Cole's first official haircut!

Cole has had many unofficial haircuts by yours truly, but last week I decided to let a professional handle it. I took him to a place that specializes in cutting kids hair, which means it was decked out with toys and TVs. While getting his hair cut, Cole watched the movie Ratatouille and was mesmerized! He only cried at the last minute because the stylist next to us started up the hairdryer -- not Cole's favorite sound! Between shots, I tried to take notes to see if I should go back to cutting it myself or just relegate it to a pro. Other than the fact that she cut his hair in a tenth of the time it takes me, I decided that I am going to buy some good scissors and continue to perfect my haircutting skills at home!

He is really tuned into the movie!!!

And afterwards, I told him we could walk across the street to the candy shop and get a lollipop. He was SO excited to eat his lollipop AND sit with the choo-choo train!

Can you tell Cole likes cupcakes?

Stanford Basketball

On Thursday night, I got to have a girls night out with Kristen! We went to a Stanford women's basketball game... they are really good! And then grabbed some dinner from "Late Night" in the cafeteria. It was fun to get a chance to talk photography and life together :)

Me and "Aunt Cuz" :) (I had to take this shot a couple of times to avoid my 14 chins! haha!)

For the second half, we moved into some empty seats and had a great view of the game!

This is the crazy Stanford mascot. It looks like a cross between a Christmas tree and Mr. Potato Head!

At the end of the game, Kristen made a daring leap over the row of seats in front of us to grab this mini-basketball for Cole. And she and Rod gave Cole the cows in the picture too :) Thanks guys!

Outing to Sausilito

Today we ventured through the thick San Francisco fog to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausilito. Unfortunately, when we were driving over the Golden Gate bridge, you couldn't see anything! But Cole had a great time at the museum and loves spending time with his buddy JP. Here are some pics from our time there...

Playing with the fish in the stream... I think he's trying to figure out how many he can hold at one time?!?

"Drink wa-wa fish!"

Cole and JP getting their groove on :)

I think this was Cole's favorite activity... shoveling the rocks and dumping them into funnels and dump trucks!

A view of the bridge... and this is after the fog had cleared!!

Bet you can't help but smile...

My new toy...

I got a new camera!!! It is sad to say goodbye to my little point and shoot that has been so good to me over the past 2 years. But I have graduated to a digital SLR! After much research, I purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and can't wait to learn how to really use it! I am planning on taking a 7 week photography course starting at the end of the month to learn to use my camera and take artful pictures. And I am hoping that Kristen will let me tag along with her occasionally so that I can learn from her expertise!

The manual settings totally intimidate me right now, so I have been playing around with the auto ones. Here are some silly pics that I took during Cole's nap today...

(well... actually Jesse took took this one! :)

And here's some more of Cole after his nap...

Conservatory of Flowers

Last Saturday morning, we made a last minute decision to drive up to the city and visit the Conservatory of Flowers. It is in the beautiful Golden Gate Park, San Francisco's equivalent to NYC's Central Park. As always, the drive there is half the fun! I love looking at all the amazingly intricate architecture and the hustle and bustle of the city. The Conservatory is a beautiful white greenhouse building set up on a hill, with lots of exotic plants and flowers inside. I think it has been there since the 1800s! Not only was it fun to check out all the plantlife, but they also had a model train exhibit (which was the real reason we went!). It showcased models of several famous SF landmarks, like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts, and Coit Tower to name a few. Cole really enjoyed watching the train! And as we walked back to our car, we were treated to an impromptu jazz concert. I guess they were taking advantage of the good acoustics in the tunnel beneath the road! One of the many things I love about living here is living in such close proximity to a city that has so much to offer!

The Conservatory of Flowers

This room was full of different kinds of flowering plants... it smelled so good!

This room had a huge reflection pond that was at waist level. Very cool!

Watching the "choo choo!"

The impromptu jazz concert... I will try to post a video soon :)

The Golden Gate Express

A panoramic view of the "Golden Gate Express" train exhibit

(remember to click on the pic if you want to see it more closely!)

Caleb's Birthday Surprise

When Caleb and Jill came to visit a few weekends ago, we surprised Caleb for his birthday and took him to the California Academy of Sciences in the city. We got a babysitter and enjoyed every last inch of the place!! We took tons of pics, but here are some of my faves from the day:

"I love surprises!!"... waiting to go into the planetarium

This is the IMAX of planetariums... all digital and feels like you are flying through space!

Up on the living roof

Caleb checking out the leaf bug... great shot Jill!

Some of the bazillion butterflies in the rainforest exhibit... it is a huge three story dome that houses all kinds of plants and animals!

Touching the sea creatures in the aquarium

On the way home, we stopped to give Caleb and Jill the best view of the city at Grand View Park! What a fun day!!!

Froggy Pics

2 months old

1 year old

2 years old

Cole's Birth-MONTH celebrations

So not only is Cole's birthday on the heels of Christmas, but he had 3 (yes! 3!) birthday celebrations! While visiting our families in SC, we had a joint 2 year old birthday party for Cole and his cousin Makayla. It was a Sesame Street themed party, and it was so fun to be able to celebrate with family!

Cole and Makalya opening presents at their party

Party #2... Did you know that Cole shares his birthday with his awesome Uncle Caleb (or Uncle C, as Cole calls him!)? So, Caleb, Jill, and Bella came up to our house a couple of weekends ago to have another joint celebration! What fun!

The birthday boys enjoying some cake!

Party #3... We also wanted to celebrate Cole's birthday on his actual birth-DAY! :) In the morning, we ate special chocolate chip pancakes. Cole received lots of birthday wishes on the phone and over Skype. And that evening, his little friend from playgroup had her birthday party at Pump It Up! So, even though it wasn't technically Cole's birthday party, he got to go and have a great time jumping with all of his friends!! What a day!

Cole is 2 years old!!!

Enjoying his pancakes... a rare time that you will see him messy while eating :)

Cole and Daddy having a great time at Pump It Up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE... WE LOVE YOU!!