2008 Baby Gap Casting Call

Well, once again, we decided to try Simon's chances at the 2008 Baby Gap Casting Call. Last year we tried, but we he really couldn't sit-up that well. Obviously, we think he's the cutest thing ever.

The rules state that the pictures submitted had to have been taken within the last 3 months. The only good pictures we had were from the pumpkin patch, so most of them were from there. These were the pictures we submitted.




This last shot, Robert Bradshaw took while at our house. He took more photos which are on the link.

I guess what's next is we'll find out in early December if the official judges put Simon in the final round. From there, it's a public voting frenzy to see who wins. If he's up, you better believe we're advertising with links for all to vote (appropriately).

Simon, Wagon and Pumpkins

Well, once again, we went to our favorite pumpkin patch in all of the Bay Area: Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch. They're in Half Moon Bay and they not along HW92 where all the crowds are. They do NOT have pony rides...but what's great about them is that they actually GROW their own pumpkins. Most of the other places actually pick their pumpkins somewhere else, and truck them in. This patch lets you have a wagon and cart out into their fields and pick pumpkins off the vine.

Simon loved the wagon. He also loved finding us after romping around on his own for awhile.


Last year, Simon couldn't walk, so we dragged him around in the wagon the entire time. This year, he either wanted to be pulling the wagon...


..or pushing the wagon. Either way, he had control.

We had a fun time. We met Geoff, Emily and Annie Benton. Becca Peterson came also with her sister who was in town. It was good to see the folks from SF again.

Robyn Kessler Photos

I just thought I'd share a link to some pictures that Robyn Kessler took for us.  She's a great friend of ours from the SF Sunset Ward who has her own photography business.

She took these photos 5 mo ago at our home in SF before we moved to Palo Alto.  What I'm amazed at is how much Simon has grown, and how much we've forgotten about how he looked with just those 2 bottom teeth.

Thanks Robyn...the pictures look great.

Here's the Link

The Emperor's new bed

So, in anticipation of Simon getting ready for a "Big Boy" bed, Susie and Kelvin have decided to train him early in getting in and out of his own bed and sleeping without a rail. We converted his crib to a toddler bed, and hopefully he'll be ready for the Big Boy transition before the new baby needs to be in the crib.

So far, he averages 1-2 fall-outs a week. It's pretty funny...but we shouldn't be laughing about that.

Simon Discovers Tools

Simon recently started to be able to use a fork and spoon. Still a bit messy, and sometimes he resorts to just using his hand.

Lake Powell, San Juan Capistrano & Yosemite

LAKE POWELL
So this year, Susie was able to go to lake Powell with her family. Kelvin stayed home with Simon but Simon had his Grandma Ning come to help out. The boat was Sam's Cousin's time-share (Gordon). The boat was immaculate; probably the nicest house boat the Robinson-Daniels clan ever stayed in. Susie was able to spend a lot of time doing what she loves most...read.

Every day, the meals were assigned out for both preparation and clean-up. Once your day was done, you could enjoy the week without pressure. Here are Sam and Susan at the upper-deck kitchen preparing a meal.

The houseboat had a couple of jet-skiis on the back. There were 2 speedboats, an inflatable trampoline, and of course, water wienies.


Everyone had their time behind the boat. Wake-boarding, and Wake-surfing. Of course, since Susie is pregnant, this is what she spent her time doing on the boat.

Did I mention this was the nicest house-boat they've stayed on? It's better than the Ning House in Palo Alto.

Here's the entire clan that went climbing in a slot canyon.

It was a super-fun trip. A great relaxing trip for the adults as well since there were no kids allowed. The lake level was at the highest it's been in several years. Evenings were spent playing games, watching movies, and laughter.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
The Robinsons had no rest as they had back-to-back vacations scheduled. Susie flew into Orange County to meet her husband and child which she dearly missed. Kelvin drove down with his Mom, Lillian and Simon and stayed a couple of days in Pasadena. There he helped assemble a tricycle which he loved. He would do laps in the living while Lillian pushed.

Kelvin and Simon left Pasadena and went to meet Susie and her family in San Juan Capistrano. This was the longest Susie had been away from Simon. She missed him so much. Kelvin was really glad to see Susie too.
The beach house was located on a private road just off the Pacific Highway. The backyard opened up to sand and all of the cousins could play with the pile of sand toys. Storms over the last year brought in a lot of rocks along the shore, but the kids still managed to make it down to play in the water.

Simon loved playing in the white water as it washed up to tickle his feet. Mommy or Daddy would lift him up so that the water would only go up to his knees.

Davis' favorite game is either you chasing him, or him hiding and then jumping out saying "Boo!!" Kelvin caught him with his camera while he was eating; Once Davis saw the camera, he began to shift into stealth mode.
Grace lost her tooth while she was at the beach. She was so excited because it was her first. The tooth-fairy made a special trip from Arizona to give her a special treat. I think she was more excited that the tooth was replaced with something else, rather than what the tooth was replaced with.


Tay celebrated a birthday while the family was out there. We all went out to dinner and came back to a party for him which mostly consisted of cans of silly string. Tay celebrated his birthday by having all his nieces and nephews shoot Brit with the silly string.


YOSEMITE
After having a couple of days to restock the fridge, do some laundry, and sleep in their own bed, the Nings were off again. This time we went to a place where Susie had never gone before: Yosemite. Part of the draw for Susie was not just the great company (Burgons and the Johnsons), but the fact that she could see Yosemite without actually back-packing or camping. We stayed at a cabin about 30 minutes outside of the entrance to Yosemite Valley. The cabin shared its backyard with a golf course.

Simon woke up early, every morning. One morning, we took him out to the golf course...but he had only 1 thing in mind...


...chase the deer that were grazing on the golf course.


The deer had other plans in mind...

We did eventually drive into the valley. Kelvin had made some critical packing errors, so the day was mostly filled with lunch, walking around the valley, and carrying a tired Simon back to the car. We were able to get some great views of Half-Dome.


Don't let this picture fool you though...with all the stuff to see on the ground, Simon didn't really like being slung to his daddy's back all afternoon. He submitted a lot of formal complaints before turning back to the car.

August was filled with a lot of family and friends. We can not think of a better combination of pure joy than to take family with us to enjoy nature's wonders. We are so grateful for the support our family gives us, especially at this time while the family is expanding.

Yellow or White?

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Blank family tree