Happy Anniversary, hubby!

Yesterday was our three year wedding anniversary, and Dan’s parents offered to watch Mio while Dan and I went out to dinner after work to celebrate! We chose to go to Skates on the Bay in Berkeley, a waterfront restaurant that specializes in seafood. It boasts views of the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and San Francisco, and offers up an innovative menu of platters made from fresh market ingredients.

 

Skates on the Bay
Skates on the Bay in Berkeley

 

Skates on the Bay
Arriving at the restaurant

 

Skate's Tasting Sampler
We ordered the Skate's Tasting Sampler for the appetizer. In my opinion, it was the best part of the meal!

 

chili-smoked tiger prawns
chili-smoked tiger prawns

 

teriyaki beef tenderloin
teriyaki beef tenderloin

 

crispy ahi roll
crispy ahi roll

 

truffle chips
truffle chips

 

Ready for the main course!
Ready for the main course!

 

Dan enjoying his beer
Dan enjoying his beer

 

looking out the window
We had a view overlooking the water.

 

view of the waters
...and got to watch the sun set on the waters.

 

Blurry photo of us. :(
The waitress sucked at taking photos; hence the blurry picture.

 

Delicious dinner!
Dan ready to dig into his seared ahi.

 

I love seafood!
I love seafood! Excited to dig in.

 

seafood linguini
The seafood linguini. It wasn't my top choice - I had wanted the mixed grilled seafood platter but they were out of the ingredients so I had this instead. It was a little underwhelming....

 

Dan and I after dinner.
Dan and I after dinner.

 

There was a series of little events that made the dinner slightly less enjoyable than we had hoped — the fact that I wasn’t able to order what I wanted for my entrée, the waitress botched the one photo that we asked her to take of us together, the dessert menu was uninspiring, and then I in typical clutsy Misono fashion somehow managed to drop my phone in the narrow space between my seat and the window, where it got wedged in a way that was almost impossible to retrieve. (Thankfully, Dan was able to rescue it at the end of the dinner by moving the table out and burrowing under the seat. My hubby the hero! haha*) We took everything in stride, though, and just carried on and joked about it all, since we didn’t want to let these happenings sour our anniversary dinner.

But it ended on an unexpectedly positive note. There was a group of ladies at the table next to us who were chattering away, and I noticed that they kept looking over at us but I just dismissed it, thinking that they were just admiring the view outside the window (which they probably were, most of the time). But as we were getting ready to leave, their table was also standing up to go and one of the young ladies came over to us and said, “I just wanted to say that you two are a very cute couple.” The stranger’s sweet comment took us by surprise, and it was a good reminder that although not everything will always go so smoothly, it doesn’t matter as long as we are happy together and can bring smiles to those around us.

After the women left, Dan added, “Little do they know that this very cute couple has a very cute baby!” and with that, we hurried home to see our little munchkin.

 

Mio and Mommy
Mio just woke up when we got home.

 

Did you miss me, Mio?
"Did you miss me, Mio?"

 

First anniversary with Mio in our lives.
This anniversary was all the more special with you in our lives, Mio!

 

People would tell us that once you have a child, everything changes. And they were right; it does. But while I expected the sort of change in which we would become so consumed by the responsibilities and challenges of parenthood that we wouldn’t have time to even really look at each other, I find myself pleasantly surprised. Beholding the little miracle before our eyes, who is half one of you and half the other, it brings you closer in a way you never would have imagined. And watching your partner transform from a husband to a father and seeing the way he pours out his love and affection for this baby is a truly eye-opening experience. You see a whole new side to the person you thought you knew so well, and you find yourself falling in love all over again. Becoming a parent opens up a completely new dimension and depth of love in yourself, and it has been amazing to watch not only ourselves but our relationship as a couple grow because of it. We thought that we had come so far in our journey together, but now we’re realizing that it has only just begun…. Happy anniversary, and here’s to all the years of continued laughter and joy to come.

© 2008 Lilia Photography