim. Mom made her favorite lamb recipe, Lamb Charmoula, which came from Epicurious years ago. The house was festively decorated for Christmas and the whole gang had a glorious time.
The birthday boy:
Greg made up a carol to sing to Sam. It kept her quiet while we were waiting for the doctor. In fact, we think she rather enjoyed it.
Here’s another cute photo of Greg and Sam.
Our friend Mary Lynn; Marissa’s mom, Sue; and our doula, Jen, all stopped by the farm to visit Sam this week. Here are few photos from their visits.
Here’s Jen:
Mary Lynn:
And Sue:
A few more photos, after the jump.
Sam’s arrival put the kibosh on a Thanksgiving celebration out this year, so Judy and the gang invited us over for a pasta supper instead. It was pretty similar to Thanksgiving, except for the singing. And the turkey. We didn’t have any. Turkey or singing.
A few photos in bed with little Sammy. I could just cuddle her all day long.
Kelli and I are taking on a little Christmas project. Some years it’s Buche de Noel; other years, it’s cookies. This year, it’s stockings. At least we’re hoping it is! We got started the other day at Kelli’s house.
After last year’s experiment with the concept tree, we went back to our traditional white lights. We did, however, hang the Christopher Radko ornaments with special pride this year, knowing each was purchased by Grandmom.
As usual, we walked down to the local firehouse to get our tree.
Here’s a little video of Greg while we were picking out this year’s Tannebaum!
After the jump, Greg puts the tree in its stand. And a couple photos of Sam, naturally.
Sam with her stroller, car seat and bassinet for the stroller. This wonderful gear was donated to the farm by some very generous friends. Thank you Young-Yi and Amy!
A couple more photos of Sam, including a cute one with Daddy, after the jump.
Our daughter, Samantha Grace, was born at 3:07 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2011 at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. She was 8 pounds, 14 ounces and 20.5 inches long.
A big ol’ slideshow of photos of her from birth through her first bath and her first trip to the mall (with Gregory!) is below. Hit the conversation bubble in the left bottom corner to see captions, if you’d like.
We got the new PDT Cocktail Book, and shook up a batch of our first victims, the Brandy Crusta.
Mom and Leigh came over and we visited with Sam in the living room, enjoying our Turkey Carcass Soup for supper.
Turkey Carcass Soup recipe here. Brandy Crusta recipe here.
For Sam’s first trip to the mall (with Gregory!), we had lunch at a brand-new food court stand called Cheese Boy, and took in a 2 p.m. showing of The Descendants. First, the sandwich.
A well-made sammy with good bread, butter and fresh ingredients. We were happy indeed. I also got a tomato soup. Photos of that, and Sam in her stroller for her first mall experience, after the jump.
Sam’s first trip to Grace Episcopal Church. She really enjoyed the music — it was like her own little lullaby.
Our friends Pete and Jeannine stopped by to pay Sam a visit on Saturday morning. It was great to catch up.
After the jump, a few more photos. Of Sam. Of course.
