Monday, January 24, 2011

To the Side

Cup 3

Jacinta loves drinking from a cup. I’m sure it makes her feel like a big girl. Also, she gets very thirsty.

 

Cup 4

It’s cute watching her with the cup because she definitely doesn’t want to miss what’s going on around her.

So she holds the cup a little to the side when she drinks.

 

Cup 1

Like this.

 

Cup 5

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

 

Just lookin’ at you, cutie pie.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

When Veronica’s Away…

Jacinta will play!

 

Cats Away 1

Being that Lion is Veronica’s favorite toy and best friend, Jacinta rarely gets the opportunity to play with him. Or even touch him.

 

Cats Away 3

So when Veronica was at Omi’s house the other day, Jacinta snatched the opportunity.

Although it took her a moment to relinquish her fingers in order to pick him up.

 

Cats Away 4

Then Lion was caught!

 

Cats Away 2

He was no match for Jacinta’s wiles.

 

Cats Away 5

“That’s right.”

And Veronica was none the wiser.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

2010: A Year in Review

The last few months of 2010 went by so quickly, I couldn’t believe that it was over. Suddenly it was New Year’s Eve, and I found myself thinking about all the great things, big and small, that happened throughout the year.

 

Jan 26 185

I started my blog in January with a post about Veronica playing in the backyard. And I was hooked. Clearly. I may not manage to post something every day, and sometimes even a week or two goes by in between, but I really do enjoy it.

 

Feb 7 2010 059

In February we made our annual visit to the Renaissance Festival. Huzzah! One of our many fun adventures this year.

 

Mar 22 2010 178

Our new pantry was a great addition to the house in March, and I can’t even remember what it was like without it. It’s especially nice since my cooking has really improved over the last year (thanks in part to the Pioneer Womanbut you already knew that). So now I have enough room to keep the growing list of “must have” ingredients on hand.

 

Mar 31 2010 034

And the very end of March brought our little Jacinta. I can’t remember what it was like without her, either.

 

Apr 3 2010 094

April we spent toting Jacinta to various doctor’s appointments, and now sometimes it’s hard to believe her arm was ever broken. You wouldn’t even know it.

 

Mom and girls

May brought my first Mother’s Day as a mom of two. What a blessing. Two of them! And May also marked our fifth anniversary, though we didn’t get to celebrate until June. Late is better than never!

 

Baptism 33

And June brought family to town for a visit, which coincided nicely with Jacinta’s baptism.

 

Birthday 2

Veronica’s second birthday came along in July. She is growing up so fast! More and more beautiful every day.

 

Aug 8 2010 245

August was packed full of fun, including a trip to Wisconsin.

 

Rain 1

Fun weather blew in with September. At least, it was fun for some of us. I think there were a few people who ended up with some home repairs as a result, which is unfortunate, but Veronica did have a lot of fun playing in the rain.

 

Costume 2

With October came things that were fun, and some that were not so fun. And, of course, little girls in costume which can never go wrong.

 

Thanksgiving 9

In November the pace picked up, but Veronica reminded me of the important things. At least, important from the perspective of a two-year-old.

 

Christmas 4

And then it was December, time to pass a holiday tradition or two along to our kids.

Of course, they really were the best part of the year.

 

Jan 26 039

Watching Veronica grow from this…

 

Aug 1 2010 230

…to this…

 

Dec 26 2010 227

…to this!

 

Apr 1 2010 033

And Jacinta, so little and squishy at first…

 

Sept 7 2010 077

…growing into this smiley baby…

 

Dec 16 2010 014

…and now this!

 

5 Months Sisters 1

No matter what the next year brings, I know it will be special because of them.

 

Dec 26 2010 097

They’ll continue to grow older and closer.

 

List 3

And I’ll just continue to grow older.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and here’s to a new year filled with blessings, fun…and, of course, food.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

San Francisco

SF 8

After Christmas we drove out to Northern California to visit some of my family.

 

SF 1

We decided to take BART into San Francisco one day.

 

SF 2

It was cold, and apparently the previous passenger needed a little something to keep warm.

It was empty. I think.

 

SF 3

We wanted to take the cable car down to the wharf, but the line to get on was soooo long. Apparently they had been broken down earlier and had just started running again.

So we decided to walk.

 

SF 4

We were going to try to catch a cable car further down the line, but they were all full, of course.

So we kept walking.

 

SF 5

And walking.

 

SF 6

And walking.

 

SF 7

Finally, our goal is in sight!

 

SF 9

Hello, crooked Lombard Street. Almost there.

 

SF 11

Fisherman’s Wharf! We made it.

 

SF 12

It smelled like this.

 

SF 10

Veronica liked this lion sculpture that was guarding one of the shops.

 

SF 13

There’s Alcatraz off in the distance.

 

SF 14

I didn’t want to pose in the sign, so I made Peter do it instead.

 

SF 16

The Christmas tree on Pier 39.

 

SF 17

This is where we used to eat with my grandma when we would come to the city with her. I miss you, Grandma!

 

SF 18

This carousel had little scenes from around the city painted along the top.

 

SF 19

Snuggling to keep warm.

 

SF 20

Cold, but happy.

 

SF 21

Most of the sea lions were on vacation, I guess. I don’t blame them.

 

SF 23

It’s hard to eat crackers when you are wearing mittens. Veronica can attest to that.

 

SF 24

Some of the piers are not in as good repair.

 

SF 25

Finally it was time to stop for dinner. Seafood, of course.

 

SF 26

Jacinta took the opportunity for a nap. She was wiped out.

 

SF 28

But Veronica was still going strong.

“Don’t go in the street! You must hold my hand.”

“Okay, because there are lots of cars.”

It’s a conversation she’s had a few times before.

 

SF 27

We spotted this out the window. Nice! I would totally name my yacht Sméagol.

Or maybe Gollum.

Of course, to do that, I would have to own a yacht.

 

SF 29

I liked this sign.

 

SF 30

And this one.

 

SF 31

But especially this one. Mmmmmmm.

 

SF 32

Veronica was so tired, she missed out on the hot chocolate. Boy, did that hit the spot.

Especially while we waited in the cold wind for the cable car back to BART.

 

SF 33

A fun, but exhausting day.

 

SF 34

Though Jacinta is never too tired to eat a camera strap.