Addie and Matt's Wedding, November 22, 2008

Addie and Matt were married the weekend before Thanksgiving in Albany. Luckily, we were able to attend as were planning a trip back east to celebrate Thanksgiving with Tom's parents in Cooperstown. Congrats Addie and Matt! We had a great time and Cyanne definitely enjoyed all the extra attention from family and friends.

Cyanne in her festive wedding finery.


Mart, Tom, and Kristen.


The Blabey family.


Uncle David and Aunt Susan accompany Addie down the aisle.


Wedding party and Chuppah.


Kristen with Cyanne.

Cyanne looks a little skeptical of her playmate.


Playing with her stuffed elephant party favor.


On the dance floor with Daddy.


Our little dancing machine!


Tom, Cyanne, and Mart cut a rug.


Our table.


Aaron and Anna.


Liz and Matt.


Jeannette and Brittney (?).


Cake.


Brian Taft, Betty, and David.


Time for bed. But, as I recall, sleep did not happen. After several gallant attempts by Kristen to put Cyanne down to sleep, Nanna and her friend Martha played with Cyanne in a lounge away from the main reception area of the club until the party was over and we could all return to the hotel. Cyanne was not a happy camper by that point, but I think Nanna enjoyed the babysitting duties...maybe? :)


Back at the party, cousins Jeff, Charlotte, Kim, and Heather.


Some family photos...


Bustin' out the Electric Slide. The party would not be complete without it...

The happy newlyweds.

Mommy's new haircut

Mommy decided to cut her hair today.
I'd done it before in Boston but had been several years since I'd "chopped it all off..."
So... the hairdresser cut off approximately 7-8 inches. =) She kept asking if I was sure: "Are you sure? You really want to do this?!" Ah, yes...



It feels much lighter!
Still, bizarre and strange to get used to!
Tom seems to approve as well =)



Thankfully, Cyanne wasn't too surprised and still recognized me =).

Visit with the Gustafsons - November 7-9th (Part II)

Sunday, we hung out at the Gustafson's house and then we walked around the cute town of Pleasanton and had brunch at a tasty restaurant.



C and Anna had a great time sitting in the their chairs right next to each other as well as sharing Anna's books and taking apart her alphabet mat in their living room. Yummm... tasty, chewy foam! Cyanne was also quite taken with their baby gates - she kept trying to shake them... No such luck in opening them!

Here are some photos from our morning at home and then our brunch:

Visit with the Gustafsons - November 7-9th (Part I)

Cyanne had a wonderful time visiting with Anna and her parents, Karen & Zach.
We drove up Friday night (an interesting drive... C did pretty well... napped some... played with her toys but unfortunately, when we were in traffic near San Jose, threw up all over her carseat and me in the back seat. Thankfully, she fell asleep in my arms shortly thereafter...)
We arrived Friday night - put C to sleep - and enjoyed a great dinner and margaritas w/K&Z. Then fell promptly asleep after the long day!

Here are some photos of our trip to the playground Saturday morning:





Cyanne LOVED the swings. This was her 2nd time on the swings. We obviously need to take her to the playground more... She spent more of the time laughing with glee.



C and Anna on the swings.





Daddy pushing C on the swings.







I love this photo...
Anna practicing her expert walking skills.



Mommy & Anna =)



The happy family. (Note Z and Anna in their ND gear - was a 'game watch' Saturday). =)







I like this one a lot too...
Cyanne watching Anna.



Karen trying out the playground equipment.
=)

... and she walks!!!

We have walking!! Or at least several steps taken without holding onto anything...
First, when we returned from our visit with the Gustafson's on Sunday evening (more on that fun weekend later), I was standing in the kitchen and Cyanne was standing, holding onto a chair. Next time I turned around a few seconds later, she was standing 2 feet or so away looking at the bookshelf. She did get there without crawling or sitting down... though I didn't actually see anything=).

Then, yesterday at daycare, her caregiver Olivia said that she took 2-3 tentative steps!

And then... Tom watched her do it again last night in the kitchen. He said she took several steps on her own.

Very exciting!

Will keep you all updated on the progress!

(I'd like to thank Anna G. for the inspiration. Apparently, watching Anna motor around all weekend was the impetus she needed to get walking!)

Election 2008

We are thrilled!!!
On November 4th, 2008 Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States!!!
Cyanne stayed up to watch some of the returns come in... She would look at the tv, look at us... We watched Pennsylvania go for Obama. Some of the the southern states stayed red for McCain. It was so exciting and such an incredible feeling to know that we were witnessing history in the making.
Eventually, she decided she needed to take a bath and go to sleep... So, we paused the returns, gave her a bath, and put her to sleep telling her it was going to be a big night.

An incredible night with such a range of emotions: anxiety, excitement, nervousness, elation, joy, respect, amazement, hope.

I am so proud of the people who voted and for the people who helped to get out the vote.
And very happy that the outcome is as it was.
We are entering a new era and we are incredibly happy that Obama is the man a huge number of citizens overwhelmingly chose to lead the country.

Election Night!

Here are a few shots of Election Night 2008!
Cyanne, Tom & I enjoyed watching the returns come in. So exciting but so anxiety inducing. Thrilling... We three loved it!

A shot of C and the map as it was slowly being filled in as the networks called the states for either Obama or McCain.
Just goes to show how early in the night it was! Though one of the benefits of living in California - we got a good feel of how the night was going early on...
(Cyanne still in her Obama 2008 onesie!) She eventually let us know she needed to go to sleep and could not stay up to watch all of the returns come in =).



Images of Grant Park in Chicago - where Obama would ultimately deliver his acceptance speech!



The Obama Family... Very happy!



Barack Obama elected the 44th President of the United States!

Cyanne & Balthazar

Cyanne was thrilled to hang out with her cousin Balthazar!
He is much, much bigger than the last time we all spent time together!
Here are a few photos of the evening spent hanging out:

B trying to hold hands with C:




Great Grandma Lillan & Balthazar:


Tom hanging out on the floor w/C and B:



Tom, Cyanne & Aunt Clare: