The Ranch

We took a day trip to "The Ranch" today with my family (my brother is a part owner of this place near Cool - at least for the next few weeks since some guy from England bought the place).
Here's a distant picture of the home from the lake (which is part of the property - it's a huge lot (1300 acres?)).
View of the lake: It's not a huge lake, but it's big enough to ride jet skis on.The family room/entry to the house - huge windows w/ an amazing view.

The entry & part of the kitchen:

Scott preparing to fish:

Just chillin' Taking a nap in naturePeacefully wrapped up in mom's fleece:

Stretching:

Eyes opening:Awake & Happy:

Nana & Scott talking to a smiley Will

My dad & Brad were the first to go for a ride:Steven waiting for his turn on the motorcycleRiding up to the house on the MuleWe had to make it home from the Ranch on time for a dinner party with some friends. I made egg rolls (Scott did the frying), & we also had stir fry, rice, & a yummy brownie/cookie dessert.After the party: Will's playing with all of his favorite toys.He also learned a new trick that night: lifting his legs up really high in the air - he'll be reaching for his feet & sucking on his toes soon enough.

Meeting up w/ Kath & Cait

My mom, William, & I went into San Francisco today to meet up with our dear friends Kathy & Caitlin. We ate an amazing lunch at Garibaldi's, perused baby stores, & just plain ol' had a good time together.
William & me w/ Caitlin (We're excited to meet baby #2 - William can't wait for his little friend.)Kathy w/ William

Meeting Michele & Kennedy

I used to nanny the cutest little girl, Kennedy. I worked for her parents, Michele & Justin, for about 1 1/2 years (I met Michele & Kennedy when I was working at Pottery Barn. Kennedy was getting fussy, so I played with her while her mom shopped. Michele offered me a job while I was ringing her up, & I gladly accepted). Kennedy & I used to have so much fun together. We would do puzzles; "cook" in her kitchen; read; watch "Elmo," "Cars," "Monsters," & dance to "The Wiggles;" sing songs; learn A,B,C's, 1,2,3's, & colors; play with her dog, Jake; & so much more. I stopped working for Michele when I was about a month away from my due date with William (I could have watched Kennedy longer, but they had summer vacations planned - I feel like I could have been nannying the day before I delivered - It seriously didn't hit me that I was really pregnant until around the week before William came. Scott & I had had so many failures with trying to get pregnant, that I was in denial, even as my belly grew.).

Anyway - today was the first day that I saw Michele & Kennedy again since August/September (?). It was so fun to introduce them to Will. Kennedy was hesitant & didn't quite seem to grasp where this kid came from. She had her own baby with her, "Itty" (short for Itty Baby), & was telling me how her baby came out of her tummy also. It was so great seeing Michele & Kennedy again, & I can't wait to have another play date.

"Quiet kid - we're taking a picture here."

William & me with Michele & Kennedy

Discovering his hands.

William has finally started to open his fists in the last few weeks (his stinky-feet-hands don't stink quite as much as they used to - Yay!). The other night, I got him to hold onto his rattle all by himself. He swung his arm around & seemed confused because he couldn't figure out what was making all the noise.He has also figured out that his hands make great sucking toys - I love hearing him in his car seat, slurping & sucking away. (Ok - so this isn't the most attractive picture, but it gives you an oh so wonderful peak of his newest talent.)He's daring the bird to even try messing with him. He knows he's the boss (look at that iron grip).My little sweetheart - he's just cooing about all the fun he's having playing with his toys.

3 Months Old

3 months old yesterday & going for a walk in his big boy stroller for the first time:

Miniature Golfing at Sunsplash

Last night, Scott & I went miniature golfing for the first time since we've known each other. Scott refused to take me when we were dating because he thought it was cliche (he wanted to do things that were a little more creative, like taking his TV & a generator to Bridal Veil Falls & watching "The Little Mermaid" with me while in the back of his pickup). So 5ish years later as a married couple, we finally went mini golfing, & we had a blast!
William was very mellow as usual, even while getting whip lash the first few times Scott swung the club: Scott doesn't know his own strength.It's all in the hips.

