Cousins enjoy the pumpkin patch

Pastorino's Farm, Half Moon Bay

Riding on the hay wagon

Checking out pumpkins in the patch

Exchanging hugs on Benne's lap

Dad's Birthday

This post is a bit belated... Last weekend we all gathered to celebrate Dad's birthday. Julia and Nathan were a big help with the cupcakes and the present opening. It was a great party, hosted by Mom, and everybody had a good time. Such a good time that Craig and I agreed that Dad should have birthday parties more often. ; )
 

Girl's Reunion Weekend

This weekend was my annual Girl's reunion weekend with my friends from business school. We gathered in San Francisco. From left to right: (top picture) Laurel, Hartley, Kari (bottom picture) Jane, Trisha, and Yufen. We talked, talked, talked, ate, ate, ate, walked, walked, walked, and talked and ate and walked some more. I had a fabulous time...there's nothing better than being with old friends.
 

Visit to the Fire Station

By Jeff: With Laurel away for a business school girls' reuinion weekend, I was home alone with the kids. Saturday morning, we went to a pancake breakfast at the Menlo Park fire station down the street. Afterward, we got to check out some very cool stuff. Julia got to "drive" a real fire truck as well as sit in back and talk on the radio. We also saw some demos of firefighting and search and rescue techniques, the highlight of which was the firemen rappelling down a practice building.*









* For anyone who's interested, the Menlo Park Dire Department manages CA-TF3, one of 28 FEMA-coordinated Urban Search and Rescue teams spread across the country. The Menlo Park task force has responded to a number of notable emergencies, including Hurricane Katrina, the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster.

Love that smile!

I look at this picture and I feel like I can picture just what he's going to look like in a few years. There are hints here of a little boy, not a baby. He is growing up so fast.

 

Parents Place

Wendy, Julia and Andrew go to Parents Place every Thursday morning for the drop in program. It's a beautiful preschool classroom, complete with teacher (see Teacher Heidi in the picture below.) Julia absolutely loves it and it's a great way to give her opportunities to interact with other kids now that she's no longer in daycare. Wendy brought the camera this morning and snapped this picture.

I'm so glad you're here

"Hey little buddy, I'm so glad you're here" ~ uttered by Julia while hugging Andrew on the couch. No joke, she really said it.

Andrew at four and a half months old

A Snort makes front page news!

Julia and I were excited to see a SNORT! on the front page of the news this morning. A nice big yellow one. And, as fortune would have it, we actually saw one driving down OUR STREET this morning too. Right by our house! A Snort, for those who may not be familiar with the term, is what others might call a --well, I don't know what they're called in other circles, actually. A digger machine? Anyway, we call them Snorts, because that's how they're called in one of our favorite books, Are You My Mother, by P.D. Eastman. It's a pretty big deal to find one around town, especially one that is not sleeping. And one on the front page of the news seemed blogworthy. Here is the picture:

My return to work

This is Wendy hanging out with Julia and Andrew in our den. She's the most wonderful Nanny and we feel soooo lucky to have found her. I returned to work yesterday for the first time since before Andrew was born (I had 5 months off to the day.) It was sad and strange to be working again, but I felt much better about it knowing that Julia and Andrew were home and happy with a wonderful caregiver.

Getting to work was a challenge, however. First, I purchased a new dress to wear on my first day only to realize the night before that I can't wear dresses right now, because they don't allow enough access for pumping. ...Last minute change of clothing strategy... Second, Jeff had an early morning meeting that he forgot to mention until the night before, so suddenly I was faced with solo duty for getting both kids up and going in the morning, along with myself. ...I was running a bit later than planned... And finally, Jeff had not moved the car seats into Wendy's car given his early departure, and she needed to transport the kids. ...Wendy and I ended up switching cars for the day... Despite these challenges, I did make it to work, in Wendy's car, in my alternative outfit, by 8:58, just barely before it becomes unfashionably late. Hopefully it'll go smoother next time!