Sonoma and "Traintown" video

Over the holiday weekend, we made a trip up to Sonoma with Nick's family for lunch and visit "Traintown" where they have...TRAINS.

Maya checks out Sonoma.

Maya and Nick.

Here's a little video of the Maya and Nick on the train. They are completely mesmerized by the various things that can be spotted along the way...

"Drivin' Round the Fair" video

At the county fair, they had several rides for kids 36" or taller. Maya is 36.75" tall which gave her access to go on these exciting rides by herself. We notice a ride where kids get to 'drive' in circles. She wants to ride, she picks her car, and she can't stop smiling...

Happiness.

County Fair

To support our new county, we decided to attend the Marin County Fair. It was great. The fair was well attended but not crazy crowded and Maya was entralled the entire time. She loved the carnival rides, the animals on display, the equestrian show, the food, the ice cream and...the FIREWORKS!! Hats off to the carnies, local residents and farmers, the organizers, and the cool firework igniters for putting on such a fun event.

Maya rides a bunny on the carousel.

Maya thinks Mommy is having a little too much fun on the giraffe.

Maya's first rollercoaster, The Caterpillar. Looks terrifying.

Maya and Mommy on the rollercoaster (left side). Mommy still having too much fun.


Mirrors at the 'silly house,' as described it.

Maya's getting tall!



Maya pets a prize winning chicken.

Yay fair.

Maya wonders when the fireworks will start?

We find our spot for viewing Maya's very first fireworks display.

Maya loved the show. She was nervous about the noise, but then we put the hood of her sweatshirt over her ears and that appeared solve the problem. We'll definitely be back next year!

Attack of the Fairies

Megan, Malia, and Kai came over to play and things got a little crazy when we pulled out some tutus and fairy gear. Girl power!!

This game of fairy dancing and going to the doctor was quite exciting.

Fairy-tastic.

Visiting Leah

Maya hasn't seen her friend Leah in a while. She'll be a year old soon. We had a great time hanging out with her and her mama, Kate, in their beautiful backyard!

Kate, Leah, and Maya

Maya is very good at misting babies...

...and patting them on the head.

Daddy's B-Day

Daddy's Birthday is June 25th. We had a nice celebration on Friday night, but Saturday was the big event which featured taking a ferry to a SF Giants baseball game vs the Boston Red Sox. We were all very excited about the big day. It was Maya's first baseball game and our first time going to a baseball game on a ferry!

Maya and Daddy mow the lawn before heading out.

The most exciting way to travel to a Giants game. A special gameday ferry that goes from Larkspur (5 min from our house) directly to the stadium.

We made our way into the stadium and Mommy got Maya and Daddy Giants caps in honor of the big day. As we walked to our seats on the upper deck, they released a whole bunch of balloons. Awesome.

A happy birthday boy.

Our view.

Maya was fascinated by the game. She was happy sitting in her seat for the majority of the game. The delicious ballpark treats helped.

Go Giants!

This is what happens when Maya starts to take pictures.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Todd!

Making Faces

Maya likes trying to imitate various emotions. See if you can guess what emotion goes with each face...

Surprised.

Scared.

Sad...with attitude.

Happy...very happy.

Summertime!!

San Francisco is not kind in the summertime. Fog tends to cover the city bringing with it a cold chill. In San Rafael, we are experiencing our first dose of a warm summer in Northern California. And, summer means a visit to the local public pool!! Coco escaped the city for a little summer excitement too. What a great day!

Maya checks out the tot pool with Coco.

Maya debuts the new big girl bathing suit.

Yay summer!!

Making Herself At Home

Maya had her first impromptu nap on a queen sized bed at Jake and Sophie's place. This may not sound very exciting, but it represented a new frontier for us. Jake and Sophie had invited some friends over for brunch and a World Cup game. It was a rare super sunny day in San Francisco and we decided to stay for the afternoon. Maya started getting very sleepy as her naptime came and went and even though she sleeps with a rail on her toddler bed at home, we thought we'd give the guest bed a try. Maya found it very luxurious. What a big girl! Watch out friends, you may never be able to get rid of us now.

Zzzzzz.

Lunch Date

Maya on a date with Daddy.

Slurp.

Maya's Portrait Series

Maya's been very interested in drawing faces and people lately. She's just starting to get the hand control to make more complex objects. She started doing some smiley faces about a month ago, and now she likes to draw the whole body.

May 23, first smiley face drawn on a kids menu in brown crayon.

June 15, self-portrait with dry erase marker.

Self-portrait, detail

June 19, more faces.

June 19, this guy has a lot of hair.

Pony Ride

We took another trip to the San Rafael farmer's market and decided to let Maya have her first pony ride. Momma was required to have her hands on her the whole time. Maya had a great time riding in circles on her pony named Duchess.

The teenage girl who was leading the horse told Mommy that she had eaten so much sugar for dinner she was feeling a little crazy. Didn't inspire much confidence. At least she wasn't texting while leading the horse like the other attendant.

Determined Maya.

Maya pets Duchess before saying goodbye.

Our strong girl after her pony ride.

Maya Meets Sara

Sara, Momma's good friend from her Evergreen days, stopped by on her way up to Napa to meet Maya during a rare trip to Northern California. She and Maya became good friends and it was wonderful to briefly catch up. Hope we will see each other again soon!

Three cool chicks.

A Tribute to This Old House

Once we bought the house in San Rafael, it became known as "the new house." After the move, our home on Caselli suddenly became "the old house." We quickly spruced up the old house and got it on the market a couple weeks after we moved out. Lucky for us, we had multiple offers and got into contract immediately. On June 1st, the deal was done and the old house became a new house to someone else. While we are so happy to no longer have two mortgages and to have sold the house with very little drama, we are sad to say goodbye to our very first home. We have five years of happy memories centering around our little Victorian on the hill. We've been surrounded by a wonderful community of people there and we've loved sharing our home with our family, friends, and with little Maya. Here is a tribute to this special place. We will miss you!

The very first photo of the Caselli house, on inspection day, March 2005

Kearsley found a cat in the garage that day. A good omen.

The backyard as we found it.

We groomed the backyard, including a weekend of demolition when Kearsley destroyed the koi pond/raccoon swimming pool, and replaced the step.

The office, before it became Maya's room.

Baby Shower, May 2007

Bringing home Maya, July 2007.

Maya in her room for the first time.

Maya meets Lulu and Pop.

Maya spends a little time in the backyard.

Maya meets Grammy and Papa.

Maya's First Christmas.

Maya hangs with Lily in our bedroom.

A casual stroll with Maya up Caselli.

Maya's first b-day party.

Election Day, 2008

Daddy's new car in August 2009, just before we found our new house.

Moving out, April 12, 2010.

Caselli staged for sale, 10 days later.

A last visit just before the final sale, May, 2010. Goodbye, Caselli. We will always remember you.