Video Dump

Here are a bunch of videos we've been meaning to post... Cody when his toy got stuck:



When Penny came home:

Penny Playing:

Ginger stayed with us for a while, and as you can see, she and Cody had a blast!

Merry Christmas!

Wow what a first Christmas! Luckily my big sister showed me the ropes.  And to do most of the unwrapping:)  Christmas Eve we went over Abby & Logan's Grandma's house and had a blast!  It was a really nice night.  Christmas Day we went to Marie & Olivier's house for Christmas dinner and presents.  We all opened presents together and had another great evening.  But it wasn't over yet!  Grandma & Grandpa flew in!  We went to pick them up and headed home.  Santa came a day later to our house this year.  So we hurried up and got into bed and when we woke up the next morning, the tree was stuffed with presents!  Here is a picture of the aftermath...

Mommy & Grandma made a turkey dinner.  And once it was in the oven, Daddy & Grandpa put in the new kitchen sink that Daddy got for Mommy!  Mommy was soooo excited!  Then we had turkey dinner that night and just hung out to play with all of our new presents. 

Sunday we had a nice morning, then went out for lunch and frozen yogurt.  Then came back to play some more before Grandma had to leave to take Grandpa to the airport.  Boo hoo...miss him already:(  But at least Grandma is here for a whole week!

Getting Ready For Christmas!

We did some decorating this weekend!  Gingerbread houses!  Abby & Logan came over to join in the fun.  Preparations are in the works for Christmas...the stockings are hung, by the chimney (fireplace) with care...

Daddy, as usual, just slept while I worked hard at tummy time and Mommy put up the decorations.  I'm even getting my head up a little - my neck strength is really improving.

Cookies & Caroling

Today was cookies & caroling day at school!  Mommy and Penny came to watch and help me decorate.  It was fun and yummy!

Smiles!

Check it out, Penny's first smile, caught on camera!

Happy Hanukah!

Tonight was the sixth night of Hanukah, and Daddy and I lit the candles together, and he sang me the songs (with a little help from the iPhone)!  Happy Hanukah to everyone!

Our Tree Is Up!

And it makes a great hiding place!

Parties, Visitors, and More!

This weekend we had some visitors come in!  Sarah (and her parents) flew in for the weekend!  We hung out at the house until after naps, then headed out for Clare's birthday party.  It was a lot of fun for the bigger kids, I just hung out with Mommy and Daddy.  I heard there was some great cake and fun!  Afterwards we went over to Kristopher & Ella's house to see Godiva for a little while, and headed home. 

Sunday we went back to Kristopher & Ella's house for the holiday brunch.  There were so many presents around!  We all exchanged presents and had some great breakfast food (well, for those of us that eat food!).  After the holiday brunch it was time to take Sarah and her parents back to the airport:(  We headed there to drop them off, then drove down to Marie's birthday party!  After Marie's party we went back to their house for cake and hanging out.  What a busy weekend!

B&V Holiday Party

Tonight was the holiday party at Daddy's office! Check out Penny, all dressed up:



And I spent some time working at Daddy's desk:

Penny even sat on Santa's lap! He brought all of us kids presents.

And the Busy Holiday Season Begins...

Wow, when I came into this world a few weeks ago, I didn't realize how busy my family would be! Luckily I have my big sister to take care of me...





Three weeks old picture:





Friday night it started with a trip to the Martinez snow park and parade. We went with Abby & Logan and had a blast! Check Amelia out making snow angels...





Then we sat and watched the lights parade! It was great!





I also learned that our family really likes this one football team, the Gators. Turns out that the game on Saturday didn't go so well, but Kristopher & Ella came over and made it a better time!





Mommy even made a gator cake!





Sunday we met Marie & Olivier at Gilroy Gardens for their holiday festival. So much fun!





Uncle Stephane even bought all the bigger kids light swords!

Turkey Day 2009

This year for Thanksgiving we went to Kristopher & Ella's house. It was a blast! My favorite thing to eat was either the cornbread or the pumpkin pie. Or maybe the whipped cream! The doggies even enjoyed some turkey dinner with the fixins!

My First Two Weeks

So it's my turn to try out this blogging thing! I am two weeks old! It's been a busy couple of weeks around our house. Me moving in, we've had lots of visitors. Grandpa surprised us and came to visit! Daddy picked him up and brought him to school to surprise Amelia. Then they came home and he snuck around to the front door and totally surprised Mommy! She thought it was another package arriving! It was great to meet him for the first time. So we had a great time. Grandpa took Amelia on a walk and saw ducks eating a pumpkin in the canal! Thursday we went to Ardenwood Farm to see the animals. It was so fun! Amelia got to feed the sheep and the goats. I was too tired, took a nap in the stroller. We even saw a big turkey! Amelia, Grandma, & Grandpa rode on the train. Friday Daddy, Grandpa, and Amelia went to The Jungle to play.

