Cute Baby Close-Ups

I know you were all happy to finally see a new post yesterday, but some of you might secretly have been let down by the lack of cute baby close-up pictures.  Well, to satisfy that craving, here are a couple shots from the campground:

Father's Day Fun!

As many of you know, this past Sunday was fathers day in the U.S. (and select foreign countries). It was my very first fathers day as a dad, and I had a most excellent time. I was up early (but not too early) to play with the kids when they first awoke. They are always happy then, with big smiles to greet the day and their parents who come to get them. They had some breakfast and played a bit, and then we called/skyped our dads (the new granddads) to wish them a happy day. Jaime & the kids got me just what I'd been hoping for: a new double burner griddle for the stove, so I got to work mixing up buttermilk pancake batter and making the lightest fluffiest pancakes I've had in quite some time (for those of you who are curious, I found the recipe online by googling "light fluffy buttermilk pancake recipe" and it didn't disappoint). After brunch we watched the world cup soccer game of the moment, which I think was the Brazil-Ivory Coast match, and then we packed up the car and the kids and headed out for our first family camping adventure, up to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon.

We stayed in a tent-only campground (manzanita) and set up our new family tent for the first time.  Here you can see the tent with the fly rolled half way up.  Everyone is sleeping in this picture, though it might be hard to see.  Jaime is napping inside the tent, and the kids are napping in their carseats. Later on when people were feeling more rested, we all moved inside the tent for some playtime. You can see just how big this thing is inside: we fit a queen sized inflatable mattress and both their sleeping pads (actually, they are changing table pads doing double duty) with plenty of space on the sides of all that for our bags, cooler, and to walk around. It's tall enough that I can stand upright along the centerline, without having to bend over. When the kids get bigger and want a little privacy from their parents, there is a wall/curtain which divides the space into two rooms, each big enough for a queen size mattress. Camping in comfort it was, and will continue to be :-)

Go USA!

Only two hours to gametime, USA vs. (soon to defeat) England in the World Cup, and we are all anxiously awaiting the start of the game. In the meantime, we are watching (tape delayed) Argentina run ragged through the Nigerian defense.

Actually, we'll be watching the US vs. England game tape delayed as well, as Jaime has to work this morning and we couldn't watch the game without her. So in the meantime, we are off to the Zoo! Hopefully we'll get some fun pictures from that too.

Uncle Ted's Birthday

Some of the pictures were posted sort of wonkily. The one of Uncle Ted on his birthday holding Baby Sam is especially cute. Here it is.

Maternity Leave

We took my maternity "leave" very seriously and left Phoenix for a two and a half week road trip. Some people were amazed by our adventurousness while others thought we were flat out crazy. All the same, at only 6 weeks old, Ella, Sam and their parents hit the road for California.

Our first stop was Zadey and B'nana's for a few nights where they got to meet Gary Higer, Rosalie and Stan Weiner, Julie Wynn, Ida Lieberman, Linda and Harvey Kulber and Paddi Bregman. From there we drove up to Ventura and relaxed by the beach for a couple of nights where E and S met our friend Nairn Baliber for the first time and enjoyed their first experience at a sushi restaurant.

From Ventura we headed up the coast, stopping along the way at Pea Soup Anderson's and eventually making it to Aunt Susan and Uncle Allen's for a delicious dinner! Ella and Sam loved hanging out with their Aunt and Uncle in the redwoods. In Santa Cruz they also got to meet their dear friend Sandrine with whom they hit it off right away.

Our next stop was Aunt Dominique and Uncle Ted's house in Redwood City. We stayed there for the next 4 nights. Ella and Sam stayed awake for most of those nights and chose instead to sleep during our car trips. We visited friends all over the Bay Area and ate lots of delicious food (well, Jaime and Marcel ate lots of delicious food. Ella and Sam only ate their milk). We had dim sum with Randy, Jim, Amber, Renny, Bill, and Matt Clapp. The babies were a big hit with everyone and also won over the Chinese wait staff. After lunch they also met Kim Gitnik and her son River as well as Maya and her son Noah.

The next day we drove out to the East Bay and had lunch with Dennis and Carine Mink and Ilene and David Bobrowsky. Dinner was a Cajun feast with Crofty and Lori in Oakland. Sam and Ella wowed everyone with their amazing ability to sleep through even the loudest dining experience. Meanwhile only their mom, dad, aunt and uncle knew that they were staying up all night crying and fussing. The next day they got to meet Peter Williams and Bridget Mattingly at a S. American coffee house in Standford and then spend the afternoon in San Francisco having croissants with Renny in the Mission. Dinner was with Jessica, Ivan and Noa (and the yet unknown twin baby boys that were in their mama's tummy). It was so wonderful to catch up with everyone and to show off our little darlings. A special thanks to Ivan for being the baby whisperer and calming dear Ella down during our visit.

After a wonderful Ethiopian birthday lunch with Uncle Ted and Aunt Dominique we headed back down the coast for a weekend in Ventura with our dear friend Doda Audra who flew in all the way from NYC to meet Ella and Sam. Of course no visit to California would be complete without at least one trip to Tommy's. And it was especially important to bring Ella and Sam there for their first and second time.

On the way to get Doda Audra from the airport we detoured and visited Far Foster's Donuts and Anna Silverman at Scripps college. This was Ella and Sam's first official college tour. Sam liked all the young women and wished that he could go to that college some day. Sorry Sam - Girls Only. While in Ventura the babies also got to meet Vandana and Noah, Andy and Sandy, Renee, Jaelyn and Noa, Danna, Collin and Ariel, as well as Nairn (for the second time) and Spaz.

Our final stop was a wonderful seder in LA with the entire Shpall family. This was Sam and Ella's first passover experience and I think they really loved it. They also got to meet Laura and Marc who were also in town for a family seder. Finally, two and a half weeks later we drove back to Phoenix. Whew.

Here are a few pictures from Sam and Ella's big adventure. Enjoy

Happy Weekend from Sam & Ella

The kids are doing well, and starting to play (just a little bit) with toys. Enjoy the vid!

Happy Birthday Zadey

Today was Ella and Sam's Zadey's (my dad) birthday, so we had them pose for a special birthday photo shoot. We all can't wait for B'nana and Zadey's visit in early June.

Happy Birthday. :)