The Merkel Family came to town...

Yippee! Grandpa Merkel is so fun!

Heading to the city for some site seeing...


Happy St Patrick's Day...at least Mommy had it together to dress us in green!

Grab a coffee...here come the photos!

Getting settled in my bassinet...ready for our first walk to the park


Charlie introducing his best friend Puppy to Max...


My neighbor Debbie and her 8 week old Matthew, also mom of Charlie's buddy Jack...looking forward to lots of fun times this spring and summer!


Cuddle time with Mimi...we are sad to see her go after her two week visit...


Kisses from Mama...


Sweet Max...such a content and happy baby (so far, fingers crossed!)



Max's welcome home sign....

Packed and ready for shipment to you!

Any takers? As expected our 3 yr old is causing more havoc in our house than our newborn. The arrival of Max has created some drama, meltdowns, and confusion for Charlie. All normal stuff but its wearing Mom & Dad out! Sooo anyone want a 3yr old delivered to their door for a few days?! Return to sender of course.

Ahhh friends....

In the midst of our first week at home, we had a wonderful visit and reminder of 'real life' when our good Taylor friends Bruce and Heather came to town. The big boys and dads played in the park and had lunch in town. The little boys and the moms had a nice QUIET lunch at home and lots of girly visting. Just what both Jeff and I needed in our week! Charlie also loved getting reacquainted with Quade. Fast friends and hard to say goodbye....

He's arrived!

Our sweet Max made his appearance on Tuesday March 4th....



Of course more photos to come!

A shared sentiment

Charlie often says to me now of his baby brother...

'Mama...Get him out!'

I couldn't agree more.

Oh Cupcake!!!

He knows me well.


Hope you all had a wonderfully sweet Valentine's Day!

Sweet Tradition

In the tradition of passing on this adorable vase to the next expectant mom after your own baby arrives, I was the honored 10th recipient of this sweet gift! That's almost a whole year of new babies! My neighbor Debbie who just delivered her second little boy passed it my way. So I'll have the fun job of sharing it with another pregnant friend when our little guy arrives here in a few weeks!

Big Brother, Little Shirt

We reorganized the boys room and clothing. Charlie liked this 3-6 month size shirt which he found in his old drawer. Looks like he's going to be a style setter amounst the toddler crowd in Burlingame!

Some TLC

Jeff's been sick for a few days with the flu. And Charlie's been taking good care of his Daddy....

Charlie & Jack at the SF Zoo

Charlie's buddy down the street Jack has a new little brother Matthew- good training for Charlie! So to give his mommy a break today, Jack came along with us on our visit to the SF Zoo. It was a fun day of puddle jumping, watching the flamingos, and having a picnic lunch. We didn't visit the tigers as Mama was still a little nervous about that:) The boys didn't even notice they were missed!

5 weeks and counting...

Giving baby brother a kiss...

Happy New Year 2008!

Whatever did I do without a built in table for my champange glass?

A Midwest Christmas

Playing in the snow with Uncle Alex..



Checking out the stockings at Mimi's house...



Patiently waiting to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus...



Mama teaching Charlie how to use his new violin...

Christmas Happenings....

They make it look so easy on all the cooking shows. First off our gingerbread house was broken....hmm maybe that's why I'm suppose to make it from scratch not just from a kit......so what to do? We just made a bridge and piles of icing and candy. More fun and probably better suited to a two year old's style of being creative!

All the more to eat this way!

Some shopping in the city sans Charlie....and yes, baby boy is getting bigger!

A little Christmas lunch at our house with friends Miles & Viola


And we're off to the midwest to celebrate Christmas with the Thomas & Merkel families! Merry Christmas to you!

Charlie's Christmas Tree

Since Christmas trees and 2 years olds don't mix well....We made Charlie his own little Frosty the Snowman Tree that he can touch and play with. He LOVES it and keeps saying...Thank you Mama, Thank you Mama! So sweet.

Let the Christmas fun begin!

We headed up to Ghiradelli Square in San Fran for the Christmas tree lighting.

It was a fun and festive evening.

A chocolate treat from Santa!

Charlie passed the cupcake store on the way and could hardly concentrate on the tree lighting for want of a cupcake. A boy after his Mama's heart. Of course he was finished with his cupcake after one bite....still some work to do on that sweet tooth!

This one Mama!

Happy Thanksgiving....

Amazing how each Thanksgiving has found us celebrating in such different ways and with such varied groups of people...the constant is how much there is to be thankful for in our lives each and every year. Tops of our list this year...being settled into a new 'life' where we are very happy & content, and the anticipation of our second son's birth.

Thanksgiving 2007 found us with a quiet morning of picnicing by the tv... watching the parade and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.



We headed to our friends in the afternoon and joined up with their family for a big ol' feast. Of course no pictures of the gorgeous table for the adults....but here's a cute one of Reid, Riley & Charlie.

Big Boy Bed

In preparation of baby Merkel's arrival, we needed to have Charlie adjusted to his toddler bed. I have been hesitant to start as Charlie's such a great sleeper and I need my rest when he rests! Since the boys will share a room, we decieded to take down Charlie's crib. It was all or nothing with this adjustment....we're hoping in Feb when we put the crib back up, it can be 'baby's bed' and not Charlie's anymore.

Charlie was excited about his new airplane sheets and duvet like Mom and Dad's. He pretended to be asleep while Dad took his crib down.

After only a couple of minutes of protesting, Charlie was settled in and slept great his first night! We were so pleased....



But we did find him the next night in such a funny position...still very much getting the hang of it. Good thing he's such a solid sleeper! Gets that from his Dad....

Welcome to little Cody!

Charlie's newest cousin arrived Friday Nov 2nd. Cody James Thomas....
He was greeted by his big brothers Zach & Jaedon... Boys, boys, boys....Can't wait to see you all at Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!!




In case you want to see my growing belly (monkey #2)