Black eye!

Linden fell on our front steps and got a black eye on Monday. It was so sad to see that her eye was closed and bright purple, it was red and now dark purple almost black. We hope she's all healed up for Chicago next week! She is soo resilient- has not skipped a beat and doesn't even know it's there, other than in the am, when she wakes up she points to it and says "eye, eye!"

Mommy's strawberries!

I am growing strawberries outside this year- so far so good- we have juicy red strawberries for our cereal! Thank goodness for being organic.

Kitchen redo

Before floor

After Floor

Before wine fridge

After wine fridge

As most Californian's we wanted to redo a little bit of our kitchen which as turned out to be a pretty major overhaul! We riped up the old floor and stove and added a wine fridge and new flooring and a viking range which has yet to be installed- you'll see it as soon as it is in!
Here are some before and after pics- we're not done yet- so the floor is not grouted or sparkling clean!

Weekend at the coast

It was our 6th wedding Anniversary this weekend and we had a wonderful time at the beach! We went to Seascape in Aptos. It's only a quick drive over Hwy 17 and south of Santa Cruz. We went there when Rachel and Jake got married. It was great to be back! It was full of adventures like, an in-room surprise massage for Mommy, walks and golfcarts down to the beach, a wonderful fresh seafood mex resturant, morning bagel runs, (Mommy's favorite bagels of all time!) Scrabble, (Mommy won!) a great beach campfire with S'mores, (Linden's first S'more) a trip into Capitola, and a wonderful family getaway filled with memories that will last a lifetime.
Brett and I have now made a point to strive for Family memories for Linden, as well as us. We really had a lovely trip and I highly suggest making a Family Memory of you own!
Linden LOVES the beach so much- she gets so excited and said "Osen!" She was all smiles at the beach and the pics show it. Oh yeah, she also liked driving the golf cart!

Brunch with the Webb's

We headed down to drop off Bruno at the Webb's on our way to the coast. We got to catch up and see our old neighbors. Bruno loves to stay there and they love him just as much! Ann loved to see Linden and Linden was all smiles for them! Thanks for the wonderful getaway, we love you guys!

sweetpeas

Kim brought over some sweetpeas for the girls to snack on, but I could not help but shoot them....

Babyswap Begins!

So we started a "babyswap" today with Gigi. I got to watch the girls this morning and Kim ( Gigi's Mommy) gets to watch them next Friday. It worked out great, the girls loved hanging out together and Gigi showed Linden how to play the guitar like a violin! Pretty cool! We got in the bike and went to the park- it was a really great morning! Looking forward to next week- what should I possibly do with "free-time'???? Here are some pics with Gigi today- -click on image to see them larger!

The Gilles Great Northern California Tour Stops in Menlo Park!

Aunt Heidi, Thomson and Sally stopped by yesterday afternoon from Berkely on their way to Santa Cruz- they are taking the Northern California College tours. We are hoping Thomson comes to his senses and realizes that people in San Fran are not "scary!" We would love to have him so close- and he'll have a place to come and do laundry for free! If he doesn't make it- there is still hope for Sally!
It was great to see you guys! Love you lots! Thanks for "Heidi the horsie", too- she's been a hit! Linden has been wispering "Neighhh".

California sun!

84 degrees and sunny

Our first day at the pool...weather man said 84 and sunny! Love California!

Palo Alto Jr. Museum and Zoo

Checking out the owl, "critter"

Tira has her hands full!

We met up with Tira, Eva and Max ( Eva's new friend) after music class today at the zoo. Linden was not feeling so well- not sure if it's allergy season getting to her, or a dredded cold! :(
She's not too smiley in the pics, but we had fun at the zoo and museum!

"Baa-joon!"

So Linden has a friend that lives across the street- his name is Benjamin. When Linden goes to bed at night she looks out her window and says "Baa-joon", when she wakes up in the morning, she goes to the window and looks for Baa-joon. It's very sweet, and she just lights up and giggles when he comes over bouncing his basketball. Benjamin is so nice- he holds Linden's hand to step off the sidewalk and will even carry her around- Linden loves having Baa-joon right across the street.

small thrills

so, children's toys are usually very busy and covered in shiny decals and blinking lights, so I get very excited when I find something for Linden that even I can appreciate.
This stacking burger came from the Easter Bunny (me) and I appreciate the design soo much- I just think it's very graphic and friendly as a design concept. Not to mention that it has taught Linden what bacon and pickles are! Took me a few minutes to set up this burger....

Park Playdate

linden and kendall

Ayala

Kendall "the rocker"
Kendall (cross-process)

We've been having a semi-regular playdate with some neighbors in the park. Linden's friends Kendall and Ayala were there- it was fun to see everyone and the girls together. Linden liked having a friend in the swing with her too!