rocco + siena

washing...

2012-02-02T21:13:00.001-08:00

rocco enjoyed washing himself in his bath the other night. when you say show me your teeth, this is what you get. love it.

sweet girls!

2012-02-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

saturday morning ballet with lots of sweetness. yum.

rainy sunday...

2012-02-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

while we had a short rain patch we decided to go to hilltop mall with mimi to get some energy out. it was actually a good time complete with train and carousal rides.

izzie!

2012-02-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

another fun four-year-old birthday party for siena's new friend izzie. the pinata was a big hit with lots of candy and siena even got some good whacks in.

ducks.

2012-01-31T07:58:00.001-08:00

after school fun feeding the ducks. not so fun, trying to keep rocco from falling into the water.

fiona!

2012-01-31T07:54:00.000-08:00

one of sisi's new friends fiona, from school, had a festive rainbow birthday party the other weekend. sisi went as the color blue.

glen ellen.

2012-01-31T07:38:00.001-08:00

my mom now lives in glen ellen in a perfect grandma house. we went up for a day trip to help nick hang some new doors. rocco also got busy working like daddy. after the work was done we took a walk to get lunch and visited with the neighborhood goats. it's always a good time at grandma's.

visit...

2012-01-31T07:35:00.000-08:00

uncle josh came in from nyc to show off his new lady friend. we got to have a nice brunch with him and meg, but no pictures of course. stella and rocco wore their "i love new york" shirts in his honor. come again soon.

papa in heaven.

2012-01-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

papa said, "nothing gets better than this," as he cuddled with his grandbabies at dinner.

ramona!

2012-01-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

my cousin ramona was here recently and as always it was a pleasure to visit with her.

first...

2012-01-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

we gave rocco his first haircut. it was traumatic at first, but now i really like it. his name IS rocco afterall.

bike.

2012-01-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

thanks to mimi rocco is learning to master a bike from an early age.

sister brother love...

2012-01-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

rocco watches sisi closely and wants to do everything she does from watering the plants to drawing on the clubhouse with chalk. for the most part sisi is quite tolerant of her little brother following her around and getting into all her things, she will even share her treats with him. rocco is lucky to have such a wonderful big sister.

new years!

2012-01-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

for new years we were lucky enough to go up to dillon beach with some good friends. it was a beautiful weekend with lots of laughter and fun. siena got totally wet in the ocean and buried in the sand. rocco is not so sure of the sand or water, but made the best of the beach. nick and i enjoyed the time with close friends away from our real life responsibilities. happy 2012!

four cousins. two generations.

2012-01-11T08:02:00.001-08:00

avery (33), marie (32), giancarlo (35), ramona (25)

Khalil (9), rocco (1 1/2), ayamila (5), siena (4)

one family...

2012-01-11T08:01:00.001-08:00

2 girls, 2 boys, 4 people, 8 legs, 40 toes = 1 family

windy park day...

2012-01-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

at first i was totally intimidated to spend two weeks with the kids when we were all out of school, but it was actually really nice to have the time together. we got to visit with many friends and go on adventures that we can't do while i'm working. one morning we met up with sinai and kaya at our local park. it was windy, but the sun was still shining and we had a nice time.

chanukah candles...

2012-01-04T07:44:00.001-08:00

siena really enjoyed lighting the chanukah candles this year and even got to make some of her own (thanks lori for the candle making kit).

our RV adventure!

2011-12-29T18:31:00.000-08:00

we had a great adventure in the RV over the christmas holiday. we left on friday and drove to pescadero. on the way up we pulled into an in & out and brought our food back to the RV to eat, our first meal in the 25 foot vechicle. the next morning we went on a guided tour of the elephant seals complete with great weather and many large seals. that night we made sure to call santa to tell him where our RV was so he could find us and sure enough he did. on christmas we drove to carmel, walked to the beach, and enjoyed a nice family dinner out. on monday we finished up our trip at the monterey aquarium and drove home. it was an awesome family experience that we'll be sure to do again soon.

reunited...

2011-12-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

and it feels so good! welcome home josah and muluk, we're so glad to have you back.

four!

2011-12-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

siena is officially four years old and we love her so.

sisi's party...

