Jess Loves Cupcakes

Friday Fifteen

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:37:00 +0000

Now that we're back from LA and don't have any upcoming trips, we're excited to spend some weekends in San Francisco! We've got some fun things planned for this 3 day weekend including a visit to the Academy of Sciences and maybe a trip to the Randall Museum or back to the Conservatory of Flowers to check out their new butterfly exhibit.

Rocking a pretty sweet mohawk and some short-alls on Nana's lap.

I think he likes the pool.

We got to participate in a Bagley family Sunday tradition - a walk to Corner Bakery at The Commons for breakfast. Henry ate his breakfast and then proceeded to eat Nana's too.

Checking out his birthday gift from Grandma Georgia and Papa Lee - a Prince Lionheart Wheely Cow. Also, suspenders.

Shot of the salt marshes while coming in for landing at SFO.

Not the best quality photo but I love it.

Eating breakfast at Nana and Grandpa's.

While Henry was napping last Friday, Scott and I got out to see Star Trek Into Darkness. Overall I thought it was an entertaining film, but I couldn't help but notice the shortage of strong female characters, and I wasn't the only one. The Star Trek franchise has historically been very progressive so I was disappointed that J.J. Abrams didn't continue that trend. I hope he does better with Star Wars.

Delicious treats: an ice cream sandwich, Grandma Ruth's pink popcorn (really need to learn how to make this to continue the family tradition), and Rick's famous margarita. As I mentioned on Instagram, this was my first margarita in a year and a half.

Grandpa Jim and Henry have matching hats.

The Henry paparazzi.

Dad, Mom, Elyse.

The lights at Blue Cow Kitchen were actually mixer attachments! I so want to do this in our kitchen now.

14 flights

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:04:00 +0000

Henry is only 11 months old but he's already been on 14 airplanes. We were perhaps a little overzealous with our travel in his first year but for the most part we've had fun taking him all over the country. He's a really easy going flier (so far, knock on everything) and the most he's ever cried is about 5 minutes on a flight home from San Diego. Otherwise, he's been happy to hang out, play with whatever random items he can get his little hands on, and flirting with flight attendants.

Flights 1 & 2 - SFO > LAX > SFO - this was our first trip with the little guy. He was small and immobile (3.5 months) and it was a short flight so it was pretty easy. I believe he fell asleep on both flights but this was during the "can fall asleep anywhere" phase.

Flights 3 & 4 - SJC > OGG > SJC - our first long trip! We upgraded to first class on Hawaiian in both directions to give us a little more room. He was happy as a clam the whole way. Slept, flirted with flight attendants, happily sat on our laps. He was sitting up by this point (5.5 months) and could roll over but was still happy to sit still for the most part.

Flights 5 & 6 - SFO > SNA > SFO - quick one night trip to visit Disneyland for Becca and Jenna's third birthday. Our only flights on Southwest this year (the less I fly Southwest the happier I am). In general we've found bulk head is the best place to be with a baby so I paid for early seating (SWA does family boarding AFTER A, so it's not that much of an advantage) to guarantee is the front row. On the way home the flight wasn't full so we took a whole row and Henry got his own seat, despite not paying for it, which is an advantage of SWA, but not a frequent enough occurrence that it's worth flying them more often. This was a short flight but I think he still slept both ways.

Flights 7 & 8 - SFO > SAN > SFO - this was our first trip after he was more mobile (9 moths) so I was a little worried. We didn't upgrade so we were a little tight, but it's a short flight so it wasn't too big of a deal. But Henry wanted to touch everything which does become problematic when someone is sitting in front of you. This was probably our most difficult trip, but that is really all relative. He cried once for 5 minutes trying to fall asleep on the way there then he was out in the oddest position on my leg. On the way home the people in front of us reclined their seats which was suboptimal (also, really?).

San Diego was also my first trip with Henry after breast feeding which meant packing was far more simple.

Flights 9 & 10 - SFO > JFK > SFO - our first long flight since Henry became mobile. We purchased Main Cabin Select seats so we could have the bulkhead row on the way to New York and Henry was able to play on the floor. On the way home Scott was not with us so I purchased Henry his own seat for his car seat, which once the seat belt sign was off was great for dancing and jumping.

Flights 11 & 12 - SFO > ORD > SFO - our first bad luck struck this trip when we had a 3.5 hour delay from SFO to Chicago. We knew about 1 hour before we left for the airport so thankfully we didn't spend the whole delay in the airport. We had upgraded to 1st class so hanging out wasn't terrible except for screwing with nap timing for the rest of the day. Henry even got to sit in the pilot's seat. On the way home our bad luck continued when Henry had an accident in the security line and we did not have any extra clothes. The one time I don't pack extra clothes! He flew home pantsless and then got a good bath when we arrived home.