Saturday was football day! Then more visitors arrived! Uncle Barry & Aunt Nancy flew so I could meet them. We had dinner and just hung out. Then Sunday early morning Grandpa had to leave:( He had to go back to work. But the day got better when we went to the Oakland Zoo! So much fun! Lots of animals and they were starting to put up holiday decorations! Then Aunt Nancy & Uncle Barry had to leave, but it was a great visit. Monday Grandma left to go home. So we are all on our own!

A New Branch on the Family Tree!

Ok - so you may have noticed the change in title on the blog. My baby sister, Penelope Lee, was born on November 11! I've been waiting so long for her, and I'm so excited that she's here! She'll help me write this, and we'll share this blog!


So Tuesday Mommy started having contractions. Around dinner time they were coming and going, and we had a great dinner. (Grandma made Mommy's favorite - pot roast and brown potatoes!) After dinner we had a normal evening (or so I thought!) and I went to bed. When I woke up, Grandma said Mommy and Daddy were at the doctor. (Turns out kids were not allowed at the hospital). So I went to school for the day. After school, Daddy came home to visit and told me Baby Penny had arrived! Here, I'll let Mommy and Daddy tell the story:




Around 9 pm contractions started, about 5 minutes apart. They were pretty strong, and quickly started getting closer together. Brian made the call that we should head over to the hospital since they quickly turned to being 3 or 4 minutes apart. We hopped in the car and zoomed off to the hospital! When we checked in about 11 pm I was dilated to 4 cm, so we were admitted! We headed to our room to get settled in. Since we had about seven hours from check in to pushing with Amelia, we fully expected that again. About 1:30 am I got my epidural, which was wonderful. Brian and I dozed off and on for a little while. At 3:00 am they came in to check and found (much to our surprise) that I was fully dilated! Wow! I was pretty exhausted, so they let us rest for another hour so the baby could come down a little further. At 4:00 am they came in and got all set up. At 4:20 we started pushing, and at 4:31 am Baby Penny arrived! She was 20.5", 7 lb 7 oz, and 13" head circumference. Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9. Yay! A happy and healthy baby! Now I'll pass you back to Amelia...

Here are some pictures from Penny's birth - taken by my daddy and mommy (since I wasn't allowed in the hospital). Welcome to the family Penny! I can't wait to show you the ropes.

My first haircut and Olivier's Birthday

So I went with my Grandma and Mommy for my first haircut this week. The haircut place had such cool chairs - I felt like I was on a merry-go-round!

After my haircut, we went to Olivier's birthday party. He's three, which is pretty old. All my best friends were there and we had a great time.

Here I am eating birthday cake. I can't believe that at one time I didn't like eating this stuff. I guess my taste buds have really matured as I've aged.

This was a sword fight, look at the birthday boy, taking us all on! En Guard!

Say "cheese!" I took all of these pictures myself, in addition to writing the commentary.

Grandma's Here, Now Baby Sister Can Arrive...

So Grandma showed up this week. Mommy and Daddy said that she was here to watch me when baby sister arrives. I'm so excited!

Here I am in my new fish tank, a present from Grandma. Even Daddy played inside of it. If I'm Nemo, he's Marlin.

Party at the Lefevre House!

Sunday we headed over to Marie & Olivier's house for a birthday party for their Mamie! They got a new playhouse from their grandparents and we had a blast playing in it!

Olivier enjoyed some blue candy, check out his blue tongue...

Trick or Treat, 2009!

My Grandpa Stan and Grandma Suzi (and their two puppies) came up to visit for Halloween! It was great hanging out with them. Also, some guy with really long hair (at least in back) stopped by every now and again. He looked a little like my daddy - but he had so much hair!

We went over to Kristopher and Ella's neighborhood to trick-or-treat. I saw a bunch of really scary decorations and costumes. Luckily, none of them wanted a piece of Nemo!

Having Fun With Cody

Cody is so much fun! He and I played "Ring around the Rosie." My daddy always tells some boring story about the middle ages whenever I sing that song. Cody, on the other hand, just twirls around with me.

Halloween At School

So today we had the fall festival at school, which included a costume parade! It was a lot of fun, my whole class dressed up!

We trick-or-treated to each classroom, and then paraded around the playground. We played games and had lunch and then it was already time for nap! It was a lot of fun!

Practice Halloween

This weekend Daddy flew out to New York City for his friend's wedding. Obviously, since Baby Sister is coming pretty soon, Mommy and I stayed home. Luckily Aunt Beepers came to stay with us!

Daddy saw all the cool spots in NYC - the World Trade Center construction site, the Brooklyn Bridge, the diner from Seinfeld!

He said he had a really great time, though we missed him like crazy!

Friday night we had dinner with Abby & Logan. It was great to see them! Saturday Aunt Beepers came over. We took Cody to the dog park, had some lunch, took a nap. Then we headed out to Kristopher & Ella's house for some pre-Halloween trick or treating!

I loved my costume! I dressed up as Nemo!

My costume even had a tail!

Here we all are, ready to trick or treat!

It was a lot of fun!

Sunday we did a little shopping, then had lunch and nap. Then we just hung around the house. Then on Monday, Daddy came home! So happy to have him back!