Swimming

O is doing so well in his swimming lessons, I thought I would share some pictures from today's lesson. He had a different teach than usual, but he is still very comfortable in the water and getting better with every lesson.

Swimming with face in.

Backfloat

He is doing a really good job of pulling himself up out of the water.  One of the first skills they learned in the beginning lessons was how to pull out of the pool.  

And, finally, he is making progress on jumping in!   This video is a little hard to see behind the other kids in his class, but you will get the idea.

Year of the Horse

Last night we ventured into San Francisco for the annual Chinese Lunar New Year Parade.  It is the biggest Chinese New Year Parade outside of Asia, and one of the few remaining night parades in a major US city.  We braved the crowds (which is a big deal for me) and really enjoyed the parade.  Tom went over to the city early to get us a front row spot for our chairs.  He is helpful like that.

The parade consisted of many marching bands, drum groups, dancers, gymnasts, floats and lots of traditional dragons and lions.

O really liked the dragons and lions, but was not such a fan of the firecrakers.  I think it is a good thing we left before the finale, which was a 201 foot long dragon accompanied by 600,000 firecrackers!

Wow!  Look at that!

Overall, it was a very fun experience.  We watched for a little over two hours and then we left early to avoid the crowds on the train ride home.

Happy Year of the Horse!  Gong Xi Fa Chai!

New Orleans!

Our jet-setting family spent a few days in New Orleans visiting the Meuses this past week.  It has been way too long since we last saw them, and they will be leaving New Orleans for Cape May this summer.  We all had a great time, of course!

Although we were a little too early for Mardis Gras, we did get to catch the first parade of the season.  It was a daytime kid-friendly parade and O had a great time.  The little Meuse is an old pro at parades, so he coached O on how to get the best loot!

Decked out for the parade.

Meuses!

Buddies.

Collecting goodies.

7 already!

We were able to get a sitter one night so we could go out for some dinner and dancing.  It was definitely great to be back with our good friends.

We were there for about five days, and we were sad to leave.  We had delicious food, yummy beignets and cafe au lait, explored City Park and sported lots of new hair!

Lunch at the French Market.

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa were here for a visit at the end of January and first week of February.  We had lots of fun showing them around Alameda and the surrounding area.  O especially enjoyed all of the attention and spending lots of time with them.  

We made a weekend trip up to Sonoma to visit Benziger (O's favorite winery).  We were really lucky with our timing - the four of us were the only people on our tour so we got a private tour without paying extra!  I think Grandpa really enjoyed the tour through the vineyards, caves and winery.  

We also made the obligatory stop at the Sculpture Garden and at Gloria.  We had a really nice day tasting wine and playing in the sculptures.

Twins!

The Big Blue Chair

During the week, Grandma and Grandpa took O to tour the USS Hornet, on a ferry ride, and to the park.  They all had a great time while I was at work, and I really enjoyed having dinner ready when I got home!  (Thanks Grandma.)

After Tom got home from his underway trip, we all spent a long weekend in Big Sur.  We rented a house up a long winding rode with a nice view of the ocean. 

On the way down we stopped in Carmel Valley and for a little hike at Garrapatta State Park.  The weather was beautiful and the ocean was breathtaking.

Garrapatta Beach.

Pulling Bull Kelp.

The view from our deck.

O and Daddy watching the sunset.

We had planned on taking a tour of Big Sur Lighthouse, but the weather did not cooperate so we just took a driving tour of the coast.

Bixby Bridge.

Grandma at Julia Pfieffer-Burns State Park.

On our second full day we visited Pfeiffer Beach - the national park that was closed when we were in Big Sur in October.  It was a little windy, but we still had a nice picnic and fun exploring the purple sand beach.

Hello!

Our picnic spot.

Exploring the beach.

Purple Sand!

We had such a great time with Grandma and Grandpa that it was hard to say good-bye.  O really loved having them here, and was sad to see them go. 

Lucky for us, we had our trip to New Orleans right around the corner when then left - so we had a new adventure to look forward to!

Birthday Fun!

Marcy came to visit for my birthday again this year.  Fortunately, it was much better timing this year.  Tom took the lead on planning and treated us to a weekend at Cavello Point.  Before arriving, Marcy and I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Tommy and O waited for us on the Marin side of the bridge, perching on a wall that looked much scarier than it really was.

 We also spent part of the afternoon at Rodeo beach.  It was a gorgeous day!

The view from our room!

What a beautiful place!

New Year's Camping Trip

After a great Christmas, we decided that there is no better way to ring in the New Year than camping!  Lucky for us, not everyone agrees and the campground (at least the one we decided on) was not completely full.  

We spent just one night, much to O's disappointment, at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Lagunitas.  It is a nice park nestled in a Redwood grove.  We actually could have had a cabin with a stove in it, but our little camper insisted on the tent!

The spot we chose was right along the river bank, and had a very cool ring of Redwoods and roots that O dubbed as his "play area".

Climbing in the play area

Under the roots of the tree.

It was actually pretty cold that night, or at least cold for camping.  Our campsite neighbor told us that when he got up to use the restroom in the middle of the night, the temperature was around 30.  Not so bad when you are inside, but pretty chilly in a tent!

Luckily, we were prepared and well bundled - especially the little guy.  He was so snug and warm that he did not wake up once all night.  I cannot say the same, although the only part of me that was cold was my face.  

Here he is happy in the morning!

Happy New Year!

 On New Year's Day we drove out to Point Reyes and hiked down to McClure's beach.  It is such a beautiful beach, and an easy hike for O.

Once he spotted this hole up in the cliff, he was determined to climb up to it...

climbing...

and climbing...

He almost made it, with a little help.

After getting almost all the way there, O decided to come down the easier way...

It was such a lovely day.  While we were at the beach, the skies went from clear blue to fogged-in gray.

Right before starting the uphill treck back to the car, O decided to bury me in the sand.  I am not sure why he was so gleeful about covering me in sand, but he sure did enjoy it!

We were really proud of him, he walked the whole way back up the hill by himself.  He gets stronger and better at hiking every time we go.  He was proud of himself, too, when he saw that we were back at the parking lot and he never had to be carried.

What a great way to start the new year.