A perfect day

..it began with a lazy breakfast (Rachel slept through the night, so I am almost caught up on all my sleep!), naptime at 10 a.m. (for Rachel, not me), then when she woke up we met my friend Amy, from work, and her 2-year-old son, Jake. We headed out to Wilshire Park, the one with the great kids playground, and we happened upon...a free concert! From the Portland Wind Ensemble! Great music -- made even better in the 70-degree weather, under the trees -- and I managed to catch the last song, a stirring Sousa march, with Rachel on my lap.

Amy, who is obviously way more skilled as a mom than I am, actually brought food for us all to share (I had fed Rachel a bottle before we left, and had some food for her in the diaper bag, but none for myself). Amy had Ziploc bags of canteloupe, crackers and cherries.

Well. You would have thought Rachel hadn't eaten in a week. As soon as she discovered the cherries (which I bit into, then handed to her without the pits), she couldn't get enough of them. Or the canteloupe, or crackers. And when she had finished the canteloupe and crackers, she headed straight back to the cherries. She picked up the Ziploc and tried to figure out how to open it!

She spent about 45 minutes snacking and didn't whine once, sitting contentendly on the blanket, chewing away, while Amy and I talked about grown-up stuff.

We came back home in the late afternoon and after one false start, I managed to get Rachel down for a nap. I made a leek and mushroom tart for dinner, some strawberry bread that is now baking in the oven, and we got her to sleep at 9:15. Let's hope she's down for the night.

The only teeny downside of this wonderfully Portland summer day: The cherries made Rachel poop enthusiastically -- we had to change her outfit and diaper several times before bed. I only know it was the fruit because Amy told me so. Man, do I have a lot to learn.