Merry Christmas - 2012

It's the New Year so let's talk about Christmas... Better late than never right?

This year Drew was sooo excited - I think he was more excited about what would happen to his Elf Doodle.  As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago we set up a "hidden camera" to catch Santa and Doodle.  Drew woke up first thing in the morning and went to the video camera. 

Here was that Santa Video if you missed it.

After watching the video on the camera, it was time to get down to business... presents!!  First of course was from Santa...

He was pretty excited to see not one, but two light sabers.  You know because Daddy needs one too cause he always wanted one so Drew has someone to battle.

This is a book he got from my coworker - he's so excited to read it at night (we're reading chapter books at bedtime).

We didn't take as many pictures this year, it was more fun just enjoying our time together and opening gifts.  Of course we had to do our annual bury-Drew-in-the-wrapping-paper-and-take-a-picture photo.  We've done this to him since he was born!

Christmas Day we went over to Grammy and GrampC's and hung out with the family.  Uncle Matt had a wild hair and decided to do a polar plunge in the pool - and we caught the whole thing on video.

Yeah Uncle Matt is crazy.  He would've had a partner, but Dave has been sick (found out the next morning he has bronchitis... which adds yet another disease to our household in the past few months).

After the crazy stunt it was time to get down to business.  Before opening gifts this year, my mom wanted to restore an old tradition dating back before me... and we read the Christmas story.  Well actually Adrina and Drew read the Christmas Story from the Bible.

And then the youngest person in the family (Drew) puts baby Jesus in the Manger.

Afterward we opened presents what felt like for hours.  We all made out well but mostly enjoyed our family time.

Unintentional Mooching

Last week I got a groupon for a doubleheader A's game, only to learn later that day that my brother Matt had connections for that game to be in the skybox.  Since we already paid for the game - which was this past Saturday - we said we'd stop and say hi, but had every intention of watching the game from our seats.  Seventeen innings later (1 game plus another 8 innings) we finally left the skybox that Matt's soon-to-be father-in-law reserved.

Matt, Rana, and Rana's dad Kent

Who could beat a view like this?

Drew was completely entertained in the skybox - he watched the game, had company in the likes of Adrina and her cousin - and they played hide and seek for quite some time.

Drew and Adrina

The shot below is Dave and my brother Matt - who really is a Giant's fan, but was seen wearing an Oakland A's shirt - haha!

Of course we wanted to get a picture of Dave and I - and Drew volunteered to take it.  Kind of funny if you ask me!

Thanks to facebook, a friend of mine from high school joined us for a bit of the second game.  He was there with his brother-in-law and two nephews.  Of course about the time that Drew had more friends to play with, Drew crashed for a bit.

Of course I can't waste a moment to take a picture with Fergal - my high school friend - from the sky box.

So believe it or not, we were not intending to mooch (for a long time anyway) in the skybox, but we did have a great time, and I have to say it was the only reason we stayed as long as we did. There was no way Drew would've survived 2 games from our regular seats - which were only 3 sections over from this box.

Thank you Rana and her Dad who were so sweet and welcoming to have us join their family for some afternoon/evening fun.

4th of July Festivities - Part 2

After the annual parade we made our way home so we could shower off all the sweat, change and get things together for part two of our fun day.  We headed to Uncle Matt's house for a BBQ with Rana, Adrina and my parents - Rana's Dad and friends also joined us.

Drew managed to get a few zzz's before we arrived.  I can't believe how much he takes after his Daddy in the snoring department!



Once we arrived at Uncle Matt's sure enough Drew woke up and after a few moments was ready to play with Adrina. The two of them went swimming to escape the heat.

They made it into the pool a few times to keep cool.  Even after Arco (Matt's former K9 Partner) "christened" the pool. Eh the kids didn't seem to mind.  It's not like they were drinking the water or anything.

Another hit to stay cool... eating popsicles!

Yes they had a little dessert before dinner.  Which I have to say was out of this world.  Marinated flank steak (Rana has an awesome "recipe" she used), corn on the cob, watermelon, and potato salad.

Mr. Picky Eater (aka Drew) won't eat steak, but had a hot dog instead.  Funny thing is apparently he had someone willing to feed him instead of doing it himself.

For dessert I made something a little festive.

I must confess, it was as good as it looks!

Once it cooled down and the shade moved into Matt's backyard we moved the party outdoors.  Here Drew is looking at his beloved "purple flowers".  A favorite of his since last year!

