Lotusland

In celebration of Mother's Day, my mom, Cyanne and I ventured to Lotusland in Montecito for a special Mother's Day Tea and Tour of the gardens.
It was a great way to spend the afternoon: good company, beautiful grounds, incredible plant varieties, and specialty gardens such as the "Australian," "succulent," "bromeliad," "desert," and "tropical".
My Mom had fun spending her first Grandmother's Day with Cyanne - she did a good amount of the pushing of the stroller... =) (so I could take photos).

Here are some photographs from the afternoon:

Cyanne tests out the cat scratching post...

Cyanne discovers the cat scratching post...
Turns out, it's a really neat, fun place to practice standing.

Sonsie, on the other hand, was extremely dubious about sharing the post.
She jumped up not expecting anyone or anything to be there and surprise!
There was a little person sticking out of the hole!

Yeah! I love this!

Look at me!

Tom, trying to coax Sonsie into hanging out for a little bit...


Look at me - I'm standing!!


Whoa!! Where did you come from? What is this thing on my post?!

All Dressed Up

Tom & I had to get all dressed up for a work function of his: Goleta's Finest at the Bacara.
We had Adrienne come and babysit Cyanne while we went out.
We decided to take a few photos of the occasion - my favorite being my two penguins...
Tom (in his tux) and Cyanne (in her penguin pj's) =)

The two penguins...
My mom lent me her Jean-Charles sheer coat/shawl type thing... Definitely drew attention from people at the event!

Easter 2008

A few shots taken at my parent's house after church Easter Morning.
We had a lovely morning -
Cyanne got to wear her fancy, silk Easter dress, hat, and shoes, courtesy of Grandma Vogel.

All the way from Anchorage... Cyanne meets her Aunt Mart

During Easter weekend, Mart flew down to meet her niece, Cyanne, and spend some quality time with us!
We were THRILLED to have her here.
I think she and Cyanne got along really well... and I know that Cyanne is really looking forward to seeing her again in two months at the Lake.
Mart had a baby-filled visit with various changings, feedings, bouncing, and rocking =).
As an aside - Mart also had a less than fun few hours spent at the pet ER when she & Tom took in our cat, Sonsie, who seemed to be having some major issues (she's since recovered...). That was not the best way to spend a Saturday evening!
We had some nice meals, drinks, walks, and a special Easter Sunday.
Here are some photos of the weekend:

Hanging out on the deck - it was a gorgeous weekend - in the 80's and very sunny.



Tom, shaking his head & therefore, making Cyanne laugh with delight...



Attempting to dye easter eggs...




More deck shots...



I love this... Ah, the life of new parenthood.
After all, everyone needs a beverage during 'happy hour.'





Nice puppy...
Nice puppy teeth...

The Winn's Visit to SB

We were thrilled to have Mara, Rob & Mia visit us mid-March. We were excited to see Rob & Mara, of course, but we were especially excited to meet Ms. Mia!!
Cyanne & Mia had a very fun time with each other - looking at each other, holding hands, Mia trying to show Cyanne how the whole crawling/sitting up/walking stuff is done...
It's funny (as i'm v. delinquent in posting these photos) how much older Cyanne looks now (will post more recent shots soon!) as well as Mia (check out her blog: miawinn.blogspot.com).
Anyway...

We had a wonderful weekend with them - we enjoyed some great meals, walked along the ocean and through eucalyptus groves at Ellwood preserve, and generally had a wonderful time catching up.
We only hope that it's not too long before we see them again - July at the lake here we come! =)






Walking at Ellwood Preserve -
It was a beautiful day.
The boys with their girls... Cyanne in the Bjorn and Mia in the backpack...