Tuckered out: Golfing is hard stuff.It was so good to get out of the house & spend some quality time together.

The weather was perfect - plenty warm w/ just a slight breeze - & the sky was beautiful.

No, those are not chopsticks or scissors in my hair - just a beautifully lit windmill behind me. Scott & I are pretty evenly matched when it comes to mini golfing. He beat me by one point (& that's only because I let him;) ). If anyone's ever interested in some competition, we'd love to beat you - we're pretty dang awesome (taking 9 swings to get the ball in the hole's good, right?).

Sittin' in his Bumbo!

William sat in his Bumbo for the first time the other day, and he hated it! He just started crying & didn't know what to do with himself. Yesterday, I decided to try again, and he had the opposite reaction from the first time - he loved it (he must have been tired before). He just sat there with his head bobbing every once in a while. I put some toys in front of him, & he just stared & smiled at them. He is such a happy boy, & I love seeing him enjoy life.
Every time I held the camera up, his smile disappeared. I guess this is his "What's that?" face - you'd think the camera would be old news to him by now.Towards the end of his Bumbo time, he started to tilt & just couldn't quite recover.

Project Goals for the New Year

I have been working (or procrastinating working) on more than one quilt for a while now (being pregnant for the last year was part of my excuse for putting them off). I have a bunch of fabric to make a quilt, but don't know what pattern to follow or what I'll do with it when it's finished. I also have a Christmas quilt started from about 2 years ago & a quilt for William that I started earlier last year. Yesterday, I bought more fabric for a new quilt (I really wanted to buy fabric for 2 new quilts - I convinced myself to hold off on the second one until I proved my commitment to finishing at least 1 or 2 of my already started ones. As it is, the only way I allowed myself to buy fabric for 1 new quilt was by committing to myself & to Scott that I would finish my Christmas quilt before I could start the new one.) I am feeling very optimistic about finishing at least one quilt, if not two by the end of the year. So if anyone's interested in getting together to sew, I'm ready.

This is the quilt I bought fabric for yesterday (as it turns out, one of the fabrics is the same one my Etsy apron is made from - see previous post). I'm planning on putting it in my craft/green-painted guest room. Isn't it awesome? I think I'm going to enlarge it, so it will fit on a queen-size bed instead of being a lap blanket.

This is the other quilt I almost bought fabric for. I really want to make it too! I better get going on my other quilts, so I can buy the fabric guilt-free.

My Etsy Apron

Etsy is a website where people from all over can sell their handmade items. I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I thought I'd check it out. Since one of my new year's resolutions is to make dinner more often, I decided to look for an apron that would inspire success. I found a woman who's aprons would do just that, but after debating for too long which apron I should buy, they were already sold to other customers. (By coincidence, my sister, Amy, bought me an apron from Anthropolgie for Christmas - that just finalized my decision to cook more often.)

The original 2 aprons I was choosing b/w:


Two days ago, I looked to see if the store owner added any new aprons (a girl can never have too many aprons to help her with her new year's goal). Much to my excitement, she had many new aprons - one in particular that I loved.

This one:
I started to order the item, but had to stop before paying because Will woke up & was hungry. Of course when I went back later, the apron was sold, & I was so disappointed. Last night, I checked my junk email (which I never look at anymore) & their was a congratulations for my Etsy order - it told me that my apron would be held for two more days until I made my payment. Apparently I was the customer who bought the item. I was so excited & quickly finalized the order for the item I thought someone else had purchased (I know. I'm a dork for not realizing it was me who bought the apron. What a loser to be so upset when I saw the "sold" sign, only to realize later that I was the lucky customer who bought the apron I had wanted so much.) I can't wait for my new apron to arrive!