Holiday Party

Last night, Jesse and I put on our dancing shoes and headed to the company holiday party! It was at a really cool art gallery in the city. We enjoyed a delicious steak dinner and yummy desserts. There were lots of laughs during the "battle of the sexes" game... the guys won! (booo!) And most of all, it was just a fun excuse to get a babysitter, dress up, and have a night out together. Merry Christmas to us!

Caltrain Holiday Train

On Saturday night, the Caltrain commuter train had a special holiday train come through our local train station. It was all decorated with Christmas lights and there was an appearance by Santa! It stopped at the train station for about 20 mins, while carolers sang on an open train car bed. They even had some "California snow"... straight from the machine! haha!

Jesse and Cole waiting for the train... it was cold!

Here it comes!

Watching the carolers on the train

Cole wasn't too sure about the train as it was leaving... This is his serious face that he puts on when he is taking it all in.

San Jose Children's Museum

On Friday, Suzanne and JP invited us to tag along to the San Jose Children's Museum. It is totally hands on and Cole had a blast!

Cole the firefighter!

In the toddler area, there were these ABC boxes that the kids could pull up and see something inside that starts with that letter. Cole is looking at "L" and turning on the light :)

Cole is really getting into pretending. I just have to remind him that the pretend food doesn't actually go in his mouth!

Pouring some tea for mommy... complete with sound effects!

Cole is starting to like water, especially if it doesn't get in his face. haha! So, this play area was perfect, especially because he got to wear a toddler sized rain apron!

Fun! Fun!

For the love of Bella!

Cole's obsession with Bella continues...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This year, we were thankful to be able to spend Thanksgiving with family :) Caleb, Jill, and Bella came up to stay with us for the long weekend. It has been so fun to enjoy relaxing and catching up!! And of course, Cole is over the top excited to be able to play with Bella. He will be having some withdraw when they go home!

On Thanksgiving Day, Rod and Kristen invited us to the Stanford dining hall to enjoy a meal together. We were all thankful to have a yummy meal with no cooking or clean up involved! Then after the meal, we all headed back to our house to enjoy more time together. It was a great day! And I am so thankful that even though most of our family is so far away now, that we have Caleb and Jill and Rod and Kristen so close! Happy turkey day everyone!

What happens in Vegas...

So, you've heard the saying, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?" Well, after our 3 day trip, there are many parts of the trip that we would like to leave... like Cole waking up at 5:15am or tantrums in the middle of the hotel lobby! haha! But there were redeeming moments as well, like the excitement on Cole's face while looking at all the cool fountains or eating at Rain Forest Cafe. So, here are some highlights...

Our flight to LV was fantastic! There were not many people on the plane, so we had a whole section to ourselves. And Cole enjoyed walking up and down the aisles and sweet-talking the stewardesses into giving him cookies! :)

The fountain and little eiffel tower outside the Paris hotel on the strip. If I get to go back to LV, I would love to stay in this hotel... I love all things French!

This is how Cole likes to ride in his stroller these days... holding mommy or daddy's hand. So sweet!!

Admiring one of the cool fountains at Caesar's Palace... we could see these fountains from our hotel room as well.

Mommy and Cole... I just like this picture :)

We stayed at the Flamingo and it is where Jesse's conference was held. The convenience was very nice, and I enjoyed Jesse getting off at 4pm every day!

While Jesse was in the conference, I took Cole to the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. It is a huge mall that has many HUGE fountains. Cole is looking at the fish in the aquarium that was on the backside of one of the largest fountains.

There was also a FAO Schwartz at the mall! Here is Cole in Thomas the train heaven!

What a life... Cole enjoying a snack and some PBS kids in the hotel room :)

The Flamingo Hotel had a really great outdoor space, with real flamingos, a coy pond, and fountains. Cole enjoyed throwing coins into the fountain :)

Zoo time!

There have been many firsts since we have moved to CA, and last week was another one... our first trip to the zoo! We joined Suzanne and JP and had such a fun morning!

Cole and JP watching the gorillas. They were Cole's favorites, especially because there was a baby gorilla. Cole kept saying, "baby monkey!!!"

The gorilla eating a banana :)

The boys watching the lions. So many times when you go to the zoo, the animals are sleeping in their dens, but today the lions were out! It was really great to see them up close... well, behind the glass at least! haha!

Another one of Cole and JP's favorites... the prairie dogs. They are hilarious! The boys loved watching them run in and out of their holes and JP even wanted to give one a kiss through the glass. Too cute!

The last area that we visited was the petting zoo. There were goats and sheep that we brushed and fed. And Cole enjoyed riding the kid sized tractor. What a super day at the zoo!

