Sonoma Weekend

Columbus Visit

Chewing on the yummiest Midwest pumpkin Max could find...

Pop Pop and all his boys...

Max & Cody

Max is already jealous of Cody's gorgeous locks...

Happy 6th Birthday to big cousin Zach!

The Merkel Wedding

Pumpkin Fun

Happy 12 year Anniversary Jeff!

What do I know now that I didn't know on October 5th 1996?

Oh, just a few important things....

One..........sharing a chair and a half
Two..........chocolate pudding in coffee cups
Three........peanut butter and jelly baguettes on Old Brompton Road
Four..........around the world on another man's dollar
Five...........crossing the US in a Ryder truck
Six............70's parties and The Job Search
Seven........saturday coffees in Lincoln Park
Eight.........stay in town on a weekend...never!
Nine..........here comes Charlie
Ten...........let's take a walk in Holland Park
Eleven.......Hillgate Village & Plymouth Way
Twelve.......here comes Max

Can't wait for 12 more!

Sorry boys...

I am one of 'those moms'...matching outfits!!
I love it.

Creative or Deviant??

My take on it usually depends on how much sleep I got the night before....I think I was leaning towards deviant on this day!




And then Charlie had the nerve to say...

'I'm too busy Mama to clean up'.

You can imagine what I said to that!

I'm starting to sound like my mom....

For my belated birthday celebration I just wanted us to spend time together...taking a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.

I remember my Mom saying the same thing, not so much about the Golden Gate Bridge...but of course about spending time together. What a wise woman. I should enjoy these years when my boys are happy participants:)

The good moments....

It's been a little nutty around our house lately. With Dad working long hours, Charlie & Max sharing colds and ear infections, and Mom just being plain grouchy.

Here were some good times today that make me happy...

I want to stay ALL BY MYSELF....

What a change from last year's first day of school. Charlie wanted to be sure that Mommy, Daddy & Max were NOT staying this year. So glad that Charlie like his school, teachers and friends. And I can enjoy a quiet morning while Max naps. Yea for the fall and the new school year!

It was all about the redwoods....

Our Labor Day weekend was spent in the beautiful forests of redwood trees in our area. We started the weekend at the Kings Mountain Art Festival in Woodside, CA. It was a gorgeous setting.








Jeff took Charlie camping in Big Basin with a group of his Stanford friends and their kids. Somehow all the wives opted out for a quiet house for 24 hours.

Lots of 'helping' hands pitching this tent....

This open meadow was the perfect playground.



SMORES!!!!

A tired little gang of campers...

A pleasant surprise....

I love it when I find new friends with some of my favorite character qualities. Its always a pleasant surprise. One of the best things about my Dad is that at the slightest mention of something loved, a favorite this or that, it will suddenly appear in my life. Sent in the mail, waiting on my bed as a child, remembered at birthday or Christmas time. We actually learned with my Dad to be VERY careful what you said you liked, because it might come back to 'surprise' you. Two of our friends here in Burlingame have this wonderful quality in them.

After an off handed conversation at the farmers market about some yummy cupcakes from a special bakery in San Fran....

Lo and behold, what should appear on our doorstep today....


YUMMY.

And yes, I hid them from Charlie.

Naps are for babies.....

Not big boys with two teeth!

Max decided to forgo a good nap today to hang out with Mommy & Daddy in the backyard. Time for a photo shoot!

Two computers, two phones....one reservation!

To celebrate Max's birth we decided to attempt and get reservations at a Famous Little restaurant in Napa Valley. You can only book 2 months to the day and at opening time the lines are already busy. You can book one table on a website called opentable.com so Jeff had it all planned out. Max was napping, Charlie was watching Paddington Bear. I had two computers going back and forth to opentable and Jeff was manning the phones.


Unbelievably we got the one table available online!!!! We've been celebrating all day long. I think the anticipation may be as much fun as going. Can't wait until October 24th....

Farmers Market in San Fran

We had a fun day at the Ferry Building Farmers Market...





Hey, I'll have one of those....I did know the guy at least:)


Jeff and Charlie checking out the cool water fountain in front of the Ferry Building...Jeff & Charlie are 'under' the waterfall.

things are slipping....

You know you can't keep up with life when....

...you're at the park watching your newly potty trained 3 year old
who wants to go potty "ALL BY MYSELF'

...climb the jungle gym

and realize.... he has NO underwear on.

it was a proud moment.

wish I had my camera.

Baby Blue

I've been enjoying some time with just Max. Charlie has camp 3 mornings a week (when he's not sick and when I can shake him off my leg to stay!)

Max and I have been able to hang out together just us which is such a treat! We even had time for a little photo shoot.

Sweet baby blues...

I know I shouldn't.....

Compare.

But who can help it when these boys are so cute. I didn't even realize when we took Max's photos that we had this old one of Charlie.



Max at 5 months...looking at his absolute favorite person...Charlie....what a sparkle.

Charlie at 4 months