Our Visit to Santa

With less than a week to go
we headed out through the snow.
(not quite)

Dashing and dodging parking lot traffic
we needed a little holiday magic.
(aka an empty spot)

Owen and Tess
were in their best dress.
(by my standards)

When we finally made it to see Santa
there was a line stretching back to Atlanta.
(seriously)

It was getting down to the wire
the situation was dire.
(O needed to pee)

As the line got smaller and our time drew near
we found out Santa needed to take an hour break to feed the reindeer.

Tessa's first crawl!

Owen's Wizard of Oz

Owen had his debut on stage, starring as lion number two in the Building Kidz version of the Wizard of Oz. Here is our tap dancing phenom.

Owen with Grandpop's trains

A favorite thing to do when we were growing up was to set up my dad's trains during the Christmas season. Below is video of the first time Owen is setting up Grandpop's Lionel trains.

Here is a link to some more video with the Plasticville Houses set up.

A great holiday weekend

A holiday weekend definitely to be thankful for. Great food, family, friends and weather. Turkey day was spent with Molly, Eric and their family. We all had plenty of play time (mountain bike rides, surf, searching for starfish at low tide and strolls along the beach). The surf on Sunday was GiNORMUS - (click on the link to see a picture - the set waves were probably 20 feet).

Mother's little helper

A little help from big brother

Fall Hike

Weather starting turning - good day for a little hike on the other side of the Valley, up Montara Mountain.

Hike two

Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging

As goes Tess, So goes the Nation

Halloween

Halloween trick or treating over at the Kellers

leaf t-rex

leaf t-rex
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

A great fall weekend. We went on a photo safari, nature hunt w/ O's new camera from Nana (future ansel adams in the works). And then some art projects with leaves, of course they had to be in the shape of dinosaurs

Fantastic Four

The big 4
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Big weekend for Owen’s fourth birthday. Dee Dee came out to visit and celebrate. On Saturday (O’s bday) we took a trip to Lemo’s Pumpkin farm down in HMB. Owen got cold boots at the last minute and didn’t want to do the pony ride but we did do a train ride (actually a tractor disguised as a train). Kylie and Sam (and Molly/Eric) came for some birthday cake. Then on Sunday we went and saw the Blue Angels – still unbelievably impressive. The big birthday gift was a fish tank – 10 fish and two snails. Owen has been intensely tracking their moves.

The Anti-Bib

Tess is not much for the bib these days. This was like the 5th time in a row she did this.

Fun wedding weekend

IMG_0281.JPG
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Fun weekend in Colorado for Bryan (kim's brother's wedding)

Summertime in Pacifica

The last few weeks the weather started finally changing from the summer gray fog to the warm, sunny beach days of the late summer. We took full advantage this weekend - went to the beach Friday evening and then back on Saturday. There are some more pics on flickr.

Serious Babble

Here is some quick little video of Tessa's first babbles. This was about 2 weeks ago.

Owen's first camping trip

Owen's first camping trip was a big success. We went camping at San Mateo Memorial Park with the Kellers (Tristan and Trevor) and the Andrasicks (Sean and Ben). We all hiked in (2 miles) to reserved camp sites. (Dad mostly pushed Owen in the double jogger - who knew it was an all-terrain stroller). There was a great creek that the boys played in and fire pit for us to make smoores. Pictures are here at flickr.

Ad Man

Tonight Owen had his first real experience with commercials... they work...(he is so use to watching PBS Sprout and other shows without the typical commercial breaks or if he does... they are TiVo'd and we skip by them for him) But tonight - he was watching Nick and had some good exposure to commercials.... so far he needs apple juice - "You can just go to the store and get it dad." And "Chocolate breakfast cereal b/c the crazy bird told me."

Fun weekend

1st hike in backpack
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

We survived (we being, Tess, Owen, Rupert, Bailey and Dad) while mom took a much needed break. We hit the zoo, did a nature hike, ate pizza and burritos.... good stuff.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Its been just over a year since we went down to the boardwalk at Santa Cruz - this time we decided to stay over night - nothing fancy a Super 8 - (as compared to where Kim is staying this weekend :-) But it was actually super clean and just a few blocks away from the boardwalk, so it worked out great. Some pics of are up at flickr - but the highlight was the dinner at Kianti's Pizza & Pasta bar - check out the video, they put on a little show - the pizza tossing was impressive. Maybe this is something we should have done at Sal's.