Flights 13 & 14 - SFO > LAX > SFO - our last trip for the time being. This one was short and sweet, Henry didn't even need to nap on either flight. We didn't feel the need to upgrade for a 55 minute flight and Henry was fine for the short journey to and from LA.

Scott and I pretty much have the travel routine down. Some tips and tricks we've learned along the way:

Pack light. I know this seems impossible with a kid but we've got it down to as light a load as we can. I keep a packing list in Henry's room that I refer to whenever we pack his bag. We usually have one carry on each (mine is the diaper bag), the stroller, car seat, one piece of luggage for Henry, and one piece of luggage that Scott and I share. If it's a short journey, we also carry on our luggage. We gate check our stroller and carseat if we're carrying on our luggage, and check them with our luggage when we check bags. If you gate check, the stroller and carseat come to you in the jetway. We prefer to bring our own carseat to renting one. Yes it's one extra item, but we feel it's worth it. When I was breast feeding we had one extra carry on and would check our luggage.
Pacifiers are the best. Seriously. Helps Henry pop his ears, helps him fall asleep, and keeps him from making too much noise. Henry doesn't cry a lot but sometimes he screams with happiness which can be just as annoying to people who aren't his parents.
It's all about the baby carrier. We don't use the stroller in the airport. I always carry Henry in my Ergo. It allows us to use the stroller to carry bags (Henry's is usually a duffle and fits right where he'd sit) and the car seat and gives me the use of both of my hands.
Know the security routine.

I wear Henry through security. I use the metal detector instead of the xray and then get a little hand swipe. I still have to take off my jacket and shoes so I tend to wear slip ons and wear my jacket over the carrier. I usually make sure my shirt is long enough to hide my belt since I know it doesn't set off the metal detector but security makes me take it off if they see it, which is annoying while wearing the carrier.
Liquids: you can carry liquids for the baby, even squeeze pouches and water, as long as you separate it from the rest of your stuff. Sometimes they do a liquids test, usually they don't. I've carried water pre-measured in Henry's bottles, in my own water bottle, and in his sippy cup, and I've never had an issue.

Ask if the flight is full. Or keep your carseat until you board. If it's not, you may be able to use one of the extra seats for free. On the way home from Orange County we were able to give Henry his own seat and so brought on the car seat. On the way home from Chicago we had our row to ourselves but didn't know that before hand. If we had asked we would have been able to bring it on.
Don't buy hot coffee at the airport. We usually arrive sleep deprived and in my pre-child days I always got a large coffee for the plane. This makes just about everything impossible later on. Hot coffee has to be carried. In a hand. A hand that can be carrying bags, pushing a stroller, or dealing with a small child. Iced coffee also requires these things but can be drunk much faster, thus giving the caffeine boost without the hassle.
Hire a car. We've traveled to and from the airport in a number of ways. Our favorite is a car service that comes with their own car seat. We've also parked at the airport. Henry rides on the shuttle bus in his baby carrier. When in LA and San Diego we rent a car. It's easier than worrying about installing and uninstalling the carseat in various family vehicles.
Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. We're usually able to upgrade on our carrier of choice (Virgin America) and do so when traveling long distances. It's usually about the same as booking Henry his own seat and I prefer 2 seats in Main Cabin Select or 1st to 3 seats in coach (not a luxury we'll have much longer once he's old enough to require his own seat). We love the bulk head row. Henry plays happily on the floor at our feet and we don't have to worry about him disturbing anyone in front of us.
Everything is a toy. We've mostly stopped traveling with toys. Henry usually plays happily with everything BUT his toys when he's some place new so I scope out kid safe items and let him play with those. On the plane his favorites are cups, safety information cards, airplane remotes, my wallet, and anything he can pull out of his baby bag.
Just go with it. Things go wrong. The more you can roll with it, the happier you'll be, because when it comes to travel, anything that can go wrong likely will. If you're not a parent who can go with the flow, I wouldn't recommend traveling with a baby.

We're definitely going to keep traveling as long as Henry is happy to do so, but we're definitely going to travel much less in the coming year. We're already planning to return to Hawaii in December but that may be our only long flight in year 2.

Friday Fifteen

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

What is happening to 2013? How is it mid-May already?? Henry turned 11 months old yesterday and I I can't believe ONE is so close. This weekend we are in LA. Which means Henry flew for the 13th time yesterday. This was a short one, thank goodness, but he was his usual happy self, so no troubles there. Even more impressive was how good he was all day despite no naps in anything resembling a bed. Seriously don't know how we lucked out with this little bugger.

