Cooling Off in the Baby Pool

It has been hot, hot, hot here in Santa Barbara.
Cyanne decided to cool off by trying out her new baby pool!
We filled it with water, added in some of her favorite (floating) toys and gave it a try.

The pool: pre-Cyanne and below, someone getting ready to go in the pool (with a little trepidation...)



Grandma & Daddy showing how fun it can be -
and enviously coveting the cool pool!



Yea!!!! Fun in the pool!


Daddy - Why did you put this thing on my head?
Frankly, I don't find it amusing at all.
Please, remove the red cup from my head... Thanks.



Chillin' in the pool.
(This one amuses me a great deal.... =) The pose is perfect.)



Whoa! Lots of splashing!!



I'm feeling much more refreshed now...





Fun with cups...



More kicking of the feet to produce splashes of water.





That was fun!!
Good thing it is summertime - that means we'll be out here a lot more!
Especially if we keep experiencing 80-100 degree days!

Boston Sports Teams

Yeah!! Go Celtics!!

Ah, such fun to be a Boston sports fan these days.
Tonight, the Celtics beat (aka trounced/smashed) the LA Lakers 131-92 to win the NBA Championship.

We had a great year overall though: the Sox did great (winning the World Series last October)... the Patriots did great (18-1... the one is the bummer, as Boston would've had multiple Champions) during their season...

People now dislike Boston sports because they win and/or because of the attitude of Boston sports fans. Bring it on, I say!
It's great fun to be a Boston sports fan. And if nothing else, one can't ever say Boston sports fans aren't passionate!

We're on to baseball now. Cyanne does enjoy the Baseball Tonight show as well as watching the occasional baseball game, when we can get them, on TV.
She's really looking forward to going to the ballpark. Or so she tells me...

Cyanne's Jumping Chair

So, rumor has it that when both Tom and I were babies, we each LOVED this kind of seat. The "jumperoo"...
My mom kept asking if we had one for Cyanne so we pulled it out and sure enough, Cyanne really enjoys it.

Just like her Mommy & Daddy, I think she could spend hours jumping and jumping...


She laughs and laughs (not apparent in the photos)... and squeals when she goes higher or swings back and forth.

Good times....
Now we just have to remember to take off her socks so she can get some traction!

Daddy's Little Girl, all dressed up (Father's Day, Part 2)

For Father's Day Dinner, we went to La Cumbre Country Club with my parents, Nanny (Cyanne's great-grandmother), my Aunt Kate, and my Uncle Joe.
Quite the rare "Chambers" Family gathering, actually.

Tom & I were struck by how the light and feeling of the evening reminded us of our wedding, four years and three months ago, approximately...

For Daddy, Cyanne got all dressed up in her very pretty dress with scenes of Paris on the hem (thanks to Auntie Yasmine!! Such excellent taste!).

She was quite the belle of the ball.

It was also her first foray into the world of highchairs. Such a big girl!


Deciding that she'd rather put her feet up while sitting in her highchair...
And below, someone has impeccable posture sitting in her chair.









A few shots out on the lawn - in the same spot where our wedding portraits were taken.
We have quite the nice, little addition now though!

Daddy & his little girl
... and the family shot.



A shot with my Dad - quite an excellent father himself!

And of course, a dress shot of the baby girl.
She was just adorable...

Happy Father's Day (Part 1)

Happy Father's Day!!
To all of you wonderful fathers out there, fathers-in-law, fathers-to-be....

To begin the celebration of the day, Tom requested that we go to Cold Springs Tavern, off of Route 154 (aka San Marcos Pass). Neither of us had ever been so we figured it would be fun to check it out.
It was quite tasty... and interesting! It is an old stop on the Stagecoach Road.
Cyanne enjoyed the winding route up there, as well. Though I kept thinking about the poor horses back in the day pulling the stagecoaches up and over the mountains!
It was an excellent way start to the day!

The Jinx

So, I shouldn't be surprised.
We were warned by our friend Devon, who has experienced the Jinx first hand.
Yesterday evening, while Tom & I were enjoying dinner and a glass of wine and watching something incredibly intellectual like 'So you think you can Dance,' I said:
"Don't you think it's just amazing that Cyanne has been sleeping through the night so well? I mean, she's done it for a few weeks now. It's just the best feeling to go to sleep and not have to wake up during the night."
And Tom concurred...

And then, we started to hear rumblings on the monitor. Only little ones at first...
Then, when we got into bed, they got louder. Just as I'd drift off, she'd really start to cry. She did this throughout the entire night...
Not helped by Lucky barking really loudly at 4 AM at who knows what, which woke her up...

Topped off by us having to get up at 5 when she was definitely done sleeping -
So, we made a bottle and hoped that a little shushing and rocking would lure her back to sleep - if only for an hour more.
It's amazing how tired I was at 5 AM...
Cyanne however, was all smiles and giggles.

She did succumb for an hour plus... but I learned my lesson.
From now on, whenever I say anything that might cause 'the jinx,' i'll knock on wood...
or something equally as effective.

Lesson learned.

Cyanne & Her "Kitties"

Cyanne and Max enjoy each other's company while hanging out on the playmat...
I originally put her down right next to him to try and dissuade him from laying on her mat.
He was not phased.

However, as it has been since the day we brought her home, Max likes to be in all of 'her' places. Her mats, pack n' play, blankets, room...
As I've said, they're going to be buddies.
She likes to sit on him, grab his tail, pull out tufts of fur, and most of all, clap right in his face.

Sonsie likes Cyanne too... she just jumps up and runs a few inches away when Cyanne comes to hang out with her. Theirs is a more slowly developing relationship...

Yo, yo, yo... Who dressed me like a boy?!?

Whaz up?
For some reason, Mommy decided to dress me just like a little boy today.
I have the whole get-up goin' on...


Beige overalls, a blue and tan stripped onesie that says "my puppy," and a baseball cap (from Auntie Devon) that says "Boston" on it.
I do really like the onesie though, because, as everyone knows, I do love "my puppy."
I tried to do some cool moves and act all tough but then, well... Daddy started tickling me and that didn't last... Until next time...
Peace out y'all.

Shots on the Grass

These are several shots down at Nanny's house that same evening we met Balthazar.
There was gorgeous light that evening.

Cyanne had a fun time sitting on the grass with Grandma, feeling the grass and taking in the view.

Cyanne & Balthazar

Cyanne, Tom & I were thrilled to meet Balthazar this evening. Guilhem came up with Balthazar (and their nanny, Yvette) for the evening.


We all met down at Nanny's for Sunday dinner.
It was a gorgeous evening.


Balthazar is three months younger than Cyanne.
He was so sweet and well-behaved!
Though he did decide that it was bedtime shortly after we arrived.
While we were sitting out on the patio, Cyanne reached out and grabbed his hand.
It was very cute...
They enjoyed starring deeply into each other's eyes.





Cyanne gets the first good look at her cousin...
And Papa Guilhem serves up an in-demand bottle...