August Activities

We stuck fairly close to home during most of the month of August, with Little Noodle's impending arrival slowing us down.  But that didn't mean we didn't have tons of fun!  We worked on Virginia's bike riding skills, did indoor tent making and camping, visited with local friends, and had lots of fun around the house.

First big girl bike ride with the pedals added!

Push off from Daddy

Overnight indoor tent camp-out with Daddy in Virginia's room.

Princess Virginia playing at a friend's house.

Loving on the kitten at friend Sophie's house.

Meeting the daughter of one of daddy's childhood friends

We also managed to do two smaller road trips, staying for a weekend in mid-August with the Argyris family at their cabin in Lake Tahoe and then going to Stinson Beach for a day over Labor Day Weekend.  In Tahoe, Virginia had a blast going tubing behind a motorboat for the first time.

Loving the Donner Lake boat ride near Tahoe.

Ready for her first tube ride 

Speed demon!

Virginia with our Tahoe hosts, the Argyrises.

The Harveys enjoy Tahoe Donner.

Virginia took this picture herself of all the adults!  We were impressed.

At Stinson, Virginia visited with her favorite friend in the world, Griffin Guidi and generally was up to no good.  We loved visiting with the Griffinger and Guidi families, as we have done many times at Stinson over the years.

Up to no good with the Guidi Boys.

Showering Little Noodle

Several of my Alameda mom friends were kind enough to host a shower in August to celebrate Little Noodle's impending arrival.  We went over to Danielle's home for a fantastic afternoon event filled with games, presents and... Southern food!  Little Noodle especially loved the shrimp and grits and red velvet cookies.

Since Virginia especially wanted to participate, we made it a mother-daughter shower.  It was so cute to see Virginia with all her best buddies.  The girls were also a big help when it came to present-opening.

Thanks to all my sweet friends and to Danielle for hosting.  Little Noodle now has lots of adorable outfits that we can't wait to try.

Wonder what could be in there?

Virginia and GayGay at the shower.

Silly girls at the shower. 

Princess pose at the shower.

Lots of present opening helpers.

Big Sister in Training

Virginia has been so excited about the arrival of her baby brother Little Noodle the past few months.  When we heard that the hospital where he will be born offers a big brother/big sister class for older siblings, we knew she would have a great time participating.  So, we headed over to Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley one Saturday morning in August so she could get a tour and some big sister training.

Virginia was a natural, working hard to push the "babies" around the Labor & Deliver ward in their bassinet, trying out the adjustable beds in the recovery room, and diapering and feeding her baby.  She is going to be a natural!

Babies coming through!

This bed moves -- totally awesome!

Listening intently to our nurse teacher about baby care.

Learning how to hold babies safely. 

Ready to feed her baby!

Happy Birthday To Us!

Thomas celebrated a milestone birthday this year -- 35 -- so we decided to throw a little party for the grown-ups to celebrate.  Since my 34th was just a few days later, we made it a joint party.  But Thomas got the call the shots.

The birthday boy with friends Don & Laura and one of the owners of the most awesome business ever!

As luck would have it, a totally awesome 1980s style arcade had just opened on Park Street in Alameda, so Thomas decided we ought to rent it out and throw a party there.  We invited all our friends for a kid-free night of Tetris, Mortal Kombat, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, and Ms. Pac-Man, complete with a bar and yummy Thai food.  I think I can safely say that a good time was had by all.

Happy birthday, Thomas!  Let's start planning an even bigger 40th!

Enjoying the arcade with Nathan and Marianna.

Peter and Susan get serious about a car race.

We were very impressed by Lien & Jim's attire for the evening!

Hanging out with good friends Matt and Dan.

The Griffingers -- Ellie was a trooper and came to the party after a full day of delivering babies.