Our weekly photo sessions usually look something like this after 2-3 pictures.

Love the look of suspicion. Just wanted to take a photo with my little guy on my birthday.

We had a brief visit with Grandma Georgia and Grandpa Lee on Mother's Day.

Dr. Grandpa!

So sweet. Those hands. I die.

We went to the California Science Center to see Endeavor!

Continuing a graduation tradition. And Jimmy surprised my dad by flying in from Indiana for the occasion! He hadn't met Henry yet!

This facial expression was captured totally by accident but I love how it looks like Henry is punching his Great Grandma in the face. Really they were just playing. I think she was blowing raspberries on his hands.

Standing in his crib, contemplating the meaning of life.

Another birthday gift I need to write about. Have some items inbound from Amazon so I get get started on making some of the delicious recipes therein.

Clasped hands and crossed ankles (in argyle socks).

He's going to be ON the coffee table before I know it. Please ignore folded laundry.

His arms are excited. His face is not.

Flying in style.

Always. Spotted at Blue Cow Kitchen in downtown LA.

Congratulations, Dr. Dad!

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:57:00 +0000

A few years ago, my dad decided to return to school to get his Ed.D. at USC's Rossier School of Education. Though he actually defended his thesis at the end of last summer, today was his graduation ceremony and so we flew to LA this morning to celebrate Dr. Dad.

So about the photo on a stick. This is a graduation tradition in my family now that started when my sister graduated high school. My dad decided to blow up her high school portrait and put it on a yard stick.

At her college graduation she threatened to disown us if we did it again, so naturally we did.

She was, shall we say, not thrilled. It was totally worth it for the look on her face when she saw them.

My uncle decided turnabout is only fair play so he brought a whole bunch of photos of my dad for us to wave at today's ceremony. Which we did. With gusto.

Congrats, Dr. Dad! We are so proud of you!

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:32:00 +0000

So in case you didn't know, last Saturday was my birthday. It was a milestone birthday. One that freaks a lot of people out. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. I waver between not caring and generic thoughts about how quickly time passes. Mostly I am indifferent about the number because as a general rule I love celebrating anyone's birthday, especially my own.

A few days before my birthday, my sister-in-law warned Scott that we should be on the lookout for a delivery since it was something cold and would need to be unwrapped right away. I knew that could only mean one thing: I was getting something sweet and delicious in the mail. Um, amazing. I thought it might be cupcakes (notoriously difficult to ship) or cookies (thought those wouldn't need to be chilled) but I never imagined I would open up a box to find 5 beautiful pints of handmade ice cream. Giddy would be an understatement.

These beauties came carefully packed from Jeni's Splended Ice Creams. The five flavors are: salty caramel, queen city cayenne, goat cheese with red cherries, black coffee, and olive oil saffron orange caramel. They arrived rock hard so after snapping these photos I anxiously waited for them to be soft enough to scoop without flinging ice cream across the room.

The verdict: overall the ice creams are fantastic. The perfect creamy consistency. The salty caramel and black coffee are my hands down favorites but those are also two of my favorite ice cream flavors, so no surprises there. I also quite enjoy the goat cheese with red cherries, which is Scott's favorite. The queen city cayenne is really good but also really spicy. Like sneaks up on you and makes you cough for a few minutes spicy. I think it would be good with cake or cookies to help cut that but on it's own it's a little much. The saffron flavor I was not a huge fan of, though Scott says it's growing on him so I may have to try it again. I like all the constituent parts but saffron ice cream maybe isn't my thing.

Huge thanks to Christine, Sean, Becca, Jenna, and Tyler for the amazing gift of ice cream in the mail. It's a gift that keeps on giving!

Also, there was a bonus gift in the shipment for Scott - dry ice. He had a lot of fun playing around with it and basically totally geeking out.

Sugar Coma Chicago Style

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

My sugar coma adventures were combination of new and old favorites on this trip to Chicago. First stop was Do-Rite Donuts, an upscale donut shop that is only open each day as long as they have product to sell. Which is apparently not very long since at 9:00am they were already sold out of 3 flavors!

We chose 5 flavors to try (we have a problem) and purchased one extra maple bacon for Yogi. Clockwise from top left: maple bacon, toasted coconut, cinnamon crunch old fashioned, butterscotch old fashioned, and lemon old fashioned.

Old fashioned donuts are my weakness. I hadn't had one in so long so I was super thrilled to see them at Do-Rite. The verdict: cinnamon crunch old fashioned was hands down the winner of the day.

Next stop was a repeat visit to Sugar Bliss which I first visited in 2011. I love how they pipe the frosting on their cupcakes.

