Back in the PNW

Some casual reading with a friend.

So, at home, Fiona sleeps in our room in this wicker bassinet from the Farrar clan (Elliott's mom's peeps).  Sometimes we wake up in the middle of the night because the bassinet's creaking violently.

The night before we went to San Diego I turned on the lights really dim and caught this hungry dolphin action on camera.  

At our Tuscan estate in San Diego she got her first taste of sleeping in a crib.  It felt a little like Hickory going to States.  But she got used to it.  

So we were at this massive family medicine conference, going to lectures together during the day (with Nancy, Matt, Bielak, Sonal, DeeDee, Brett, Scott) and hanging out in the evenings.  There were also long lunch breaks, so Elliott and Fiona picked me up to go nurse on a beach and find lunch.  Here they are on Pacific Beach.  Fiona is rediscovering her foot.  

Here's her first Pacific dip in Sail Bay in the Mission district (terminology check?).

Second dip.

Sail bay lunch stop at a closed (and shaded) snack bar. 

Flying baby with palm tree.  

Contemplating the southern climate during a diaper change in La Jolla on a field trip with Pop. 

This amazing little human figured out all sorts of new things in the past week.  Something clicked and her trunk strength is a lot more coordinated all of a sudden.  I'm now totally aware that she could fling herself out of my arms from positions that used to feel secure.  Here she is exploring her skills while I pin her down a little.  Look at that double hand coordination, too!

Morning snuggle time.  

What a wonderful little butt!

On the last day we took a late afternoon drive up past UCSD to Torrey Pines State Reserve and dragged the stroller through some nice bluffy trails overlooking the ocean. 

Then we met up with friends who were hanging on a more beachy beach.  

Matt took this sunset picture.

Incidentally, this was the last photo he had texted to us.  What an amazingly full year it's been.

The flight home went smoothly (though I think the nice young Best Buy camera salesman in the background felt awkwardly trapped by our incessant breast-feeding; everyone else on the plane is grateful she wasn't crying).  She's a very easy traveler.  

And now we're home with all its comforts!