Happy Easter

Tobin was very excited that the Easter bunny came both to church and to our house. It is a little cold and rainy this year, but Tobin loves to wear gloves and jackets. We had a fun time at Church and had a great brunch before heading home. The Easter bunny hid Tobin's and the Baby's Easter basket around the house and we had to search room-to-room to find them!! After an extensive search, where even the potty was verified to be Easter-basket free, he finally found them in the hallway closet. In addition, the Easter bunny also brought a present of (toy) Tools!! Wow!!! He got to work right away fixing things both inside the house and outside.
Let Tobin tell you about the bounty:

Tobin's Third Bday

Hi All, We had a great Western Roundup for Tobin's 3rd Birthday. He really couldn't believe that all of his best friends were all one place! We had a friend from preschool, our old neighbors, our new neighbors, and my childhood friends. They ran around for hours of high energy playing. This is Tobin's new (new-to-him) house, which he is very proud of. Note the doorbell- that's a key success factor for younsters. These guys made their own version of how many tubes and boys can squeeze inside.
Then we reorganized with a pull-pinata (3 year-olds with sticks, not a good combo). I was really happy to find the directions: basically, one cuts a trap door and attaches strings to it. Each child gets a string to pull all at once. I was so excited because instead of the normal somewhat violent pinata tradition, I think it emphasizes and encourages teamwork (call me narrow minded). Everyone got a denim patch bag to fill with Fruity sweet creams (no choking hazard, bonus!).

At dusk, we headed inside and refueled with cupcakes then present time!

A home of our own!

Here's our prospective new house! It's a 1,400 sq ft 3/2 bungalow within walking distance of Tobin's first two schools. The neighborhood is wonderful, filled families with children, and all sorts of friendly people. Of course it's a fixer-upper, so Nate and I will be putting our own touches on it for the next decade or so...

And here's your impromptu guided tour:

Christmas Letter 2008

We continue to be blessed with good health and full days. We have had a wonderful year as our family has grown, Tobin is a very active toddler and keeps us very fit!

We enjoyed several visits from our family. Starting in April, Erika’s grandmother, Patria, stopped in on her way back to Washington from New Zealand. Tobin was thrilled to meet his Great-Grammy for the first time! In late May, Nate’s mom came out for a visit. We then took a car trip to Lake Tahoe, with highlights as Laurie’s first mushroom hunting trip and experiences of the lake on three different levels: on the beach with Tobin, a lake cruise, and high above with dinner at the Forest buffet (18th floor = great view of the forest canopy and Lake Tahoe). In June, Nate’s uncle Brian visited on his Motorcross across America trip. He and Tobin had a great time and he even sat on Great-Uncle Brian’s motorcycle. In August, Nate’s friends Jon and Geeta and their children Chandani and Yosanna visited. It was so much fun to see them again, we hadn’t see each other since our wedding- and the kids loved playing together! In October, Nate’s dad, Warren, brought Tobin trick-r-treating. Tobin had a hard time with the whole title “Grandpa Warren” and even “GW,” and settled on Double (for W). He and Double were inseparable and in fact still watches video clips on the computer. We were so lucky to receive so many visitors!

We also made a few car trips despite the exorbitant gas prices. In April, we went on our annual trip to Bass Lake with Erika’s parents. Tobin had a great time at the beach and discovering pine-cones in the woods with his Ama and Papa. We brought Tobin on his first Tent-camping and Mushroom-hunting trip in May. Mommy shopped and purchased a huge tent (132 sq ft – no kidding! it’s called the “campsite palace”). It’s roomy enough for the crib, a queen size inflatable bed, and more still. It’s big, but is significantly easier to store and much cheaper than a travel trailer! In September, we devoted two weeks to Northern California and Southern Oregon. Nate planned the driving segments and found places to stay with playgrounds, we had a wonderful trip! We also made several day trips throughout the year over to Lodi to visit Erika’s family. Most recently, we went to Mickey Grove park and went to the Zoo! Tobin was fascinated by the monkeys and ring-tailed lemurs!

Finally, the day to day. We are lucky to both still be employed but find that we are still putting in 9-10 hour days. Nate changed jobs from in September, and is now working at Genentech. It's also in South San Francisco, so he still has a long commute every day. Erika is still at Codexis, but is continuing her development by taking classes in project management from UC Berkeley. It’s tough to work full time, take classes, and have a family, but Nate and her parents have been super supportive and she’s getting straight As. Tobin is healthy and active and has an incredible vocabulary, he’s stringing together 6 word sentences. We continue to try our best every day!

For 2009 we hope to buy a house for our family to grow into and continue to thrive. We are wishing for health and happiness for all of you too!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Rainy Days

It's been raining a lot here! As you know, we are avid mushroomers, and a good rain brings out the mushrooms. Daddy would say, the rain makes the mushrooms fruit. In fact, there is a saying, "When it rains, it spores." (when it rains, it pours- get it?)
(groans)
Anyway, we were delighted to find this rainsuit in size 18 months! It has kept him dry, warm, and comfortable in the most drenching downpour. We have already used it on our trip to Mendocino and around the yard. (There are some times our little active boy NEEDS to get outside, as long as it's followed by hot soup, I'm ok with that).

Speaking of hot- Tobin's vocabulary is:

• "hot" applies to food, heater vents, oven, dryer, and a few other things
• "eyes" (eiz) he will point out your eyes, eyes in a book or newspaper- we are working on nose, mouth, teeth
• "all done" (ahl duh) when he is finished with mealtime, when something is empty, some times uses it instead of "bye-bye"
• "Uh-oh!" when he drops things (accidentally or on purpose), when something unexpected happens
  
• "hi!", "Dah"- dad, "Light" (ite), "That?" (u-duh?)
  
• more that we haven't deciphered/made the connection on yet.
  

1st-ish Hair cut

I've been working on Tobin's hair for about 2-weeks. A snip here, a snip there- He doesn't tolerate it very well. However, last night he fell asleep on the way home. Which is the perfect time to finish the job!! It was great, he was still as a rock and was upright since he was in his carseat. Here is his fabulous hair:
PS- other things I recommend doing in while they sleep in their carseat- trimming fingernails and toenails- so much easier! Just carry a pair of clippers in your purse!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We didn't get a Christmas letter out this year- but we're still hoping to make a "Happy New Year, 2007 in review type letter."