All of their cupcakes come in regular and mini size so we purchased 4 minis: banana, strawberry, chocolate peppermint, and coconut (that last one is all Scott). I have to say, these cupcakes were even better than I remembered. The strawberry (always my favorite) definitely used real strawberries in both the cake and the frosting and may actually be on par with Sprinkles' strawberry, my all time favorite.

I also couldn't resist snagging a birthday cake cakepop. It was predictably delicious.

Saturday night ended with chocolate birthday cake at Cut which was amazing. Usually I'm underwhelmed by restaurant cake but this was beyond delicious.

On Sunday we had lunch at Hannah's Bretzel which had perhaps the largest chocolate collection I have seen outside of a candy store. Quite a few varieties were Bay Area favorites and there were a few interesting ones I was eyeing but we panicked and ended up with a classic Milka milk chocolate bar.

Last sugar coma stop was the always delicious Garrett Popcorn Shop. I didn't think Garrett's CaramelCrisp popcorn could be anymore delicious and then I discovered they currently are offering milk and dark chocolate covered CaramelCrisp, so I was wrong about that.

I had planned to make one more stop for cupcakes, but sadly the shop was closed on weekends (seriously? who closes on the weekend??). There's always next time!

Chicago!

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Sun, 12 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

As I mentioned Friday, we traveled to Chicago last weekend as an early birthday celebration. We always have a good time in Chicago and this trip was no different! It was all about food, friends, and fun!

Unfortunately on the way out to Chicago we had a 3.5 hour delay. Luckily we were upgraded to 1st class (I love Virgin America!) so keeping Henry occupied wasn't too much work. We even made friends with the pilot who let Henry try the captain's chair.

Once we finally arrived, we met up with our friends and headed out to enjoy our favorite Chicago deep dish, Lou Malnati's. The butter in their crust is what makes them the best.

On Saturday we woke up and decided to get donuts from Do-Rite, thanks to a recommendation from Matt. I'll do another post all about the sugary goodness we consumed in Chicago, but let's just say this is my new favorite donut shop.

Couldn't resist making Scott pose in this giant S, part of an ad for the Picasso exhibit at the Art Institute.

After Henry's nap and lunch with everyone at Wildberry, where we discovered Henry likes lemons...

...we took a stroll through Millenium Park. Despite predictions of rain and chilly weather, the sun was out and it was beautiful! Though everyone calls it the bean, this public sculpture is actually called Cloud Gate and it's always an excellent photo opportunity.

Check out the bride and groom behind us!

Another favorite is Crown Fountain which made me wish we had a change of clothes for Henry with us so he could explore the water feature.

Then it was back to the hotel (we were at the W City Center) for a nap before our big dinner at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. Definitely one of the better steaks I've had. We'd definitely return next time we find ourself in the windy city.

Henry came dressed to impress in a cardigan from H&M (best baby clothes ever) and a bow tie onesie by Grandma Georgia.

Scott and Yog:

Scott tries to drink some wine while Swati plays with Henry:

Looking serious with Jonathan:

With Swati's cousin Anshu:

I snapped this from the La Salle St bridge on the way back to the hotel:

I may have had a little wine at dinner.

Sunday we checked out Hannah's Bretzel for lunch which was delicious and further proves all the good sandwich chains are in the midwest. Seriously, California, let's up our game.

The wall of artisan chocolates at Hannah's Bretzel:

Then after a quick pit stop at Garrett's (a must for any Chicago visit)...

...it was off to the Art Institute of Chicago! Scott has never been but this was my 3rd trip - it's definitely one of my favorite museums. You can see photos from my last visit here.

I love Chagall's America Windows.

After the museum, we strolled over to Buckingham Fountain, which I mentioned yesterday I've always wanted to check out. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be!

Sunday night we met Jonathan and Matt for dinner at Russian Tea Time. Can't say I'd ever had Russian before and it was pretty good! Henry was all over the beets which was surprising.

Monday it was back to SF. Thankfully no delays on the way home. Though Henry did have an airport incident that led to a plane flight with no pants. We managed to snag Main Cabin Select, continuing our success at getting bulk head seats for all long journeys with the H-man.

That's it for this trip to Chicago! I'll be back tomorrow with more on all the sugary goodness I managed to consume in just 2 days.

Friday Fifteen

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Last weekend we took a little trip to Chicago! I'm planning to post more about that soon - lots of photos and lots of sweet treats, as you would expect.

Since we were delayed 3.5 hours leaving SF last week, the pilot let Henry take a shot at being captain for a few. He was mostly confused :).

Live long and prosper. Henry did this completely on his own, and Scott was on the other side of the frosted door quietly freaking out over the awesomeness.

Cloud Gate always provides good photo opportunities.