This past week was the first time that Tessa started babbling... we'll try to catch some on video.

pasta twirling

owen practicing twirling pasta





the beneficiary of the practice

Tessa's version of River Dance

The 4th in San Diego

We have made a few trips down to San Diego for the 4th of July - and have been lucky to have family come visit us each trip. This year it was Nana and Joe. The road trip down this year was a lot smoother than last year - we thought it would be a good idea to drive through the night because O and Tessa would sleep... they did but when we arrived at 4am - they stayed awake. Owen did well making friends at the different beaches we went to... he had fun digging up sand crabs in Del Mar and throwing rocks in Cardiff but this year he was a lot more tentative when it came to playing in the water. The trip home was probably the smoothest yet - it pays to leave a day early to beat the traffic.

Thinking inside the box

peeking in
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

at least someone had some fun with the new lamp (well at least the box from it)

O and the other blondes at the beach

O and the other blondes at the beach
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

75 degrees at 8:30 pm in Pacifica.... doesn't happen very often, a nice bday gift for mom

Happy bday mom

Happy bday mom
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

A Happy Hour and Happy Birthday for Kim at da beach

the butterfly project

the butterfly project
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Our little science project worked. We ordered caterpillars via mail and watched them go through their complete metamorphosis - all survived and then were set free in the backyard.

Owen's Directorial Debut

Here is a "movie" as told and directed by Owen.

Sweet Potatoes and double joggers

A fun memorial day weekend- pretty relaxing, a nice family stroll down to the beach at low tide looking for starfish, crabs and other creatures in the tide pools. A successful stroll in the double jogger (the younger one did better than the older one). BBQ over a friends (which probably kept Tess out too long and had mom and dad paying the consequences the next day). But all-in-all a good weekend. Also did some first experiments with food for Tessa - Sweet Potatoes, the first taste. Owen usually ate everything the first time - check out the video for Tessa's reaction.

Tessa first laughs

So far.... Tessa is definitely a morning girl. Pretty much every time she wakes up in the morning and from most naps she is very happy, smiling, giggling and trying to chat. Although, there are some short naps that she is not so cheery. Here is a video with
some of Tessa's first laughs and other other fun.

Heat Wave!

Heat Wave!
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Tessa enjoying a very rare 90 degree day here in Pacifica

Summer Time Digs

Summer Time Digs
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Welcome warm weather (at least until June Gloom)

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime® Player. Note: During the download process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

Swim

Swim

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

Grey and Foggy Weekend

Grey and Foggy Weekend - not much to do but Owen learn to play to some computer games at PBS Kids website - Clifford Puzzle and Photo Safari - see video below

Computer Games

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime® Player. Note: During the download process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

Sun and fun.

First Hike with Tessa
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

A great spring weekend. Warm weather and some fun times at the beach. Also some more firsts... first hike with Tessa, first surf with Owen. Well we gave it a go - Owen and I did some belly riding - he did well until the big one wiped us out (big one = 6 inches).

Back Packs

Another little milestone this weekend….1 kind of sad… Owen’s time directing my mowing (riding in the back pack - this is an old pic) is over. He is finally a bit too big. But the other milestone is that Tessa is starting to have enough head control to go in the Bjorn. Which means a bit more exploring to do things like going on hikes….or doing the dishes.

Tessa's first trip back east.

Some pics are up at flickr from the trip back east. All and all it was a great trip. Kim went back to Erie with both Tessa and Owen - By herself !! Tessa and Owen did great on the planes. Owen got to enjoy some late season snow back in Erie and had plenty of fun down in Philly with his cousins.

3 months old 2day

3 months old

Pool Time

Pool Time
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Warm weather greeted us this weekend... Warm enough to fill up the pool and to spend a lot of time outside.

