geraciblog 

Last weekend, we spent a good amount of time out and about with Marion. First we went to Golden Gate Park for the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. For those that don't know what it is–we didn't before we went–it is a large free concert in Golden Gate Park spanning the whole weekend, with over seventy bands, five stages, and over a hundred thousand people, sponsored by an eccentric billionaire. Only in San Francisco, right? We saw three or four bands, and since it coincided with Fleet Week, we also got to see the Blue Angels a few times. Marion loved it because it gave me an excuse to dance around for hours while holding her, which is pretty much all she wants, anyway.

The next day we woke up at the crack of dawn and headed up to Petaluma to watch Jackie cox at the Wine Country Rowing Classic. Jackie had a great time rowing with her old team from Los Gatos. It was her first time getting back on the water since Marion was born. Marion and I had fun cheering her on and taking photos. After that, we headed back to Golden Gate Park. This time, however, we were going to visit some friends of mine from college. Several of them were in town for my friend, Megan's, wedding and decided to get together in Golden Gate Park the day after the wedding for some kickball and food.

My cousins came to visit from Albany, NY. This was their first time to San Francisco, so they did all the tourist stuff. Their tour, however, included plenty of quality time with Maid Marion.

So Marion has actually been smiling now for about two weeks, and we've been trying to capture the über-cuteness of it on video for those playing along at home. Unfortunately, Marion has been less than cooperative with our efforts. Well, we finally got a bona fide smile on camera today. Some of the attempts along the way were pretty cute too, though. So, if you just want to see the smile and get out, skip ahead to Part VI.

A wise man once said, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Okay, so while the overall wisdom of Ringo Starr is debatable, the sentiment has never been more apropos for us.

As new parents, it is often difficult to maintain a facade of sanity. Suddenly you find yourselves thrust into a very small world in which conversations are dominated by talk of bodily elimination (admittedly, for some of us that's not too far of a stretch from normal life). Sleep becomes interrupted, schedules become delayed, and something as simple as going to the store to get food becomes a whole ordeal.

Cole's in the belly on the left at Noah & Louise's wedding

The insanity only compounds when your strange little world exists in isolation. You begin to question everything. Do other people have to stop their car every mile to change a juicy diaper in the wayback of their station wagon? If so, then why do I never see people looking as silly as I feel? The problem is that the mania feeds into and perpetuates itself. The grander the delusions, the less likely you become to break the cycle by venturing out of the house, minimizing your chances of someday returning to normalcy.

This is where friends come in—especially those that are similarly situated and haplessly deranged. We have had the good fortune of getting to know Neil, Caitlin and their baby, Cole. You may (but probably don't) remember them from such posts as Noah & Louise's Calistoga Wedding. Anyway, Neil & Caitlin have helped us to regain our sanity on many levels. Most obviously, they have given us the we're-going-through-the-same-thing reassurances that we've so desperately needed. More importantly, they have reminded us that we still have the ability to carry-on an adult conversation and to have friends like normal people despite having our little people along with us. But most importantly, they have egged us on to do more with Marion than we probably would have had the courage to do without them.

For instance, they had the wonderful idea to drive two hours up the coast to spend three days in a scenic cabin by the sea. We said they were crazy, but next thing you know we're packing up the dogs, several dozen diapers, a kitchen full of food, and our yoga ball and taking our three-ring circus on the road! We picnicked at the beach, at a vineyard and at a park. Sure, everywhere we went we brought along a lot of insanity, but we left a little behind too. We had so much fun on our first vacation with Marion and the Hassers, that we're already thinking about the next one—maybe camping?

So, without further ado or fanfare, here are some pictures from our first family vacation with the Hasser family…

We were very excited to have our good friend and honorary long-lost sister, Marnie, visiting us from Boston this week. We finally got to meet her boyfriend, Mike. Unfortunately for them, Marion had several meltdowns this week, largely due to the hot weather. Despite her unpredictable cantankerous-ity, we still managed a relaxing trip up to Napa today for wine and cheese at Ceja, our favorite vineyard.