On Wednesday, we headed from Reykjavik to drive to our next house in Bifröst (pronounced “beef roast”). We stopped at the local Target-equivalent, Hagkaup on our way out of town for groceries including reindeer meat. Bifröst is part of the Borgarfjordur region and is most famous for being the home of a 500-student university. The…

On Tuesday, Rob and I had a bit of work to catch up on – and, frankly, I also couldn’t bear the thought of another long day spent driving. Our friends took the car and headed out early for more waterfalls and volcanos while we slept in. We ventured out for an early lunch with…

After the Blue Lagoon, the “Golden Circle” route is the other popular must-do in Iceland. After a hearty breakfast of gingerbread french toast on our second day, we loaded up our cars and drove to Þingvellir to start our day. It was overcast, cold and mossy as far as the eye could see. In one…

Iceland in November with a three month old baby…what a terrific idea! Rob was going to Reykjavik for work so why not pack up four friends, the stroller, the car seat and fly nine hours to an island in the arctic circle where there are just six hours of light each day? Despite all indications…

My gosh, you are good at growing! Looking at these photos from the last month, it is easy to see how quickly you became much taller and plumper. You’re 99th percentile in height and at least 13 lbs. You’ve also added all kinds of new skills. You started off the month learning how to hold…

We’ve seen you start to become a person in these last few weeks! Most of your second month has been spent in San Luis Obispo at your Grandparent’s house. You first arrived there as a very cute but still unresponsive newborn. It was just a few days after on September 6 that you smiled a…

Rob is going to Reykjavik for a work conference in November. I’ll be flying out with the baby and a collective of her favorite uncles to meet him for a relaxed week of exploring, catching the northern lights and cozying up by warm fires with Lucille. We haven’t planned much of anything yet – would…

I improvised this salad for a beach picnic with the babies, my sister and cousin out in Pescadero last weekend. Flavorful, very healthy and even incidentally vegan – this recipe makes a huge quantity with plenty of leftovers to turn into quesadillas, nachos or taco salads throughout the week. The poblano gives it a nice…

What a joy this first month has been! Our original plan for the first few weeks home with you was a very modern determination to just hibernate, order takeout and avoid people. Instead, thanks to our complicated labor, we were showered with an endless stream of well-wishers bringing food and help. It was HEAVEN. Me…

When I tell my friends this story – after we get through all the horrible scary parts and a few fun gross TMI details – we get to the end where the baby and I are both okay and it feels appropriate to laugh a bit. At this point, they usually say something along the…