Happy Halloween!

Luke was a fireman for his first Halloween. We met up with some friends and trick-or-treated in Mountain View.

Luke is walking around everywhere now.

Here's Luke with his firehose, ready for any emergency...

Playing with Danny

Luke likes playing with his buddy Danny in the slide/fort that grandpa built him.

"Mine!"

1 year-old croquet...

Video: Luke's First Long Walk

Cousins and Capitola

This past weekend Dave and I went and met my cousin Greg (who just so happens to be Dave's best friend from childhood) at Capitola beach. We met up with his wife Sharda and their new baby boy Cooper. Dave and Greg were born in the same hospital four days apart and have many fond memories together - causing great heartache to their mothers due to their adventurous spirits. Sharda and I worry our boys just may follow in their dads' footsteps. Greg and Dave also just so happened to be blessed with the opportunity to live in the Venetians at Capitola for two years from 2000-2002, so to be back in Capitola now, both fathers with young sons, was quite nostalgic. They lived in the bottom of the pink one closest to the Ocean in the below picture.
The boys with their friend Harleen who owns a clothing store in Capitola, In the Raw. He has fabulous dresses, I buy something almost every time we visit.

Luke's 1st Birthday: The Barnyard Bash

Last weekend we celebrated Luke's 1st Birthday at McKenzie Park in Mountain View. It was a beautiful fall day and many of our dear friends and family joined us for some barnyard fun. Even Aunt Lori and cousin Carly flew out from Texas to join in the fun! For his birthday Dave and I got Luke a wagon and Grandma and Pop made Luke a slide just like Dave had when he was young. The Barnyard animal cupcakes took me hours to make but I think they were a hit and Luke manage to eat a whole one.

Happy Birthday sweet Luke!!

Video: Luke Climbing

Luke's 12 month checkup

We took Luke in for his 12-month checkup today and he's doing great. He's a happy, healthy, tall little guy weighing in at 22.13 lbs (50th percentile) and he's 31 inches tall (85th percentile). He's still sleeping regularly from 7pm to 6:30am with a mid-day nap, he eats a lot of whatever we feed him, he's still bald, and he crawls really fast -- I think we should enter him in a baby race.

Wine Tasting for Natalie's Birthday

Natalie was a little too busy last year to celebrate her birthday, so this year we made up for it.

With 3 other couples we wine tasted in the Soquel Mountains at Bargetto Winery, Hunter Hill, Soquel Winery, and ended in the Capitola villiage at the Armida tasting room.
We took a break at Hunter Hill and ate a picnic in the grass.
Audrey gave us the background on each winery in the car rides.

Beautiful scenery!
Natalie got to smash the grapes at the Soquel Winery.

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!!!

Happy birthday son. Your mom and dad love you very much. We are very thankful you were born one year ago. We're looking forward to many more birthdays and family adventures ahead.

Radio Flyer

Luke got a wagon for his birthday. His first big trip was to Cuesta park with his buddy Danny.

Soccer Player

We're getting Luke warmed up for soccer -- he looks pretty good in his Ireland jersey.

He's also learning to water the flowers.

Luke's a Climber

The first thing Luke did when we sat up his table and chairs was climb up the chair and on top of the table.
The cat used to be able to get away from Luke by laying on the couch, but now Luke has found out that he can get on the couch from the table... so Ebony has nowhere to hide.
Today Luke kept climbing to the couch from the table to get to my guitar. I suggested we hang the guitar from the living room wall, but Natalie's not going for it.

Los Altos Wine Festival & Luke's First Bike Ride

Natalie found a great baby bike seat dealio on craigslist and we got it all hooked up on her bike today. Luke loved riding over to Los Altos for the Art & Wine Festival.

Palo Alto Junior Museum

Luke proved his genius once again as he figured out all the contraptions at the Palo Alto Junior Museum. Natalie also continues to prove her mom-genius by thinking of cool things like this to do with Luke.