Birthdays Galore!

Catanzaro craziness starts in October with Halloween and ends in January with Jessica's birthday. In between October and January we manage to fit in a trip to the east coast, 2 major holidays, and 3 other birthdays. In previous years we've also done a ski trip but this year we will be staying home. Whew! Here are the exciting details from the birthday parties.

Olivia's birthday is celebrated first on November 30th and then Jacob's falls on December 15th. This year we decided to host a joint birthday bash for all their friends on December 1st. Sadly Olivia spent her 2nd birthday home sick but recovered enough to make it to the last half hour of their party. This year we decided to move the party away from home and had it at "Pump It Up". This is a giant room filled with inflatable jumpies and slides. Not only did the kids have fun but the adults did too! We had about 15 children and their parents jumping around and then we finished with cupcakes and breakfast treats in the party room. It was quite chaotic but everybody had a wonderful time.

After a quiet afternoon the festivities continued with a family party for Olivia. The birthday girl was sufficiently recovered to enjoy opening presents and having dinner and cake with all the family. She picked Baby Einstein (Baby Stein to her) decorations and loved that she got to blow out candles and have people sing.

Jacob has a hard time understanding why his sister got to have a birthday before he did since he is older but he finally got his turn on Saturday the 15th. With the friend party out of the way we had a family party for him on his actual birthday. He picked Bionicle decorations and managed to tear through his presents in record time. The rest of the evening was spent watching Dad, Grandpa, and Uncle Sean try to put together all the presents that required assembly. While all the construction was taking place Jacob sat on the couch enjoying his new Leapster!

Wait we did say 3 birthdays didn't we. Michael celebrated a birthday on December 6th with a lot less fanfare. He rang in the big 35 with PF Changs takeout and some homemade brownies. Jacob wanted to go back to Pump It Up but it was a weeknight! Somehow we didn't even manage to get a picture of the big event. Sorry Michael!

Here is the birthday boy at Pump It Up.

The birthday girl made it for a little while at the end.

Jacob loves frosting!

The love of frosting runs in the family!

A good amount of the gang but not all of them!

Livie's Baby Einstein cake

Money, money, money!

Jacob's Bionicle cake

Jacob is five! Where does the time go?

Eastlake Christmas

Every year our Eastlake homeowners association sponsors a Breakfast with Santa. It is a great community event that also doubles as a toy drive. Olivia and Jacob get to see Santa and have a fun morning while also doing their share by picking out a toy to donate.

The morning starts with Santa arriving by fire truck. Our clubhouse is across the street from the fire station and since it doesn't snow here that's the best way for Santa to make his grand entrance. We then wait in line to receive a number so that we don't have to wait in line for our visit with Santa. The association provides a continental breakfast that we enjoy while waiting our turn. The nice part is Santa takes a lot of time with each child and makes the visit very special. I guess it's nice if you are early risers like we are and get a good number otherwise people do have to wait a long time. This year the talk turned to Santa telling Jacob he knows exactly where he lives and will make sure that his gift gets under his Christmas tree. Jacob politely explained that we won't be home and that Santa should go to Great Grandma Moon's house instead!

After visiting with Santa we enjoyed the carolers, ate our candy canes, and the kids got to do some crafts. Jacob made a Christmas light frame and then both kids decorated gingerbread cookies. The hard part was getting the decorations onto the gingerbread man and not into their mouths! Later they were having story time with Christmas books but it was chilly and the kids are fighting colds so we called it a day. We look forward to going again next year!

Santa's big arrival!

Jacob is an old pro at posing with Santa. He told Santa he wanted a telescope which was not a surprise to us, thank goodness. We are always a little nervous that by Christmas Eve he will have completely changed his mind about what he wants.

We snapped one of the two of them because we didn't know if Olivia was going to sit by herself.