2011-12-22T20:26:00.000-08:00

we had a small birthday party for siena last weekend with four girlfriends, since she was turning four. the girls got their faces painted, made masks, broke open a number four pinata, and ate yummy angel food cake. for her birthday we bought her a fancy gown, heel shoes (as she calls high heels), and long gloves. four years old, wow!

ballerinas

2011-12-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

siena and toscana had their first small ballet recital this weekend. it was beautiful sweet chaos.

pump it up!

2011-12-20T16:29:00.001-08:00

siena's classmate samantha had a great birthday party at pump it up (a warehouse full of jumpy houses and slides) this past weekend. siena and rocco were in heaven. at one point siena ran past me and said, "this place is amazing." a lot of siena's friends from school were there and it was a nice opportunity to visit with some of the families. the kids both fell asleep within minutes of getting into the car. we might have to visit this place more often.

birthday treats.

2011-12-20T16:18:00.001-08:00

for siena's birthday celebration at school we made berry kabobs. i heard from nick that they were a big hit.

reading.

2011-12-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

glide memorial church...

2011-12-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

i don't think i've been to church since i was a child and i went with my grandma, nonnie. the weekend before last i talked nick into going to glide memorial church, i've been wanting to do this for some time now. we all really enjoyed the experience and ended the morning with a short trip to japan town. hopefully we'll go back again when the kids are a little bit older.

holiday party.

2011-12-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

we had fun at siena's preschool holiday party. each room was decorated with a different winter theme and santa even made an appearance. the kids were both a bit afraid of him and kept their distance, but were definitely curious. siena asked all sorts of questions like where is his slay, how does he get home, where does he live, etc.

two.

2011-12-19T14:15:00.001-08:00

khalil turns nine.

2011-12-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

khalil had an awesome bowling party for his 9th birthday. we got to bowl to music and disco lights, and a huge bowling pin came out and danced with the kids at the end. fantastic.

winter party...

2011-12-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

a couple weekends ago we went to the holiday party at rocco's daycare. it's always nice to see the other families and children that rocco spends his days with.

broom.

2011-12-19T14:07:00.001-08:00

rocco's new favorite word and item.

walk...

2011-12-19T14:02:00.000-08:00

when we need a break from being inside the house we take a walk around the block. at the end of our walk last week we found dada.

auntie bubbles...

2011-12-15T21:21:00.001-08:00

auntie bubbles, my aunt jill, had her annual holiday party this past weekend. we got to visit with family and friends, watch a banana slug move very slowly, decorate herb plants, visit uncle david's bench, and walk around the beautiful botanical garden. i just wish we remembered jackets.

bikes!

2011-12-15T21:20:00.001-08:00

fun with papa.

2011-12-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

stella!

2011-12-13T21:15:00.000-08:00

it had been way too long since rooco and his twin from another mama, stella, had had a date. they're a pretty cute couple.

painting face...

2011-12-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

siena calls face painting "painting face." lucky for siena she has both a patient and artistic dad.

sinai turns three!

2011-12-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

dinner with lucy and jules.

2011-12-13T21:03:00.000-08:00

snuggles with mimi.

2011-12-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

birthday.

2011-12-13T21:01:00.001-08:00

papa had a birthday back in november and we helped him celebrate.

thanksgiving...

2011-12-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

playing a little catch-up here. for thanksgiving we went up to tutu B's new place in glen ellen. thanksgiving is not mine or nick's favorite holiday (we might need to work on this) so it's nice that khalil's birthday always lands sometime around thanksgiving, we much rather celebrate him anyways. we got to visit with baba, go to the goldman's, take walks, dip in the hot tub, make khalil birthday treats, get in good cousin time, and of course eat. all in all it was a nice long weekend with loved ones.

park.

2011-11-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

we had a nice park date with sophia and thalia at the park last week. it got a little cold, but the kids didn't mind.

dinner with sinai & kaya!

2011-11-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

we had a really nice meal with vida, ron, sinai, and kaya last week. i didn't get too many photos, but i did catch sinai in his awesome glasses. watch out sinai, uncle nick wants to steal them for burning man!

firefighter.

