Coffee anyone?

So, having a super active toddler has brought us into the world of "get us through the morning" coffee. Lately, Cole has enjoyed playing with his Little People airport set, which includes a pilot and his cup of coffee (see picture below). And we happened to catch Cole in the hilarious act of imitation...

"Pic-cuh"

This one's for you Aunt Jill! Now you will have another pickle-eating buddy at Antley's!

Another day in the city...

On Friday, we took another trip into the city. Our first stop was the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. There is a lot to see there, but we spent most of our time in the children's area.

Cole loved riding on this antique carousel. It went surprisingly fast! And Cole enjoyed the up and down of the horse that he chose to ride on :)

It was so great to have Audra with us! Not only was it great to catch up, but I actually got to be in some pictures with Cole :)

The slides at the playground were so fun! They were super fast but had a long flat area at the bottom to slow you down. Look at my hair! haha!

After enjoying YBCA, we decided to walk to China town for lunch. I had a barbeque pork bun (I thought of you Dad! "It's very popular!" haha!) and some pot stickers. Yum!

Then we went to a fortune cookie factory. I had envisioned a huge factory with machines... so I was so surprised when we turned down a small alley and found the "factory". It was more like a closet-sized store, where 4 Chinese people were making fortune cookies by hand. We watched as they would take the flat circles out of this rotating oven, place a fortune in the middle, and then shape the cookie around a dowel. Very interesting!

We had such a great time with Audra and now I can say I have been to the big city as an adult! :)

A Day in the City

Last Thursday, we had a friend in from out of town so we decided to venture into the city! We had a fun day together...

Cole got to see the crabs up close and personal... this was his expression the entire time. I always wonder what he is thinking!?!

A view of Alcatraz from Fisherman's Wharf

The sea lions on Pier 39. These were just a few that were by the boats, but further down the pier there were at least 100 more on the docks! Cole loved listening to their "bark" and worked on a pretty good imitation :)

After a lunch of soup in a SF sourdough bread bowl (YUM!), we took a break (mostly to get Cole out of the stroller) on a beach with an amazing view!

Here's another view from the beach... if you blow up the picture (just click on it) you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. And don't let the kids playing in the water fool you... the water is FREEZING! haha!

More to come of our Friday adventures soon...

In my daddy's shoes...

The best money I have spent in a long time...

Yesterday, I bought a slide/play structure for Cole.  He couldn't wait for me to put it together!!  He quickly figured out how to climb up and slide all by himself.  He loved it so much that he was really sad when we had to leave it in the backyard for nap time :)  Then later on in the day, we went out to run an errand.  When we arrived home, I opened the door from the garage to the backyard and Cole let out a big squeal!  It was like he had forgotten the slide was there and he was rediscovering it for the first time!  This has definitely been the best money I have spent in a long time...

Family Picnic

On Saturday, we attended the company's family picnic.  There were lots of food and games, and I enjoyed continuing to meet Jesse's coworkers.  AND... we won a $50 American Express card in the raffle!  Dinner's on us! haha!  Here are some pics of the day:

Cole enjoying his favorite past time... playing with a ball!

The food was delicious.  Cole and I loved the watermelon and Jesse enjoyed his New York Strip steak!

Cole got a football and a baseball painted on his hand.  He was mesmerized and sat perfectly still the whole time!

On the ride home...

 Cole loves drinking from a juice box.  I just had to take this picture because he looks like such a big boy!  The first time I gave him one, he spilled the entire thing on his shirt, but now he handles it like a champ!

During the raffle giveaway, we ran over to the bouncer while everyone else was occupied.  Cole really loves jumping!

Farmers Market

Ever since we have moved to the Bay Area, I have wanted to sample the local produce at the farmers market.  California is renowned for its bounty of fruits and veggies, especially organic!  So today, we went to our town's weekly market.  There were so many choices that we were on produce overload!  We bought peaches, plums, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, tomatoes, green beans, and corn.  Also, Cole was enjoying all the free samples along the way! 

I was fairly restrained until I reached a stand selling Afghan cuisine... I think the lady saw the sign on my head reading "sucker"!  haha!  She was a smooth saleswoman, giving me all kinds of delicious samples. I couldn't help myself!  I walked away with garlic mint cheese spread, cilantro pesto, jalepeno jelly and 2 packs of spinach flatbread!  So, I guess I know what I will be eating for the next week!

I hope to make this a part of our weekly routine.  I look forward to exploring all our local farmers markets on our quest to incorporate more healthy foods in our diet :)

Coyote Point

On Sunday afternoon, we decided to explore Coyote Point.  It is a huge rec area, which includes parks, picnic areas, windsurfing, bay beaches, a marina, and a children's environmental museum.  We packed up a picnic lunch and headed to the playground first:

I hope this is a friendly dragon!   

This slide was a little too bumpy for Jesse's taste! haha!

After enjoying the park, we headed over to the Coyote Point Museum.  Unfortunately, most of the animals were sleeping, but we did get to see a few:

Jesse and Cole looking for the river otter.  

Cole found the river otter in its den.  He was so cute!

Just silly...