Olivia didn't have much to say but she wasn't afraid once she saw Santa had candy. She did mind her manners with a nice "Tank You" and a high five. She even attempted a Merry Christmas but wouldn't tell Santa that she wanted a pink car. Jacob made sure Santa knows what to bring for her.

Here is Livie putting the finishing touches on her gingerbread man.

Jacob is just about done with his decorating.

New York, New York - Nov. 1 - 5

Every once in awhile we actually get the chance to go somewhere without our children. While it was considered a work trip (some work was actually done) it was much more of a whirlwind getaway of great food and fun entertainment. After getting through the fire week, surviving Halloween with a sick son, and scrambling to get work done in order to go to New York, it was a relief to sit on the plane for 6 hours of peace and quiet.

Upon arriving in New York we checked into the Westin Times Square and changed for a quick walk to a great restaurant called 44 and X (located on 44th and 10th). The next day Michael headed to the Javitz center for the running expo and I headed to 5th Avenue for some much needed shopping. Loaded down with bags I called Michael to meet me (I needed a valet) and while waiting was interviewed for a piece on holiday shopping. The camera crew drew quite a crowd and it was funny to see the other tourists trying to figure out who I was. Later that night we went out to A.O.C., a fabulous French restaurant in the village, with our friend Josey. It was great to catch up with her and find out how she's loving married life.

Saturday found us up and about quite early as we were invited to watch the Olympic Trials with Michael's client. We cheered the runners as they ran past early on and then walked to Tavern On The Green in Central Park for breakfast. The Asics team, us included, were quite excited when Ryan Hall (an Asics runner) won the trials and beat the trial record. Later that night we hit another Hells Kitchen restaurant, 44 sw Ristorante, for an Italian meal and then walked to the Barrymore Theater to see Duran Duran. The highlight of the concert for Michael was seeing that they were all wearing Onitsuka Tiger shoes!

Sunday we slept in and then made the walk back to Central Park to cheer on the New York Marathon runners. We watched the men and women winners and then took a break to have some lunch at Mickey Mantle's. We made it back to the finish line just in time to catch Tom and Suri Cruise heading out of the Tavern to cheer on Katie. While we haven't been Tom fans for awhile it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of a celebrity sighting. If I ever give up my teaching career I could become a paparazzi! We wrapped up the evening back in the village at Gonzo, a restaurant owned by celebrity chef Vincent Scotto. We don't know how celebrity he, his name wasn't familiar, but his food was wonderful.

Monday found us scrambling to pick up a few last souvenirs and then heading to the airport. After a completely different kind of tired it was nice to spend the last 6 hours of our trip on an airplane in peace and quiet, before returning to our normal chaos!

The last stretch before the finish line.

Ryan Hall, running in Asics gear!

Jessica at Tavern On The Green.

Michael got to play on the "Big" piano at F.A.O. Schwartz.

Second row seats for Duran Duran were great, even if they're getting old!

Tom Cruise and Suri at the NYC Marathon.

Don't know many one year olds with police protection.

The best shot we could get at the end of the marathon with my little point and shoot camera!

Oh yeah, we were there for work! Here is Michael's ad in Times Square.

Party Time!

Saturday the 20th we were invited to Kirk and Elizabeth's annual Halloween Pumpkin Carving Party. For whatever reasons we hadn't actually seen our friends since Jacob was still crawling so it was great to catch up. We got to see a lot of friends from Michael's previous job and meet their kids. We also learned that Kirk and Elizabeth now have one on the way!

The kids had a great time, carving our pumpkin, playing games, eating pizza, and just running wild. There were all kinds of Halloween treats for them so they were in heaven. Livie stayed close most of the time but Jacob found a gang of boys to run with and of course found a girlfriend too. They love getting dressed up in their costumes and staying out late (even though we were home by 7:30, dark means late).

Professional pumpkin carvers!

ARRRR! Here is our finished pumpkin!

Mom and Minnie Mouse

Captain Jack and Tinkerbell

Halloween is coming!