A few snaps from the Art Institute:

This was my 7th trip to Chicago and I finally made it to Buckingham Fountain. If you've never been to Chicago and you're wondering why it looks familiar, this is why.

On the way home Henry had a blow out in the airport. Naturally it was the one time I did not have a change of clothes for him so he had to fly home sans pants. Worse things have happened. He got a nice bath when we got home.

Business casual:

His R2D2 sweatshirt finally fits! I've had this since he was about a month old. It's sadly no longer available.

I got ice cream in the mail from Christine, Sean, Becca, Jenna, and Tyler (review coming soon)!

King of the playground.

Yesterday I noticed Henry has started collecting things. In the morning I was folding laundry and in addition to his usual pull all the clothes out of the basket, Henry was finding all the single socks and putting them in one hand. Then last night in the bath he was doing the same thing with the foam bath letters. At one point we thought he might be grouping by color since he had 3 or 4 orange ones, but then he took a purple and a yellow, so it was probably just a coincidence.

And stuff and everything.

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:00:00 +0000

In which I share random items from the internet that have amused and delighted me lately.

The Bloggess's Rules for Life are pretty spot on.

My new favorite rebuttal to the annoyingly recurring "cupcakes are over!" and "xyz are the next cupcake!" articles.

Apparently Sprinkles has a secret menu. Need to go ahead and get on that.

No one does fireworks better than Disney. And on May 4th they had a special Star Wars fireworks show.

If you're not already aboard the John Krasinski train, welcome aboard. Am I the only one still watching The Office? Yes? Ok. Also, sometimes I feel like I should be watching more Jimmy Fallon.

Spock vs. Spock

Love this and this. This tumblr is pretty amazing, as a general rule.

You've got to be kidding me

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

I was searching Zappos for shoes for Henry (hello infant Vans) and came across these. For people who like flushing money down the toilet, I present to you $202 Fendi infant shoes. And I thought spending $30 on a pair of baby shoes was pushing it.

I suppose those are the gateway shoe to the $402 Fendi toddler driving shoe.

If you think these sound like a great use of money, I have an investment opportunity I think you might be interested in.

That's my boy

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

A few weeks back I let Henry have is way with a kitchen cabinet that doesn't hold anything dangerous for babies. He went straight for my cupcake tin.

It's good for gripping and then banging on the floor, of course. Cupcake tins: good for baking cupcakes and entertaining babies. You heard it here first.

A few things I've baked recently

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Sun, 05 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

In addition to not blogging much in the past 4 months, I also, sadly, haven't been baking much. I keep taking butter out of the fridge with the intention of baking, but then life with Henry happens and baking doesn't. Here's the pathetically short list of what I have baked recently. Although I feel like I might be missing a few things, so maybe more accurately this is a list of what I've baked recently and remembered to photograph.

(My apologies in advance for the sub-par photography. I didn't photograph these for the blog so they're not my best work, photo wise).

Chocolate cupcakes + vanilla buttercream + rainbow sprinkles for Azusa & Ryan's birthdays.

Single serve chocolate chip cookie made in the microwave. This was not that great. Let's go ahead and call it a Pinterest recreation fail.

Peanut butter pudding cookies. These. These. Make these. So so so good.

Chocolate cake with orange vanilla butter cream frosting and covered in M&Ms for my sister's birthday. My mom used to make cakes covered in M&Ms for our birthdays so this was a delicious cake full of nostalgia.

Vanilla cupcakes with cookie butter butter cream (yes, yes, a thousand times yes) for Desiree's birthday. And my feet.

Red velvet crinkle cookies for new year's eve. Still not a fan of any red velvet besides Cake Man Raven's.

Candy cane rice krispies. I baked these for Christmas. They were excellent. I will probably repeat them this Christmas.

Half a chocolate cake with funfetti frosting for Henry's half birthday!

Homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast.

I really do need to get baking again...

May the 4th Be With You

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Sat, 04 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Today is Star Wars Day! Scott was recently excited that both Henry and I were wearing Star Wars clothing and snapped this photo. Please forgive whatever it is that is going on on my head.

Star Wars Muscle Tee - Forever 21

Star Wars PJs - Old Navy (no longer available, similar option)

May the 4th be with you!

Friday Fifteen

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Hooray for Fridays!

Henry is totally obsessed with the washer and dryer. He could watch them all day.

Scott was making him laugh here. He loves his dad.

More evidence of dad loving.

Photo bomb!

Saturday at the Conservatory of Flowers!

Wednesday morning at Luke's house.

Joe's-Os are the bestest.

Short-alls. Completely and totally dead. Cutest thing ever.

ahhhhhhhhh.....

Little feet and little shoes.

