Random Summer

Summertime fun...

 Dexter awaiting the removal of stairway gates.

How civilized!

Naked kids in the backyard.

Gathering with some of Maya's first friends from Momma's original mother's group.

Maya, Charlotte and Sadie.

Dexter getting artsy at school.

New Beginnings

A bit of fun to start the year...

A fun New Year's brunch with the two of the moms from the mother's group from baby Maya's days.  Maya, Charlotte, and Sadie...not so little anymore.

Charlotte and her new little bro, Austin, Maya and Dex, and Sadie.

Now with Mommas, Susan and Kathy.

Celebratory lunch as we finish up the garage project in the backyard.  Momma riding in the truck with two of her favorite guys, Porfilio and Ray!

Swingin'

Back to school with Veronica like Violet.

Mother's Group Reunion

Our San Francisco mother's group had a mini reunion in honor of a visit from Julie, Tyler, Natalie, Noah who now live in far away Michigan.  It's hard to believe our little babies are now 5 years older.

Julie and Natalie with Maya.

fKathy relaxes while being tackled by three girls.

Natasha and Gabriel.

Clockwise starting with Maya: Maya, Olen, Gabriel, Natalie, Jonathan, Charlotte, Noah, Sadie, and Dexter.

5 years of friendship.

San Francisco Mamas

Our San Francisco Mother's Group has now been together for more than 4 years. Kathy invited us all to a lovely holiday brunch. I can't believe how much they've changed.

Gabriel, Olen and younger brother Jonathan, Miles, Sadie, Maya, and Charlotte.

Getting sillier. It wasn't as hard to keep them on the all on the couch way back when.

Now the kiddies with their mommas and two new arrivals, Dexter (9/25/11) and Westin (9/1/11).

Maya's 4th Birthday Party

Maya was very excited to celebrate her big 4th birthday a weekend after the actual event. It was a great day!

Mommy and Maya are just about ready for the guests to arrive.

Hooray for guests.

Maya had a great time playing with her friends. Here she is with her pal, Riley.
Tracy, the animal guy, thrilled guests with everything from hamsters to iguanas in a special birthday show.

The birthday girl got to help out Tracy a few times. Here she is with a chick on her arm.
She was very entertained to have a snake around her neck too.
The finale featured an albino python that the kids held triumphantly overhead.

All that fun with animals made Maya want to beat up a unicorn. Ever since Nick's party, Maya could not stop talking about how much fun it would be to have a pinata at her party. Apparently, Mom and Dad caved in.

Take that, cute unicorn with hearts all over.

Eventually, all that was left was a head in a tree...

...and a frenzy below.
Nice stash!
Oh the humanity.
Finally, it was time for cake. Happy Birthday!

Big Kids

Our Mother's Group doesn't get together as often as we used to, but Sarah was nice enough to host us for a fun St. Patrick's themed get-together. Here's the latest group shot of the kiddies who are all getting so big.

Gabriel, Charlotte, Sadie, Maya, Olen and younger brother, Jonathan.

Now with funny faces.

So glad we are all still friends.

Mother's Group Halloween Brunch

It was great to see a bunch of the Mother's group families at a little Halloween get together at Kathy's house. This year Maya decided to be a mail carrier after being a UPS guy last year.

An attempt at a group photo. Three year-olds are particularly difficult to corral...as you can see above. Clockwise from left: Miles, Charlotte, Maya, Jonathan, Olen and Sadie (kitty in the center).

Mail Carrier and Elmo.

Kathy reads stories to Maya and Sadie.

Visiting Olen's New House

It seems like our Mother's Group is fleeing the city at record pace. Sarah and her family have now found a beautiful home in Castro Valley in the East Bay. Maya and Momma drove down one day to check it out.

The camera capture a momentary line up of Jonathan, Maya, and Olen...

...and...BREAK.

Gabriel Likes Tough Chicks

We had a great time at Gabriel's 3rd birthday which included painted tattoos. Maya decided to get a rainbow heart with her name. She then suggested that Momma get a scorpion with her name. Let's just say that we were not to be messed with after our tattoo session.

Tough guy Gabriel shows the donkey who's boss.

Tough kid.

Tough mama.

Don't mess with us.

Happy Birthday Gabriel!

"Maya's Third Birthday Party" video

Maya and her special request: a chocolate cake with blue icing. Happy Birthday little girl.

Party Party Party

Party time was officially declared at our house. We had a house to warm and a 3rd birthday to celebrate. It turned into a rather unwieldy affair, but we were so excited to be able to see so many of our friends at once. In keeping with Maya's latest love affair with puppets, we decided to have a marionette performance as part of the festivities. Maya loved the party and we hope everyone else enjoyed it too.

Pictures below were collected from us and some of the other attendees...

Marionette performance in the converted garage.

Maya and her pals watch intently.

This clown blows up a balloon and is heartbroken when it pops.


Everyone helps blow out Maya's birthday candles from the chef.

Maya gets to pet her favorite doggy marionette.

All the kids get to pose in front of the stage.

Friends relaxing in the backyard.

Mother's Group ladies with their kiddies.
Layla with baby Isla and Coco (left side).

Miles, Charlotte and Sadie enjoy some cake!
Mother's group pals.
Jason becomes storyteller to Brighton, Maya, and Miles.
Isla.
Dario and Gabriel.
Laura and Nick with some fizzy water.
Mommy with Sharon the wonderful and Ray the great.

More stories with Maya, Brooke, and Ardie.