The First Half of January

We have already had a busy month, and it is only the middle of it! Nate and I took a road trip up to Santa Barbara for a reunion with my college roomates and their little ones. My friend Suzanne was gracious enough to host us all at her home in Santa Barbara. Suzanne's son Aiden is 8 1/2 months old and commando crawling everywhere. Amy flew down from San Francisco with her 3 month old daughter, Cecily. And our friend Erin joined in for a weekend away from her home in cold and snowy Denver. We had a wonderful time catching up, and even had a babysitter come on Sat. night so we could go out and enjoy a nice dinner! Not too tough though, since both the boys were in bed and slept the whole evening.

Nate and I stopped off on both ends of our trip for a visit with the family in Claremont. We spent an afernoon with Grandma's daycare kiddos, and a few hours on our return on Sunday with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Cristina. Nate had a little more difficulty sleeping away from home than he has had in the past...but we managed. We spent the next few days recovering and enjoying our own beds and our separate rooms!

We took a nice hike on Monday with G-Mot (Lowell) and a couple of her friends. And then met our friends Sandra and James at the zoo on Wed. morning. We were sad to learn that they will be moving to Texas in April, since we have become good friends and enjoy our playdates! Then we went and met auntie Stephanie for a picnic lunch at the park and a little soccer. Nate has become a soccer fanatic and spends much of his free time kicking the ball around the house, yard, park, gym, etc.

After a wonderful 3 weeks winter vacation, with an unexpected extra 2 weeks off (due to daycare issues and swapping days with my partner teacher, Marta) I am back to work next week. So, although I do my best to update this site, it may be a few weeks since the rest of this month is looking like it will be as busy as the beginning. We are looking forward to our friend baby Eva Starr's first birthday next weekend, and Grammy is coming to visit the first weekend in February...so more update after that for sure. We have been enjoying our webcam chats with Grammy and with Grandma and Grandpa, but are still working out the kinks and trying to find the best times for all to communicate. What wonderful ways technology is helping us to keep in touch with loved ones far away!

Christmas and Into 2007

Well, hard to believe it is now officially 2007! Nate is approaching 20 months old and is more and more 2 everyday. I really enjoyed my happy-go-lucky, positive child and am said to say he has finally started saying "no" or his version which is "Uh uh" with a hand in your face or a head shake. Before, it was only different versions of "Yeah!" But along with that comes other new words. On Sat. Jan. 6 he finally learned the word "Ma". So, I am no longer "Da." When I picked him up from daycare yesterday, he was pounding on the security screen yelling, "Ma, Ma, Ma" which melted my heart...at least until that is all I hear. He is also running and climbing on everything these days. A true dare devil with no fear!

Our Christmas and New Years were very nice. We spent Christmas at a small cabin on a horse ranch just outside Julian. It was very quiet and peaceful. It was nice to experience a little variation to the San Diego sunny and 70 degree weather. We enjoyed having a fire going in the evenings, and a chill in the air. There was just a touch of snow left over from the weekend before. We stayed Sat. and Sun. Christmas Eve at the cabin, and on Sun. we took a nice drive into Anza Borrego Desert to the campsite where Bob and I used to camp each Christmas Eve, before pregnancy and Nate. Nobody was at our site, so we were able to hike around and take some pictures. Nate developed a love/fear obsession with the horses on the ranch, and the ranch cat with whom he had a slight altercation. Luckily, right after he was clawed and got over the initial shock, he was off on his cat hunt again. It was fun watching him discover what presents are and see and hear his pure enthusiasm with the contents of each package..."Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" He was spoiled rotten by all those around him. His big gift from Mom and Dad being a new tricycle and a helmet. He can't quite reach the pedals, but it has a parent push bar, and we are enjoying walks around the block on his bike.

We spent a quiet New Years with our friends the Starrs. The kids decided to rebel and wake up in plenty of time to ring in the New Year and beyond. We had an exhausting night and New Year's Day, but it was fun nonetheless.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and have a great 2007!