We bought bubble bath.

Toy remote is tasty.

Chile Pies (& Ice Cream)

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, based on a recommendation from Scott's boss, we decided to check out Green Chile Kitchen and Chile Pies (& Ice Cream). The New Mexican fare at Green Chile Kitchen was delicious but the real winner of the experience was dessert down the street. Though I was tempted by their pie shake (exactly what it sounds like), I kept things simple with a slice of blueberry, basil, and apple pie a la mode.

Scott is a huge pie fan and although I used to turn my nose up at it (cake for life!), I've definitely come to appreciate a good slice of pie and this was a good slice of pie. I absolutely loved the crust (my favorite part) and the innards were a perfect combination of sweet and tart, though I didn't really taste the basil. Thankfully (or not, depending on how you look at it), Chile Pies is not too far from home so I definitely see repeat visits in our future.

Henry Loves the Park - Duboce Park Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Now that Henry is pretty mobile, he loves spending time at the park. At first he would only ride the swings. Now he prefers crawling all over the place, exploring the play structures, and going down the slide. Since we live right down the street, our usual playground is Duboce Park but we've also explored a number of other parks in San Francisco as well as one in San Diego and a few in New York! I thought I'd share some pictures and info on our favorite playgrounds for future reference. First up is Duboce Park Playground.

The big winner of this playground is its proximity to our house. But it's also a great playground for smaller fries like Henry. There is only one small sand pit which is fantastic (yay for no sand in my shoes) and the rest of the playground is covered in squishy flooring made from recycled tires.

There are two play structures - one for little guys and one for bigger kids, though Henry is happy climbing around both as long as there aren't too many big kids around. There's also another play area for bigger kids next to the basketball courts that looks like it will be tons of fun in about 5 years.

On the smaller play structure there is a tunnel that Henry has been crawling through. He likes to peek through the holes in the side.

One of Henry's favorite things at the playground is these mushroom looking things. There's a series of them for big kids to walk onto the play structure but Henry prefers using them to stand up and has recently started moving between them. The little screw holes also collect water and are the perfect size for little exploring fingers.

And of course, the swings are always a big hit:

There are 3 slides at the playground - 2 smaller ones and a big twister. We're trying to teach Henry how to go down the slide on his belly but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of it just yet.

Other bonus features of this playground are the multiple seating areas and the nice mixture between sun and shade. Additionally it is right by the East Portal Muni stop and I'm sure not too long from now Henry will delight at watching the trains go by.

Can't resist sharing this video from the first time Henry actually smiled on the swings. My parents were in town and got to witness the magic. Now he can't get enough of them.

Obviously we've spent a lot of time at Duboce Park but we have a few other favorites in the city too. We're always trying to find new playgrounds to explore!

Bonus shot: Henry hanging (with no help from me) from the monkey bars. This was on our first trip to the park when he was still unsure of the whole situation.

El Diablo

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Despite living in Noe Valley for 2 years, until Sunday I had never had a cupcake from Noe Valley Bakery. I'm kind of a cupcake snob and their cupcakes never really jumped out at me, looks wise. I've heard good things, though, so I decided to give them a go on a stroll down 24th St this weekend. I did appreciate that they have mini versions of their cupcakes as the regular size were pretty big. I decided on the El Diablo since it's hard to go wrong with chocolate on chocolate.

Someone on Instagram commented that it should be called the Mr. Hankey. Can't be unseen!

It was a pretty good cupcake - very chocolatey, moist cake, VERY fudgy and rich frosting. I'm glad I went with a mini because it was the perfect size for something that rich. I don't think I'd make a special trip to the neighborhood to have another, but I'll probably treat myself the next time I find myself in that neck of the woods.

I do have to add that I wish the staff was a little friendlier. No one greeted us when we entered and I had to get someone's attention to get helped despite being the only customer in the bakery.

Well that's one way to do it

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:00:00 +0000

We recently purchased Henry a push toy after our nanny sent us a video of him using one at an indoor playground. He loves to push it back and forth across the living room, he just isn't exactly walking when he does it.

However he uses it, it's definitely a new favorite toy around these parts.

Sugar Coma NYC Style

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Whenever I visit New York I plan my day around food. This time was no different as I visited old favorites and found some new ones. Shockingly, I didn't have a single cupcake. Instead I overdosed on sugar in the form of...

...Magnolia banana pudding. Most people go for the cupcakes. I think they're over-rated. The banana pudding, though, is not.

...macarons from Sugar and Plumm. While dinner was only OK, the dessert offerings at Sugar and Plumm are delicious. The macarons in particular were excellent - my favorite is a tie between the strawberry poppy seed and the chocolate covered banana. We also split the Jack Tripper sundae with Lindsay and Rob which was also quite tasty, particularly the brownie bites.

