Above: our girls love going to restaurants and Georgia P always wants to read the menu. On Saturday morning we took them to Kenny & Ziggy’s deli for white fish, salmon, eggs, and bagels. It’s such a great restaurant and as a former New Yorker and now Houstonian, I can tell you that it’s just as good (and as pricey) as any you’ll find in the city.

We’ve had a really lovely weekend here in Houston, with weather that reminds us all of the California where I grew up (and where they’re experiencing unseasonally high temperatures).

My mom came in from La Jolla for a four-day stay to visit Georgia P (above) and Lila Jane (below).

As any parent will tell you, raising babies and toddlers is never an easy task and our girls — like anybody’s kids — can be a handful. But they always have a smile, hug, and kiss for us and all it takes is a coo or an “I love you” to make the sleeplessness and headaches vanish…

Above: Lila Jane is a happy, healthy girl. And she LOVES to eat. Sometimes we cut her off because we’re worried she’ll explode from eating so much! On Saturday night she slurped down my pesto with some wholewheat elbow noodles (adults had white flour spaghetti).

They had a wonderful visit with their grandmother and we shared some really fun meals and afternoons together.

Georgia P is going through a language explosion and every day delivers new words, phrases, and figures of speech that she’s never used before. Yesterday’s was “honey.”

This morning when I accidentally banged my knee against the kitchen table and let out a big “ouch,” she ran to get her Abby Cadabby “Freez’R Pack” for “boo boos” (from the “Sesame Street” character) and she put it on my knee.

Above: traditionally, classic East Texas gumbo is finished with potato and hard-boiled egg salad. Tony tops his with steamed lump crab.

On Friday, Rev. and Mrs. B (my in-laws) drove in from Orange, Texas with memaw (Tracie P’s grandmother) and we all met at my friend and client Tony’s for a seafood lunch.

The pièce de résistance was the seared Atlantic halibut filet with blood orange and mustard seed reduction.

But I couldn’t resist getting the gumbo (above). Tony’s is always more about haute cuisine and fine dining but he lets his more playful side express itself during the lunch hour.

The roux in his gumbo was so delicate yet tasty, the okra had just the right crunch to it (not soggy), and the steamed lump crab took it over the top.

I was so proud to take my family to “daddy’s work” for lunch (thanks again, Tony, for treating us!) and we spent the breezy afternoon in our backyard just catching up and playing with the girls.

All in all, it’s been a really golden time for us since we moved to our new home in Houston. I was so happy to share it with my mom.

And after all, wine bloggers can’t live by wine alone…

Thanks for reading, yall… Have a great week…