Sorry - we are behind on uploading pictures from the trip back east... one of the many things we were going to do this weekend but the good weather was our excuse not to get much done.

Helping DeeDee Look for Spring Flowers

Meeting of the Minds

Happy easter xo

Pre-Preschool

We (or Kim) has been going around to all the preschools in our little town to figure out which one will be the best for Owen. Here is a pick from a pre-preschool type of class. It is one day a week and goes for a few weeks. We started Owen in it this past week. At first he was kind of hesitant and shy but apparently they have dinosaurs!! so all was well. Although, he did tell me that they sing... and he didn't want to sing with the other boys and girls. Actually, probably a good thing b/c odds are against him that he will have any kind of singing voice (blame that on mom and dad). In fact, any time we start singing in the house... Owen interrupts and says, "please stop singing."

Photo Shoot

Smiles
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Click on Flickr for some more pictures that we took of tessa... trying to find some that we will do in prints. We have one of Owen like this (at around her age) and they look almost exactly a like.

Tahoe - First Family Ski Trip

Owen’s first time seeing the snow (that he can remember) and Tessa’s first trip. We had a great ride up, Tessa fell asleep leaving Pacifica and woke up when we pulled into the parking lot in Squaw. Owen also caught some shuteye on the ride up too… it was probably the most uninterrupted time that Kim and I had to talk to one another in… well… a long time. It got to the point where I felt like we were just making up stuff to talk about just to take advantage of it.

The place we stayed was great – right in the new little village at Squaw, walking distance from the lifts. We put Owen in Squaw Cubs – a daycare/ski school. They take the kids out for two sessions on the slopes. Owen didn’t want to do the first session but with Mom’s coaxing he took part in the second session. Apparently, he wanted to ski the first session but wasn’t too sure about the ski boots. However, the second session mom helped put the boots on and he was ready for some serious X Games action. Owen did well on the ‘magic carpet ride’ (the little conveyer belt that totes the tikes up the hill) and gave skiing a go. Check out the video. Owen did great for his first time on skis – the same can’t be said for Dad’s first run of the year – but nothing clears the head like a little concussion.

The next day we hit the slopes again but this time on a sled… all and all a great first family ski trip. Hopefully, there will be many more to come.

Some Pics

Been kind of slow on getting new pics up of Tessa. Partly b/c of a broken computer... but definitely b/c this two children thing is tough :-)

Click on the link - Pics at Flickr

More pics to come from Dee Dee and Aunt Kathy's visit.

Getting use to the new colors in the laundry

pics of first bath

pics of first bath
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Owen watching Nana give Tessa her first Bath (Nanna gave O his first bath too!)

Click this link to go to flickr for more pics

First day at home

First day at home
Originally uploaded by rick loughery

Well... we are in to day 3 and its definitely a different experience the second time around. We are home now and Owen is adjusting well as a new big brother. On Tuesday, after the birth I drove home to get Owen. When I picked him up from Mimi’s he was definitely excited to see me but the first thing he asked was if we were going to go see mom and baby Tessa. When we got there Owen saw Tessa nursing and asked “Is that Baby Tessa...” I said, “I hope so.”

Owen was a bit timid – he didn’t want to hold her or get to close but he asked if he could sing her a song... he sang her his rendition of Twinkle Twinkle little star.

Tessa definitely has some lungs on her... even the nurses were surprised at how loud she could cry.

Tomorrow is day number four – and Rupert comes home from Pet Camp... the house will be full!

Tessa weight 8.8

Walking with the Dinosaurs

We are still waiting for Ms. Tessa to arrive.... its been pretty long and now getting really tough for Kim.

I haven't had a chance to post some pictures from Owen's adventure to see Walking with the Dinosaurs. What a great experience it was for both of us. The dinosaurs looked so real and the whole experience captivated Owen. We have been to a couple of movies at the theater and it will be only a matter of 20 - 30 minutes before O gets bored and ready to explore the lobby... but not this time. Owen didn't flinch - he was totally mesmerized. At the intermission, I could not coax him at all to take a bathroom break. I tried offering ice cream, candy - nothing...

There are some more pictures on flickr.