2011-11-23T12:02:00.001-08:00

a fire fighter comes to my school each year to teach the children about fire safety. last year siena was too scared to watch him get into his outfit or spray the hose, but this year she did both (with a little help from mommy)!

dillon beach con't...

2011-11-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

dillon beach...

2011-11-23T11:55:00.001-08:00

we had the pleasure of going to dillon beach the weekend before last. it's always such a nice experience to be there if only for one night. thanks to gabe, sammy, and sadie for the invite. we look forward to many more memories there.

peek-a-boo.

2011-11-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

to amuse himself as we drove up to dillon beach, rocco played peak-a-boo with nick's jacket. it was actually amusing to all.

dress-up!

2011-11-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

siena decided to play dress-up with my dirty clothes hamper. she must have put on 7 or 8 layers of clothing items by the end. i really liked the end result and it was a very creative game with no tears, amazing!

closet play...

2011-11-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

i didn't get good photos, but this was the most entertaining play to watch between the kids. rocco does everything siena does and when she's into being followed it's great to watch.

flea market...

2011-11-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

going to the flea market as a family was actually a fun experience. sisi found a yummy treat, rocco took and nice nap, nick ate some good found, and i found some special little things. maybe we'll go again next month.

the four of us.

2011-11-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

adult night out...

2011-11-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

thanks to tutu and mimi, nick and i got to have an adult halloween celebration as well. thank goodness for grandmas!

day of the dead.

2011-11-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

sisi and i took an adventure to the city with essie for day of the dead. we met a bearded dragon on the bart named baby (she also had a gold chain on), wrote messages to loved ones who have passed, ate ice cream before dinner, and even caught a little bit of the parade before we got on bart for the mission home. it was a pleasure to be with only sisi, she is so grown up these days and i really enjoy her company (the majority of the time that is).

halloween.

2011-11-09T19:54:00.001-08:00

a little late i know, but life has been busy. halloween was mellow and sweet. siena carved an amazing pumpkin family, we went on a parade at her preschool, and completed the day with a delicious meal at the girard maxon's. thanks to tutu for helping with the mermaid costume and thanks to rocco for wearing his costume all of 10 minutes.

dinner at papa's...

2011-11-09T19:51:00.000-08:00

sisi and rocco enjoyed an evening at papa's recently. rocco loved playing the piano and was actually making some good music and siena loved spending time with her older cousin sophia.

an afternoon with nooni & matiz.

2011-11-09T19:48:00.002-08:00

some days ago now we had a nice visit with nooni and matiz. we happened to have lots of visitors that afternoon which made for a busy and fun visit. come over again soon friends.

love.

2011-11-09T19:48:00.001-08:00

farmer's market fun...

2011-11-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

with the daterra's.

our babies...

2011-11-01T21:00:00.001-07:00

accessories.

2011-11-01T20:58:00.001-07:00

sunday...

2011-11-01T20:56:00.001-07:00

we had a nice morning at the park last sunday. sisi is learning to ride a two wheeler (and rocco thinks he can already ride one).

more lazy home days...

2011-11-01T20:53:00.001-07:00

new friends!

2011-11-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

making new friends at preschool has been a little difficult for siena. her teachers suggested that we make some time outside of school to spend with some of the classroom families. luckily we were invited to a super fun halloween party that a new friend fiona and her little brother nathan were throwing. siena was pretty shy at first, but then really enjoyed herself, especially when it came time to frost and decorate your own cupcakes.

fill it up!

2011-11-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

since the weather has been crazy nice (off and on) for the past month the kids have been having a lot of mini pool time.

getting ready for halloween...

2011-11-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

excitement!

2011-10-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

rocco makes these new great faces when he's excited. they're hard to capture because they involve a lot of movement, but you can get the idea from these photos. i hope to catch it on video soon. it really is the best.

a backyard swim...

2011-10-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

first bike ride...

2011-10-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

nick took rocco on his first bike ride last weekend. they went all the way to a park in berkeley and back. now rocco talks about the bike every time he sees it and enjoys just sitting next to it to play with the wheels.

isla...

2011-10-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

we had a nice dinner with isla and her parents last week. it has been some time since we got together as families and isla is a whole different girl. the kids played very nicely together and especially enjoyed the fuzzy bean bag. we hope to see them again soon.

laundry basket fun!