...ice cream from Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. I had the Salty Pimp cone which was really good. However, I'm not a huge fan of the texture of their ice cream. It was too fluffy while I prefer a creamier texture. I skipped a trip to Sweet Revenge in favor of Big Gay Ice Cream, but I think next time I'll stick with a cupcake.

...a donut from Dunkin' Donuts. Overrated. Same for their coffee. Yeah, I said it.

...a pretzel croissant from City Bakery. This is more salty than sweet but I felt it deserved a spot on the list. This was my 3rd visit to City Bakery and it never fails to satisfy.

... a peanut butter cup cookie from Big Booty Bread Co. This was an excellent cookie. Perfectly moist, as a peanut butter cookie should be, and delicious to boot. Happened upon this bakery by accident and so glad we went inside.

...doughnuts from the Doughnut Plant. I may have gone here twice. These are "fancy doughnuts," but I think they are worth the cost. I love the inventive flavors and the space is really fun as well. Bonus: great coffee. I believe a Blackout Cake is pictured below but my favorite was a lemon cake doughnut from an earlier visit. I just checked their website and wish I could try the pineapple that is currently available!

...the Liege wafel with spekuloos spread from Wafels and Dinges. I happened upon this truck on accident on a visit 2 years ago and made a point of returning this trip (the truck is usually parked outside the 59th and 5th entrance to Central Park). My first visit was also my introduction to cookie butter. My life has not been the same since.

...crack pie and birthday cake balls from Momofuku Milk Bar. This is a must for every visit to NYC. Crack pie is as addictive as advertised and probably has enough butter to shock even Paula Deen. We took advantage of our hotel room mini fridge and bought a second slice for the next day.

... a strawberry shake and Natural History Crunch-stellation concrete (separate visits) from Shake Shack. Scott had yet to visit Shake Shack so we visited the Madison Square Park location on our first night in the city. After a trip to the Hayden Planetarium later in the week, we stopped by the UWS location for a concrete. When I first visited Shake Shack a couple of years ago, I swore it was better than In 'N Out. I'm now backtracking on that somewhat. I think In 'N Out burgers are better, but Shake Shack dominates their fries and shakes. The line is almost always insane at Shake Shack, but if you're just getting custard you can use their C-line which is usually empty.

...The Euphoria Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Sundae from Max Brenner (no picture). We actually ate here 2x because of the big menu and the fact that they have high chairs, which are apparently rare in New York. I'm also a fan of their cocoa dusted french fries.

Bonus shots! We did not buy this giant Rice Krispie Treat but we had to photograph it. It's Henry sized!

Henry's eyeing the giant peep...

Let's give this another go...

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:06:00 +0000

So I disappeared there for a bit. Sorry about that! I love blogging but sometimes I get out of the habit for a bit and then the longer I go without, the harder it is to start up again. But I've been meaning to get back into it so here we go! A lot has happened since I was last here, so here are the highlights!

We had Christmas in San Francisco with my family. I even got my first Christmas tree!

We rang in 2013 in Sonoma with friends, including these fools who finally came to visit after moving to Baltimore 2 years ago.

We went to Disneyland to celebrate Becca and Jenna's 3rd birthday. Henry pretty much chilled in the stroller the whole day, but I couldn't resist getting him his first set of ears!

My parents came to visit and we took Henry on his first trip across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was really loud and as a result he was not a fan.

Scott got LASIK!

We took a trip to San Diego where Henry got to spend some quality time with his cousins.

And we took a trip to New York! I had to work so Scott and Henry joined me for a week in the chilly Big Apple.

Henry milestones!

He eats real food:

He stands:

He has a nanny! At the beginning of the year Henry started share care with the best nanny ever, Patricia. We trade off weeks at home with the other family (their son, Luke, is 3 months younger). Henry and Luke are really starting to interact and they both love Patricia. We couldn't have asked for a better day care situation.

He sometimes does yoga:

He loves the swing:

He doesn't love the carousel:

He crawls:

He has 3 teeth:

He gives high five:

He can climb up stairs:

He claps:

And he now codes in Java:

Just kidding on the last one.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000

I've gone and disappeared here again. Hopefully I'll fix that after the holidays! In the mean time, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and merry day off to everyone else!

Friday Fifteen (Saturday Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:21:00 +0000

[I'm a day late because Blogger was being a pain in the butt yesterday.]

We've had a pretty busy week this week. After flying back from Hawaii on Saturday (Henry did awesomely on the plane home), we attended a wedding on Sunday which was followed by the arrival of Scott's parents. Scott and his dad then spent Monday and Tuesday installing a new pantry in our kitchen and crown molding in our living room. Thursday was Scott's birthday and we bought a Christmas tree (my first!) and on Friday we celebrated over dinner with friends.

