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Welcome Home Sweet Sugar

Three and a half weeks later and she is finally home! We overheated the van and blew the engine head. She runs better now and has more pick up, but there seems to still be an electrical issue regarding the temperature light/sensor.

We drove to Pacifica for a day at the beach today and man was I happy to have the luxury of hanging out on a comfy bed while Andrew surfed. The beach was packed full of people due to the Labor Day weekend and Andrew surfed on some of the biggest waves I have seen so far. It scared me, but only tired Andrew out since it was so hard to paddle out past the white water. He is building up that surfer stamina.


Tomorrow we will be at Manresa beach come morning and back at the house to BBQ with some friends (brave ones who aren't afraid of catching Blake's cold). Everyone is welcome, but Blake's cold is still lingering a bit.

I know Labor Day has some history behind it, but all I can think about are all the women around the world who will be going into labor on Labor Day. Go on strong sista's!

I'm Sick For The Very First Time

Blake came down with his first cold a day and a half ago. Poor guy has smiled through all of it though. The heat isn't helping one bit, but hopefully it will be over soon. He never ran a temperature so we are just riding this one out. You can click on the pictures to see them bigger if you want to get the full effect of his red, runny eyes.

This was taken this evening when he started getting a bit worse (why does it always get worse at the end of the day?). He is sleeping soundly now and I hope tonight is a bit easier on him, for last night his cough kept waking him up.

My Own Johnny Jumper

Today, we bought Blake a Johnny Jumper off of craigslist so he can start stretching out his muscles. He seems to like it. I am sure he will be springing all around in a few weeks.

Teenie Is In The Dog House

"What mom, Teenie ate my favorite toy? She should be put to sleep."
















RIP fun, blue toy from Tina and Angelique. You were much loved.

Finally Finished

I have finally finished crocheting the birthday pillows for my second God-children in Switzerland. Neele and Elina will be turning one next month so I had to hurry to finish the pillows because it will take a few weeks in the mail for them to arrive. I crocheted the covers and then cross-stitched their names and animals on the front and back sides.

Fronts:


Backs: Giraffe & Elephant


Kind of silly looking, but hopefully the kids will like them.

New Mom Brain

Here is the first cake I made since having Blake. I was so proud of myself until I realized the mistake I had made. Instead of measuring out the butter, I thoughtlessly put all four sticks of butter into the mixing bowl because they were on the counter coming to room temperature. All four!!! The recipe called for two sticks of butter so let's just say it came out a bit dense.

The cake was made for Andrew's co-worker's going away BBQ because he is transferring over to the Zurich office for a while. Inside, the cake was checkerboard (I was too upset about the butter mishap to care about taking a photo when it was sliced). Everyone ate it and said it was good, but I suggested eating broccoli for a week to counteract the high fat content. The cake says, "Zurich awaits."

I had originally wanted to make small Swiss flags and stick them sideways in chocolate icing on top, but with a baby at home priorities shift.

Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad

When my mom came to visit we went to Los Gatos for Blake's second ride on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. Blake was happy to show Grammie how to ride on a train.

Here I am navigating the thin sidewalk with the stroller. Andrew had to come help us out.


I know this shirt is nautical, but I tried to find the most conductor like outfit. Someday he will get a conductor's hat.


Grammie showing Blake the carousel.


The steam engine.


Blake calmly waiting his turn.


Here comes the group before us.


Yeah, we finally got on.


Daddies are great train companions.


Grammie loved watching Blake, but every so often I would peel her eyes away to check out the geese.


We had a great time and Blake loves his Grammie.

Another Play Date

Here is Blake enjoying another play date with his friends George and Turtle.

Back In The Day

I found this picture on my desktop and I thought I would share it with everyone. Blake was having a play date with his friend Max. Max was the second baby born after Blake from our birthing class.

Another Jalama Vacation Under Our Belts!

We are back from our great Jalama summer camping trip. This was Blake's first trip, my second trip, and Andrew's umpteenth time to the grand beach just south of San Luis Obispo. The Eurovan did not get fixed in time so we drove down in the Prius. There were so many VW buses and vans we heavily mourned our white beast. Next year! We had a great time with family (Ellen, Walter, Sandy, Paul, Nick, Mia, Glen, Karen, Allen, Angie, Shirley, with guest appearances from Gloria and Michael) and ate great food. The T-Bone steaks almost did me in, but I chased it with a Jalama burger the next day to help my body out of red meat shock. It was windy as usual and it took some scrubbing to get the sand and tar off our bodies.

View from the road leading into Jalama. We had a beach front site.


Our camp. Ellen & David's RV on the left with Glen & Karen's on the right. Sandy and Paul slept in the tent on the left and Ellen slept in our yellow/gray tent on the right so we could sleep in the RV to shield Blake from the wind (much appreciated).


Here is Blake enjoying his first playground swing.


The campfires were chock full of singing, story telling, and jokes every night.


Blake suffered through daily foot dunks in the ocean which always resulted in alligator tears and loud screams, but a surfer has to start somewhere. Andrew surfed so much this vacation I thought his arms were going to turn into fins. I didn't get into my swimsuit once so hopefully I will get a chance next time once Blake is walking.


Thanks family for a great time at the beach. We look forward to years to come.