DAVID GRAY CONCERT!!!

Sorry I am behind on blogging... between my birthday and our recent trip to Las Vegas, it has been a busy few weeks! So, here's some catching up...

The "piece de resistance" of my birthday weekend was when Jesse and I got to go see David Gray in concert!!! We are huge DG fans and have had these tickets since July! The concert was in a really cool, smaller venue called the Nob Hill Masonic Center in the city. We had great seats and enjoyed every minute of the concert!! And if you don't know who David Gray is, check out his latest single "Fugitive" on You Tube.

A view of the venue before the show started

The opening act was Lisa Hannigan. She reminded me of a cross between the Cranberries and Natalie Merchant. She played many different instruments, some I had no clue what they were!

David Gray and band... SO FANTASTIC!! It is so great to see someone live and be impressed by their musicianship. On the last song, "The Other Side", Jesse and I both looked at each other with mouths open, because the drummer was tearing it up!! What a fun night!!!!

More birthday surprises...

On Saturday, we had some friends over for pizza to continue to celebrate my birthday. And Jesse was full of more surprises! Knowing how much I love chocolate, he got me a chocolate fudge cake from Draeger's Market. It was like biting into a piece of heaven! YUM!

A Panoramic View from Grand View Park...

(remember you can click to enlarge... it's worth it!)

I'm 30!!!

Last Thursday, I entered into a new decade! My 30's! And I asked Jesse to surprise me with something fun and memorable... and he did not disappoint! The only hints that I got were, "bring a jacket and a blanket and meet me at the office at 4." I was in the dark and LOVING it! So, I picked him up at exactly 4pm and we were off on our adventure. First stop... Panera Bread for a picnic dinner. Then we were off to the city, winding through a beautiful neighborhood until we stopped at this random staircase...

After walking up the sh-fourteen hundred stairs, I got to see this view... a 360 degree view of the whole city at Grand View Park! To our left was the Pacific Ocean with the sunset...

To the North, a view of the Bay and the top of the Golden Gate Bridge...

And to our right, a view of downtown and the financial district...

Happy Birthday to me :) Here's to my 30's... hoping to continue to grow into the person I am supposed to be...

spending precious moments with the best presents ever... my family...

And because it was rather cold and windy at the top of the world, we decided to have our picnic dinner at home. I opened presents from family... thanks everyone! And then a babysitter came after Cole went to bed, so that Jesse and I could go out for coffee and dessert and enjoy some adult conversation :) What a great day!

Candy time!

On Saturday night, we joined our friends, Brian, Suzanne, and JP, to trick or treat in their neighborhood. I wasn't sure if Cole was going to understand the concept or if he would last very long on the walk. Surprisingly, he did both! He really enjoyed ringing the doorbells and receiving candy (of course!). It was also fun for us to see all the beautiful houses and all the fun decorations. People go all out here!

Cole and Jesse starting the walk... so sweet!

"Trick or treat! Where's the candy? Can I ring your doorbell again?"

Suzanne and JP, aka. the lion :) We just needed a bear to complete the trio... "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"

"Go for the Reese's cups, Cole!"

Skeleton baseball... An example of some of the halloween decorations around the neighborhood. They were definitely over the top!

School Halloween Party

Last Saturday, we went to Cole's school for their annual Halloween bash. Every inch of the place was decorated and there were all sorts of toddler sized games for the kids to play. Some of Cole's favorites were fishing for duckies, the pumpkin patch, pumpkin bean bag toss, and fishing for books. It was so fun to see all his classmates dressed up and to have the chance to meet their whole families.

Cole definitely enjoyed the cookie decorating station!!

Enjoying the ball pit with another tiger, a monkey, a chicken, and a unicorn :)

There were lots of games outside too... here we are at the reading station.

Cole was so excited to sit with Elmo... I finally had to tell him "all done" :)

Road Trip

A few weeks ago, my friend, Suzanne, and I decided to take our boys to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. On the way, we drove through the bustle of the city and then over the Golden Gate Bridge. We have lived here for over 5 months, and I am sad to say that this is the first time I have driven over it! In my head, I knew that it was an amazing feat of engineering and a cultural icon of San Francisco. But as I drove over the bridge, I was almost in tears because of the sheer beauty! The bridge itself is amazing, but the view was breathtaking! It was a clear, fog-free day and I could see the bay below and the cliffs jutting into the ocean. I didn't realize how high it was off of the water! It really did take my breath away! As cheesy as it sounds, I really love enjoying beauty in the world, especially in nature and I look forward to going back to the bridge, maybe to walk across and breath it all in again...