Halloween is Jacob's favorite time of year. He loves to pick out his costume and decorate the house. He can't wait to go to the pumpkin patch and carve the pumpkins that he picks out. He may love Halloween more than Christmas. Every year we get pictures taken in costume so here are this year's choices. Jacob picked Captain Jack Sparrow, even though he hasn't seen the movies he knows that Jack is a pirate. Pirates are quite popular at our house. Olivia saw her costume at the Disney Store and wanted to wear the ears. She chose Minnie Mouse over Tinkerbell. The color wasn't great when I scanned these but you get the idea.

Olivia was quite cooperative for her pictures.

Captain Jack

Why don't they always get along this well?

Back in School - September 10, 2007

On September 10th Jacob went back for his last year of preschool. It is hard to believe that next year he will be in Kindergarten. He was very excited to go back to his classroom and see his friends. He has some of his buddies in class this year; Jack, Kai, and Thomas. He also has a new friend named Jenna that he talks about A LOT! His other buddy, Connor, is going 5 days this year but they still hang out on the playground. It is fun to be back in the swing of school, with all of the crafts, sharing, and practicing writing Jacob's name.

Playdough is one of Jacob's favorite things.

Jacob and his buddy Kai.

On the play structure

Jacob with his teacher, Mrs. Silva.

Splashing in the Rain

One of the things the kids loved best about Costa Rica was all the rain. We were looking at pictures of Sophie Orlando in her rainy season boots and Jacob was bemoaning the fact that San Diego is dry and brown, not pretty, green, or wet like Costa Rica. Low and behold the very next morning we had a freak rainstorm that lasted about 15 minutes. The Catanzaro kids have their own rain boots that see a lot of dirt in Ramona but never any rain so it was really exciting to throw them on and run outside. Yep they're in their pajamas but who cares! They had a great time running in the grass and splashing in the puddles. They were soaked by the time the rain stopped but it was so warm it didn't matter. Who knows when we will see rain again so you have to have fun while it's here!

Camping Out - The Real Thing This Time

Back in June we shared the Eastlake campout pictures. That campout sparked the idea that we should really go camping complete with woods and a campfire. We decided to stay local for our first family campout and went up to Lake Cuyamaca. We stayed at the Paso Picacho campground and brought Auntie Brandie and Uncle Sean along for the fun. Thank goodness they came because camping is hard work with two little kids. Jacob had a great time playing in the dirt with a boy from another campsite. Olivia had a good time too but it was difficult to keep up with her constant falling over rocks and rolling down hills. We think it will be easier when she's a little older and a lot steadier on her feet!

We left Friday, August 3rd and just spent the weekend. We got our campsite all set up and Brandie and Sean had the site next to ours. We explored the campground and had our first marshmallow roast. Saturday we made a big breakfast and then went hiking at Green Valley. We took the Green Valley Falls Trail up to a rock waterfall. Being August there wasn't a lot of water but there was enough to cool off and splash around. It was a perfect pool for the kids to play in and chase water bugs. That night we had another campfire complete with smores and roasted hot dogs. It was a great adventure to watch a family of raccoons wandering around the outskirts of the camp right before we headed off to bed. Sunday as we were packing up we got to see a hawk that flew right into the middle of our campsite. It grew quite a crowd of neighboring camper.

We arrived home Sunday afternoon, covered in dirt but already talking about our next trip. It was fun to spend some family time without television and all the distractions of home. It was a lot of work to set things up and take it all down again but well worth it. (Brandie has all the pictures of the campsite so hopefully you'll see those later!)

Jacob found the perfect tree to climb on!

The squirrels suddenly vanished when this camper appeared.

Auntie Brandie and Uncle Sean on our hike.

Cooling off after a hot hike.

Daddy's girl!

Olivia loved the water best if somebody would hold onto her.

The boys took a drive up Mount Laguna to see the view!

(Brandie and I lounged around the campsite reading while Olivia took a nap)