That Darn Cat!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm soooo not a cat person. So when this stray cat (likely abandoned) came up to us on Thursday Evening as we were playing outside, I was kind of annoyed.

But then the cat took a liking to Drew, snuggling up to his leg and nearly knocking him off balance. My kid didn't seem to mind, as he continued to throw his "things" into the ivy. A few times he'd go right up to the cat's face, and sign cat. It was quite hilarious actually, and I almost started warming up to the cat.

After a while though the "snuggling" from the feline was getting mighty annoying so we called it a night, and moved the festivities indoors. The cat followed us right to the front door. Looking outside the screen door, Drew proceeded to sign both "outside" and "cat".

I guess the upside is at least he's not afraid of animals. I wouldn't want that either. Oh, and no, I never did warm up to that darn cat.

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).

4th of July Festivities - Pt. 1 of 2

We had so much fun this past 4th of July - and of course that means pictures galore. Rather than posting them all in one blog, I will separate them, giving you double your pleasure.

First up - the Danville Parade.

Since Dave and I moved back up to the Bay Area five years ago, we've come to the Danville Town Parade held every 4th of July. According to their website, it attracts up to 40,000 visitors (which is pretty good since the town has a population of a little more than 43,000 people).

There were 12 of us who all sat together this year - Drew and I, Grammy & GrampC, The Berta four, and the Nejib 4. Daddy was home sick, VERY reluctantly.

We all met at my friend Lisa's house, who lives within walking distance of the spot she and I camped out for the day before. (It's serious business, this Danville parade. If you want pristine parade route "parking" you need to get there plenty early to save your seats.)

Drew was happy getting towed to the parade...


And here's the wagon brigade headed from Lisa's house to the parade route.

From L-R: Emily, Lisa, Troy, Stephanie, Trevor (pulling the cooler up ahead), Drew, GrampC, Grammy (not picture Mason, Brian, & Mike who were all using the potty one last time).

Here we are curbside just before the parade starts...


And one of the creatures in the parade had his sights set on Drew...




















And last but not least, my favorite picture from the day.


Up next - the remainder of our day. Pool parties, BBQ & Fireworks.

Videos Galore

To hold you over until I get the pictures off the camera of our July 4th fun, you'll have videos galore to enjoy. These are a few things we captured over the past week.

First up - Drew's Rendition of Head Shoulders Knees and Toes (taken Thursday).



Next up - Droopy Drawers. This was courtesy an impromptu plunge into Grammy & GrampC's pool with his diaper still on.



Finally - we have a short film starring two of the cutest cousins ever.

This Land is Your Land...

Happy 4th of July to all of our friends and family! We hope you are enjoying your holiday with parades, BBQ's, family and fireworks. While we're busy enjoying ours and making new memories, I wanted to share a few pictures from last 4th of July - where we enjoyed a local town parade. Oh, Drew was 9 Months old for those that may have started throwing a few back already and don't want to do the math...



Expect to see much of the same from this year's parade. New pictures will be posted Monday.

Once you Pop, You Can't Stop

You know the old Pringles slogan - "once you pop you can't stop". Drew proved that to be true Wednesday night. It's not anything new that he likes to eat junk food like chips, but he popped the top and he couldn't stop.

He ate probably a quarter of the can himself, and LOVED holding the can. In fact when it was almost empty he tried to drink from it!

Problem is, all the little crumbs came out of the can and all over my living room floor. Thanks a lot kiddo!




Who says it's too early to teach your kids to clean up after themselves? So we pulled the dustbuster out, and let him clean up the mess...

He did a pretty good job with it too. Perhaps Daddy needed to help a bit, but not bad for a rookie.

I Love LA....

This post is overdue, I was under the weather for a few days making this post a few days late. Better late than never right?

This past weekend we took a roadtrip to LA - despite the fact Drew was still running a 100-degree fever. We had a hotel room, we pre-paid for, and didn't want to miss out on that or quality time with Tata and Abuela. They haven't seen him since Thanksgiving.

The only rule we set was that Tata & Abuela had to visit us. We didn't want Drew to get any other kids sick, which could happen if we went to their house, which usually leads to family coming over to see us. There are simply too many little kids in the family and we didn't want to expose them to Drew, not to mention Drew's immune system is totally shot right now, so we didn't want him to catch anything else.

So Saturday afternoon, Tata & Abuela showed up at the hotel, and we managed to walk around a nearby swap meet until the heat started to get to Drew. After a quick bite to eat it was back to the room for Drew's nap.

Apparently he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and he was quite the sourpuss for about 30-45 minutes. All he wanted to do.. go swimming. Daddy said no because the pool was crowded... boy the tantrums he was throwing.....

We finally found peace and relief in the lobby... where you ask...


that's right the lobby stairs! Drew and I walked up and down these suckers about 40 times.. seriously. Daddy of course comes at the end when the tantrum is over and done.

After deliberating about what to do next we finally decided on Knott's Berry Farm and walking around the shops. I've never been, so it sounded like a fun thing to do. It ended up being PERFECT. Drew was behaving fairly well except he wasn't in the mood to shop for jams or jellies. His favorite shop.. the Peanuts and Sports store. Oh, and the Chicken Restaurant...


The next day was spent primarily shopping so Daddy could find some Dodger T-Shirts.. as if he doesn't have enough Dodger gear. But whatever. Drew on the otherhand was working pimpmobile driving skills...

Oh and yes, that would be his first official jersey... sporting the Dodger gear. So the shopping trip wasn't only about Daddy.