In other news, Henry had is first taste of solid food on Wednesday! He's been enjoying banana each morning. Well, not exactly enjoying as he makes a face every time he takes a bite, but he doesn't cry and seems to do ok with the whole process. Today we tried avocado and got similar results. I think he might just be getting used to this whole solid foods business.

Family photo from Hawaii (including Henry's super cute Hawaiian outfit):

Henry looking dapper at Rachel & Adam's wedding (congrats again, you two!):

Face full of banana:

Hanging out with Grandpa Lee:

Trying out his shopping cart cover (made by Grandma Georgia):

Posing with a Henry sized tree at Clancy's Trees (just now seeing that the camera strap made it into the photo too - good job, Scott!):

Decorating the tree (I think this is the only ornament Scott hung, though to be fair, he did do the lights):

Henry Claus:

Loving "Elmo's Song" which Yogi played for him:

Trying out sitting on Dad's shoulders (while holding onto Scott's hair for dear life):

Snuggling with daddy:

Birthday cake courtesy of Yogi and Ripple:

Christmas tree all lit up and decorated:

Opening a Chanukah present from Grandma Karla:

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Birthday, Scott!

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Happy 30th to my wonderful husband, best friend, and partner in crime. You're the best and I love you.

Friday Fifteen (Hawaiian Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 01:44:00 +0000

Today's Friday Fifteen is brought to you from the land of Aloha where we are finishing up a quick vacation to Maui in celebration of Scott's upcoming 30th birthday. Henry was a champion on the flight, only whimpering a few times and mostly spent his time sleeping or charming the flight attendants with his smile.

Henry has adjusted to Hawaiian time pretty well. Our first night here he was up by 4:30am but yesterday he slept until 5:30 and today wasn't up until 8am! Of course now we're going back to California tomorrow so he'll have to adjust back but it's only 2 hours so not too much work :).

We discovered this week that Henry loves the pool. We had an inkling given his love of bath time but this week he has spent a significant amount of time in the pool and can go about an hour before whining to get out. I purchased this floatie from Amazon before we left and it is the best money I have ever spent. He just sits back and relaxes.

We're heading back to San Francisco tomorrow and are sad to be leaving. But we know we'll be back!

The hotel even had a lei for Henry!

Having a ball in the pool:

Fell asleep on the way to dinner while holding his toy:

Dinner with a view:

Not a huge fan of the ocean water (it was chilly):

Happily sitting on the beach with his feet in the sand (it's really soft!):

Guy paddleboarding with his dog:

Hanging out by the pool:

Trying to take a bite of mommy's chicken lunch (he's so ready for some solid food):

My "small" Hawaiian Shave Ice from Ululani's:

A shirt made for Yog:

3 fingers in the mouth:

Double fisting some juice and coffee on the plane:

Baby feet in the sand:

The look of pure joy on his face is the best:

Henry's First Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Jess) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Finishing up my Thanksgiving re-visit posts is the main event itself. This was Henry's first Thanksgiving and although he didn't get to enjoy any of the delicious meal himself, he had a great day seeing many of his relatives and being his usual cute self.

Smiling with Grandpa Lee on Thanksgiving morning:

Hanging out with Grandma Georgia:

With Grandpa Rick:

Every year my sister and cousins make homemade butter. They've been doing this since they were probably 6 or 7. My favorite part of this tradition is no one ever eats their butter.

Elyse outsourced her shaking to Kenny:

Henry with Great Grandma Beverly:

Checking out his new rocking horse with Great Grandpa Jim:

I think he likes it:

Some snuggles with Auntie Elyse:

He was a little skeptical of his Great Great Uncle Don at first. Don't worry Henry, we all are!

Henry's blurry in this one but I loved the big smile:

Unwrapping another early Christmas gift. And by unwrapping I mean eating the ribbon.

Getting some upside down time with Daddy (which he loves, even though you couldn't tell from this photo).

Getting some snuggles with Grandma Karla while she directs traffic in the kitchen.

Saying hi to Great Aunt Trish.

An extra turkey breast on the BBQ (which turns out to be an excellent turkey cooking method).

I do not remember taking this photo.

Basting.

Lee and Scott get a lesson in making the most delicious candied yams on the planet. Seriously.

Grandma making magic.

Turkey's out!

Mom and Lee carving it up.

A little time with Grandpa Rick before dinner.

The feast. Turkey, 2 kinds of stuffing, cranberry sauce, candied yams, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and rolls.

Obligatory plate shot.

The End.