Once it was dark it was time for the real fun - fireworks!  OK so I have to admit, fireworks in our county were illegal, however we purchased them in a legal county.  But when your brother is a cop and he okays fireworks, then I think we're safe.

Drew and Adrina were happily playing with the snappers (perfectly legal I may add).

Then it was the real fun - fireworks in the street.  Luckily there was someone else setting off really cool (and illegal) fireworks in the sky.  Matt's city did fireworks the day before - rather than on the 4th.  Drew anxiously waited for all the fun.

The pictures I took of our firework spectacle didn't turn out well... so here's a final picture of Drew doing the "sparklers".  Did you know they don't call them sparklers anymore?  Geesh.

Super Bowl Festivities

We broke tradition and decided not to host a Super Bowl Party this year, instead we headed over to my brother Matt's house to enjoy the big game. This is the first time since I've met Dave that he wasn't hosting the Super Bowl - so it was a big deal. It was a great low key afternoon, of food (not exactly friendly on the waistline) and adult beverages. Which is the recipe for a perfect game and afternoon!

Drew was living it up with Adrina (Matt's girlfriend's daughter). He had a blast running after her and her friend for the afternoon. For only taking a 30, minute nap he was in a fantastic mood. I mean who wouldn't be if you're chasing after a 6 year old and they're playing patiently with you.

Every once in a while, he'd come back looking for some attention - or to watch the game. Of course the commercials were his favorite. Especially when he saw a cameo from Yo Gabba Gabba.

Drew made himself at home after jumping on the "mountain" of pillows, he pulled up and parked it right in front of the TV.

By the end of the evening, Adrina & Drew were best pals.


Thanks to Matt & Rana for hosting this year - it meant no work or clean up for me! Those are the best parties EVER!

July 4th Festivities - Pt 2 of 2

Fourth of July was so busy (and photo heavy) that I've split up our festivities into two parts for this blog. For a look at the first part of our day, check out here.

After the parade, Grammy & GrampC dropped Drew and I off at home, where I changed out of my white shirt that was pretty much black from Drew's dirty shoes. We then visited with Daddy a few minutes (who was missing out on the fun due to illness) and then made the impromptu trip to Grammy & GrampC's. (We were supposed to go to two BBQ's for Dave's Softball friends, but plans changed when Dave developed a 103-degree fever).

It worked out nice, Drew was able to go swimming in Grammy's kiddie pool - it was so nice in fact that Drew didn't wait for the water diaper to get put on. The results were hilarious - if you missed them, you have to check it out! We left out the video of Drew running through the backyard in his birthday suit - I wouldn't want to get in trouble for child porn or anything.


When Cousin Kady arrived moments later, we made sure Drew was presentable and no longer strutting his stuff. The two of them kept cool in the pool. Both were perfectly happy splashing the other.

Kady was heard squealing with delight and making cheesey smiles at everyone who clammored for the the photo-op.

Then of course we asked cousin Drew to give Kady a kiss. Kady's kisses look more like an attempt to chomp off Drew's nose... you decide.

In all fairness, there were a few kisses given most of them were quite ladylike such as the one I caught on video. Once the swimmers started turning into prunes, we packed them up and headed to Uncle Matt's for an impromptu BBQ.

This worked out great - since Uncle Matt's girlfriend Rana and her daughter Adrina were there. Adrina is 5 and loves the attention that Drew gives her. He followed her around like a little puppy dog, doing what she did, saying what she said.

I had to stop Drew's following just once when they were asking Uncle Matt's Police K-9 Arco to speak and smell their hands. I thought Drew's little fingers would be a snack for Arco, so I had to put a stop to that. Otherwise having Drew follow Adrina was great! Since Daddy wasn't there, I didn't have to hover over Drew as much as I normally would - making sure he doesn't tear up the house.

Kady sat on the sidelines squealing whenever she liked what they were doing. A few more months and there will be a threesome I believe.


After dark, Uncle Matt started a fire in the firepit, so we could all stay warm and watch fireworks that were going off from the High School behind him. Starting the fire brought out the strange in Matt. (Oh wait he's always been a bit off).


Without a nap, Drew didn't stand a chance to stay awake for the fireworks. He missed them by 30 minutes.

It was a fabulous day with family and friends all around. We're so sorry Daddy missed out - it is after all his second favorite holiday of the year (first being Halloween).