Pictures from California

I realized that Patrick and I have not been good at posting over the holidays, so I decided to work on catching up.

The Rest of our trip to California:

11/30/09

My cousin Jennifer was kind enough to take pictures for us. She does a great job! If you are in California and need a photographer I highly recommend her. Andrew would not Let me hold him during the photo session. He only wanted to be on the ground or on his dad's shoulders. He also could not keep his eyes off the Ducks and Canadian Geese, making picture taking quite difficult.

Patrick has been wanting pictures of Andy in his sailor onesie and him in his uniform since Andrew was born. It only took us a year to the pictures done.

We also took the opportunity to get some family pictures done!

Picture taking took all evening but Jennifer got some great shots and we were well pleased with how they turned out. Thanks again Jennifer!

12/01/09

We visited the Sacramento Train Museum. Patrick, Andy and my Mom all really like trains and to be honest so do I.

When we got home Andrew enjoyed playing with his cousins.

That night we decorated my parents Tree. Andy was a sleep but we still all had a wonderful time.

Shortly after this picture Ava pulled one of these blue ball ornaments of the tree and smashed it on the chair below her. At this moment I realized that Patrick and I need to buy Plastic ornaments this year.

12/02/09

We were able to visit my parents cabin to see their progress. Afterwards we walked around a nearby town called Murphy's.

12/04/09

We visited the Elk Grove Park often during our stay. Who doesn't like slides and swings?

Bed Time??? No, its time to WRESTLE!

Last picture of Ava and Andy together before we left. So cute! Although she is a month younger she is taller then Andy. Sorry Andy, that is your mom's fault.

We love visiting family and can't wait for our next visit to California!

Andy's Birthday...A Little Late!

Well, Julie and I have been back in the Bronx for about a month now, and we're just getting around to posting our updates. I think we'll start with Andy's birthday, since it was his first, was quite a bit of fun, and the pictures are adorable! Here we go:

Julie went all out with Andy's cakes. We were going for a sports theme, had invited quite a few people over, and couldn't decide which sport deserved exclusive representation, so we went with three cupcake cakes! To make it even better, each individual cupcake had an Oreo cookie baked into the middle. Tasty!

Andy knew that something cool was happening, but wasn't quite sure what it all meant. He rapidly discovered, however, that whatever was going on, it was all about him!

He had no problem diving into the cake. He even peeled the cupcake holder off by himself. The promise of food leads to the greatest strides in early childhood development!

People clapping at everything you do + birthday songs + cupcake and frosting goodness = 1 year old heaven!

Andrew got a ton of presents. We actually had to buy a duffle bag to get them all home (thanks to everyone)! This was one of the few times when Andy was still long enough to get a good picture. He was way too excited to stay in one spot!

Andy loves this ABC Turtle. I, on the other hand, often threaten to remove the batteries and throw them across the room.

What can I say? My kid loves his balloons.

We were even able to play some pin the tail on the donkey. Kali was able to march right up to the donkey, place the tail in a near perfect position, and add final adjustments until it was perfect, all while "blindfolded". She'll do well!

Mattox was able to try, too. His attempt was also impressive, particularly since it was a bit more of the "honest try" variety.

One of Andy's favorite toys was this police truck, complete with siren and working lights. All of the little boys' eyes lit up when they saw this toy. Once Andy got ahold of it, there was a never ending cacophony of sirens and self-made truck noises. Yet another toy that is threatened with battery disembowelment on a frequent basis. Thanks, Granddad!

Well, that's it for now. Rest assured we have many more pictures from our trip and Christmas, and will try to get them up over the next few days. Thanks to everyone who made Andy's birthday an amazing time!