Actually, all about the girls!

Not the Bongard girls, for a change, but THE girls. The gang. Lenlee invited us to her chill pad in Mill Valley for a hike and happy hour, and everyone showed up! I was able to go, because Russell offered to babysit. He’s been dying to spend the day alone with Riley since she was born. Now that we have a pump, he was able to take charge. I left two bottles in the fridge, and was on my way!

Here is the gang, at the top of one of the hills (from left, Lenlee, Tamara, Lysee, Stephanie, Pifer, Rachel, me in front with Zoe and Chip. Ali is afraid of the flash, and Biki was the photographer):



The dogs showed up: I brought Zoe, Biki brought Ali, and Pifer brought Chip. They all got along really well, and played each other out. Zoe has been sleeping since we got home.

We started the day with a glass of champagne. Here is Pifer and Biki enjoying that:



Pifer and Chip:



Zoe and Chip played hard right from the start:



Then the hike... oh man, what a hike. We were up and down the hills of Marin for about 2 hours or so. It was absolutely beautiful. Here’s one of our views:



I am so out of shape, I was wishing someone was there to carry me! I sure could use a hike like that every weekend. Zoe loved it, too. Of course, she dragged around the biggest stick she could find:



When we got back, Lenlee had tons of hors d’oeuvres and wine. It was so awesome to hang out with all the girls. That was the best thing about today. We got to have girl talk that would totally gross out all the boys, we ate, drank our wine, and enjoyed the fire in the fireplace. I’m so happy (and lucky) to have such a great group of friends. Not easy to find. But I really missed Riley a lot... something was a little ‘off’ all day because we were apart.

Russell and I checked in throughout the day. They were having a hip-hop day. Russell was playing some Jay-Z or something, and dancing around like a looney-tune, and Riley was laughing at him. Here is Riley being hip-hop:



By the way, the irony in that hat is that Gualala is the town where she was conceived. Nice touch, dad!

They had a nice, long walk in Golden Gate Park. Riley loves the park. She gazes up at the green leaves and the blue sky and just smiles and smiles. She also frowns a lot, trying to figure it all out. Learning more every day. She loves the fresh air; it’s a sure way to get her to zonk out for a nap.



They went to see the buffalo, the anglers, and the police horses:



About 5 hours into the day, Russell sounded a little frantic. “How’s it going?” I asked. “Well, we’ve had a big walk, I’ve fed her, had some tummy time, put her on the playmat, played in the Exersaucer, took her on the porch, danced for her, and she won’t stop crying!” I just laughed. A tad desparately, Russell asked, “What’s wrong with her?!?!”



Aaaaah, I had a day off... now daddy realizes that as fun as it can be to hang out with an infant all day, it’s not always easy!! When I got home, she was all smiles again. Guess she missed me. Well, it was her first time away from me for more than an hour or two. Understandable. We’ll take it slow, and let her get used to it.

I gave her huge hugs and she laughed. I put her on the boob for a real feeding, gave her a warm bath, a massage, and now she’s sound asleep in her crib. What a little darling. I don’t know what I’d ever do without her. What did I do before she came along? It doesn’t matter. She’s finally here.