Farewell Baker

Ode to Baker

Oh house on Delaware Street
You will always be the first home of our little family
We will never forget
How much we loved living in your walls
We loved dancing on your creaky wood floors
Benjamin crawled every last inch of them

But beyond the exposed brick that had us immediately
Beyond the beautiful master suite that spoiled us so
Beyond the teeny tiny yard that we lovingly enclosed with a white picket fence
And while allowing us to lovingly put together our son's very first room and memories
We loved YOU Baker

Thank you, Baker, for never letting us be hungry for great food
And, Karma, thank you for providing us with the best spicy edamame
Anyone could dream of
Thank you, Baker, for the concerts and far-too-good-to-be-dive-bar food at Sputnik and Hi-Dive
And for Sweet Action's ridiculously awesome ice cream

What would we have done without you, Baker?
We met friends for drinks at so many of your wonderful taverns
We enjoyed dates at tables and on patios all along Broadway
We saw and loved movies at the Mayan
We sipped coffee from each of your coffeeshops
And Bardo got Ali through most of her graduate school classes

El Diablo, you were just what the 'hood needed
We enjoyed too many chips and salsa (and sangrias) with you
And Beatrice & Woodsley?  Your wine, small plates, and bathrooms always impressed
Now that bedtime has moved up a substantial amount
Perhaps we won't be in need of your excellent cocktails as often
But we'll think of you fondly

Thank you Decade, Fancy Tiger, Buffalo Exchange, and Goodwill
And the many many used book stores Matt adored
For always making our wallets just a little lighter
Baker, we happily supported our local shops
And supported the neighborhood no matter what
Ali even taught in one of your schools

Your parks were loved first by Lincoln, and then by our baby boy
Your sidewalks carried us to anything we could have wanted
We've walked your streets for three years
And not one memory will be forgotten
Ok, maybe just a few...
Like your parting gift of Matt's bike getting stolen
Sigh

We will miss the early mornings and late nights on your streets
The short bike rides to festivals at Civic Center Park
Catching the bus or light rail to fun events downtown
Gossiping about this or that business
But always excited for the next big thing

Baker, our first home, you were a great home
Thank you for hosting us
Your eclectic homes, your fabulous eats, your crazy hipsters
We will miss it all
Thankfully we won't be far
You know we'll be back to visit often
**

A few looks at our old 'hood:

Pumpkin Patch!

In the spirit of this beautiful Fall we are having in Colorado, we took a trip last weekend to Anderson Farms with the Ewing family to enjoy all things Fall.  Thankfully we arrived early enough to beat the huge crowds they tend to get, and we had a blast!  Talk about a fun place for kiddos (though I'm sure Benjamin barely even knew what was going on).  There was a petting zoo, a hayride to the pumpkin patches, a live bluegrass band, a corn maze, tons of farm games... you name it.  Of course we only took advantage of a few things, but Benjamin seemed to enjoy it nonetheless!  I took a ton of pictures (duh), which can be seen in this album, otherwise here are a few shots from the visit.  We'll definitely be heading there again next year!

 

Buds

It's so fun that Benjamin has friends.  I know he can't do all that much "playing" just yet, but he tries.  And it's fun to watch as he and other little kiddos "play" together.  Even if all it involves is the stealing of pacifiers, pushing each other over, or (for Noah in particular) Benjamin chasing after him all day (and shoving pieces of the train set in his mouth).

The past couple weeks have been a little chaotic around here as we've been getting ready to move and in particular when I got some work with my old office.  I was in a crunch for daycare, and thankfully some friends pulled through last minute so I could squeeze in some much-needed work.  (Don't worry, said friends, in the future when I actually have some more regular work, I promise I will find real daycare!) 

{And as a sidenote, finding daycare is a difficult thing!  Not only is it tough to find, but there's also a lot of stress surrounding "How is my baby going to behave? I hope he's not a nightmare for them! I hope he naps ok so he doesn't whine all day!" on top of just hoping you can find anyone you trust that is willing to take on a fairly rambunctious little one.   Nevermind the added stress of cost once you do find good daycare!  Oy.}

Needless to say, we were SO grateful to have some friends willing to help out in the meantime.  Of course, in my rushing, I didn't take any pictures on the days Benjamin spent with his buddies, but I got plenty-a-story that he had a fabulous time with Noah and Fisher (including "snuggling" with Fisher in his bouncer, i.e. laying on top of him) and an equally fabulous time with little baby Emme.  While he loves playing with all of Noah's most awesome toys (and Noah, who is just about the sweetest boy ever), I'm sure he loved showing off for Emme (about six months his junior) just as much. You know, banging on pots and pans and crawling up on top of things is, like, so totally awesome.  ;)  I'm pretty certain he loves the ladies already... check out how happy he was to meet Katin and Aubrey last weekend (ps - so glad you're back!!!):

And during our small group dinner last week, Benjamin was more than happy to "play" with Boaz and Emme for a bit and "share" his toys.  What fun to have buddies so close in age!