2011-10-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

mimi's back...

2011-10-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

and we're so glad to have her.

four dollar happiness...

2011-10-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

after seeing my newly painted nails siena decided it was time to get a pedicure herself. i thought she might forget about this plan of hers, but when i went to pick her up from school she had even told her teachers about it. so off to the nail place we went. siena choose sparkly pink of course and was very excited to show off her nails to everyone we saw over the next few days.

georgia!

2011-10-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

rocco's new favorite pal.

cousin love.

2011-10-15T13:23:00.001-07:00

siena and aya have a deep fondness for one another that continues to grow, not very surprising. however, the fondness between rocco and khalil despite their almost 8 year age gap is pretty cool to witness. we're very thankful for cousins.

sunday with tutu...

2011-10-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

waiting...

2011-10-11T14:46:00.001-07:00

still waiting for julius' baby sister to arrive. the kids tried to get the process started with a jam session.

auburn!

2011-10-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

we finally took the drive to auburn to visit noonie, auntie joan and al. it was a long drive, but a great trip. we got to see nonnie's new place, play in the garden, visit with auntie joan and al's sweet dog, and eat a good meal. i'm glad we made the trip and i hope to come again soon.

boots and ballet-tards...

2011-10-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

siena and toscana have decided that leotards are actually ballet-tards, duh!

in the box.

2011-10-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

home time.

2011-10-04T07:57:00.001-07:00

santa cruz!

2011-10-02T19:39:00.001-07:00

early sunday morning we decided to drive to santa cruz for the day. luckily rebecca and her family were free to spend the day with us. we went to a great fall festival on the campus farm, played baseball in the front yard, and ate a nice dinner. the quick trip made the weekend really feel like a weekend. hope to do it again soon.

colin!

2011-09-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

we finally made it to santa cruz to meet colin and now siena keeps talking about that "cute new baby we met." rocco and siena had fun playing with finnly in his playroom and it was nice to catch up with quinn and erik. i hope we can visit again soon.

learning...

2011-09-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

siena learning (more like pretending) to knit from tutu. one day it'll catch on.

sunny market afternoon...

2011-09-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

dinner with savoy...

2011-09-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

we had savoy, devon, and aaron over for dinner last weekend. it had been too long and siena was missing her friend savoy. siena really likes all the sweet little girls in our circle of friends.

sunday at the park.

2011-09-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

little farm...

2011-09-20T20:33:00.001-07:00

on saturday afternoon we ran up to the little farm to say hi to the animals before they all got put away for the night. rocco was afraid of the big cows at first, but then started to moo with them. we saw baby pigs, a baby bull named billy bob, and about 20 wild turkeys crossing the road.

flashback...

2011-09-20T20:32:00.001-07:00

sometimes i really miss that two year old babygirl we once had.

celebrate!

2011-09-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

to celebrate baba's birthday we had a picnic in golden gate park. the kids enjoyed the grass and playground, as we enjoyed catching up and eating yummy food. happy birthday baba!

ballet & lollipops.

2011-09-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

friends.

2011-09-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

siena and rocco are becoming good friends and it is a joy to witness.

milk.

2011-09-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

siena likes to join rocco in enjoying a milk bottle every now and then.

captured...

2011-09-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

a few shots from my birthday party (more to come). there were over 15 kids and it was crazy fun.

thirty two...

2011-09-08T07:57:00.001-07:00

thank you all for the birthday wishes.

ballet!

2011-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

siena and toscana have been waiting months for their ballet class to start. we heard about this great class from another mother at their daycare, but class didn't start until september. last saturday was it, the first day. they both got fitted in their outfits (i think the outfit is really the whole reason siena wants to do ballet), met up for a treat, and then made our way to class. it was SO cute to see all these little girls in their ballet clothes and the teacher paula was great. there were a few tears as the parents can't be in the class, but that passed quickly and the girls are looking forward to class again this saturday.

birthdays...

2011-09-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

celebrating lots of birthdays this august and september. uncle pete had a fun kid friendly mexican feast last week that we all enjoyed. happy birthday pete.

first days...

2011-09-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

first day of school!

2011-09-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

just sent our babies off to daycare and preschool. i think i might have the hardest day.