Lions & Tigers and Bears...

In mid October we took a family trip to the SF Zoo. It was much colder than we expected, but it wasn't so bad that we had to leave. Luckily it didn't rain on us. Kelly and Trevor allowed us to use their double stroller (which we didn't think we'd need) and oh what a lifesaver it was. Bella spent most of the time sitting up and patting Beau's head, which Beau thought was hilarious.

We saw penguins...

Beau was able to pet goats...

We saw an HUGE owl, that continued to look away from Beau which caused him to yell, "Owl, come back."
Beau sat on a turtle...
Beau posed with the ducks, which by the way, was his favorite part of the zoo...
He climbed through a child size version of the prairie dog tunnels...
Daddy and the kids posed for a pic in the Rain Forest...
"Oh yea, that's how I roll". - Beau

Baker's Birthday

A few weeks ago Baker Bloom Elson turned 3. Amy and Josh held her party at Phillips Farms Pumpkin Patch. It was a super hot day, but it didn't dampen the kids spirits...thus all the sweaty faces. Baker is so adorable...becoming such a little lady. Happy Birthday Baker.

Birthday Girl!
Beau enjoyed chasing the ducks! or are they geese?
Beau played a little bocce ball.
He also filled up on a cupcake.
Bella and Caleb (born 8 days before Bella) took a leisure stroll together.
The Ladies! Audrey (10 mos), Bella (7 mos) and Mia (18 mos)

Home all day long...

We spend a lot of time at home and as a result silliness happens.

Melissa's office was performing a song from Glee and needed a red/white cheer uniform, so we pulled out all my old uniforms and Beau tried on one of the tops. Notice he's not wearing pants, no worries, he's wearing undies...we're attempting potty training. It's going NO WHERE.

Beau found a box of hats and decided to try on ALL of them. Notice Bella in the background. Beau put a hat on her, he didn't want her to feel left out.
We never strap Bella in her car seat when we drive down to Gabby and Popo's house. Now that she's mobile, that's probably not a good idea as she turns all the way around and stands up to face us. Wild Woman!
The other day Bella was so tired, she fell asleep on the floor as Beau and I played right next to her.
After Joel changed Bella's diaper, I told him he forgot to put her bloomers back on. So I handed them to her. He had no idea what I was talking about so he placed them on her head.

She's On The Go

Well folks, Joel was right. Bella started crawling at 6 1/2 months on the exact day Joel predicted. This little one can't be contained.

Mr. & Mrs. Hoffman

In early October Meredith Felde became Meredith Hoffman. The wedding was beautiful at Oak Farms in Lodi. Meredith looked gorgeous and let's not forget the handsome Kevin. We had a great time catching up with high school friends and dancing the night away. But none of us quite danced like Troy. The video below shows just a small portion of his Billy Jean dance. His dance was so impressive, guests said to Meredith, "I didn't know you hired professional dancers for the wedding."

Congrats Mere and Kevin!

Lego Tower

We've been spending a lot of time indoors since the kids have been sick. And...what better way to pass the time than to build a lego tower. I really think we outdid ourselves this time.

PS. I have no explanation for the messy house. Sorry.

6 Months

On September 14 Bella turned 6 months. So much has been changing for her, so fast. She now weighs 17 lbs 7 oz, she's 26 inches long and she's 6 month clothing is starting to get a little tight. 9 month clothes, here we come. She's so different from Beau who was only 15 lbs at 6 months and was still wearing 6 month clothes at 1 year.

She's walking forwards and backwards in her walker, which means she can get where she wants to go. She's up on all 4s and sort of crawling, Joel has predicted she'll be full on crawling within the next week or so. She can go from her stomach to a sitting position and is full of smiles and laughs. She's a mellow girl and tough as nails as she continues to survive Beau's rough housing. For the first time she got sick. She had a bad cold/fever that turned into an ear infection. Sadly it lasted for 3 weeks so she spent her 6 month birthday feeling under the weather. But luckily it didn't really dampen her spirits.

Simon Says...

Beau's going through one of those phases where he likes to copy other people. This particular day, he chose to copy Bella's every move.

Pop is 60!

On September 17 my dad turned 60. For his birthday we took him to San Francisco for the day. We started out riding our bikes from the Embarcadaro through the Precidio, then to Golden Gate park, down Market back to Embarcadaro. We ate a light lunch at Boudin, got ice cream at Cold Stone, bought dad a SF sweatshirt, then ended the day at Pier 39. We had a blast being tourists for the day. Happy Birthday Old Man.

Christa after conquering our first hill. Little did we know this hill was an ant hill compared to some of the mountains we rode up (or in our case...walked) later in the ride.

Birthday Man

Our Cutsies!

The other morning Beau joined Bella on our bed for some play time.

Beau 2.0

On September 14 Beau turned 2. He's becoming such a big boy (25lbs, 8 oz to be exact), it's sort of sad to see my baby grow so fast. As of 2 years he's able to eat pretty much anything without fear of choking or an allergic reaction. He loves to play with Bella, in fact, he has a hard time concentrating in the morning until he's said "good morning" to Bella. Some mornings when he's awake before us, he goes into Bella's room, talks with her and fills her crib with balls. He's very active and has the scarred knees to prove it. He can count to 20 (sort of...he misses 14 and 15), and can recognize Big A and B as well as little a and b. He knows about 60 signs and his favorite songs are Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday. He continues to love to read. His favorite books are Wake Up Rooster, Not Norman, and Sing Along Bible. His favorite TV shows are Little Einsteins, Wonder Pets, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. It's been a busy year.

The Noma's were kind enough to open their house to us for Beau's birthday. Beau had so much fun at his golf themed party. Bella was a little fussy, so I spent the majority of the party in the house with her, but Beau had plenty of other family members to play with.

Beau's Golf Cupcake Cake
I love this picture. Mia looks like she's reprimanding Beau. Just like a woman!
We had a ball tent...
...a slide
...bubbles
...And of course, golf.
Beau got new golf balls...
...new clubs
...and he immediately put them to good use. "In the hole!" as Beau likes to say.