First Birthday!

Calista turned one on February 15 and we had a party the following day. Oh my -- what a special day for us. Words can't begin to describe our gratitude to all our friends and family who came and made the celebration so fun and memorable. Special thanks to my mom and Kirsten who drove/flew down to help out. Couldn't have pulled this off without them! Calista did so well during the party -- with 30+ people in attendance it was quite the fete in our little apartment. Everyone brought amazing gifts - thanks so much. I think the photo of chilling out with her books, then napping in our bed is priceless. Classic "post-party" shot. All I can say is...it feels really good to have survived the first year. Looking forward to all that life has in store for us for year #2. Thanks for sharing the adventure with us! xoxoxoxo (P.S. My amazing sister took over 100 photos -- here's a small sampling of the party. Hope you enjoy and thanks again!)

The Bradys Celebrate a Double Birthday

Mike and Eloise came out the weekend of February 9th to celebrate (a week early) Eloise and Calista's joint birthday. We lucked out with gorgeous weather and spent a wonderful day at Golden Gate Park's Children's Playground and Carousel. Love the photos of Calista and Mike playing together -- maybe the fun Brady sense of humor is already rubbing off!?

Who Doesn't Love a Good Book?

One of Calista's favorite past times is taking off all the books from her bookshelf and reading them. It's like her little corner in the house that's all hers and where she can just hole up and read a good book. Like "Oh Baby." Or "Tails." Or "Baby Faces." Or any number of best sellers that friends and family have been kind to give us.

Really Cute Photos

Couldn't resist putting these up. They are actually from Kirsten's visit earlier in January.

Ashland Visit

Calista and I went up to Ashland for MLK weekend. We had some camera diffulties, so unfortunately there are just a few here of Evan playing ball with Calista and performing violin, Lori holding Calista, and Amanda visiting at my dad's. Hope to see you all really soon! Also - a quick shout out to Uncle Matt for the fuzzy kitty outfit Calista is wearing with Lori. It's been so great to have something warm for little missy when we are out in the cold!

Tom Grant Stops By

Tom Grant, a dear friend of Eloise and Mike's stopped by to meet Calista. We had a really great time getting to know him more - clearly Calista took a liking to him too. Thanks again for being part of the team that got the Calista puzzle bench! :-)

Snuggle Bunny

Love this t-shirt from my childhood friend Amanda!

Aunt Kirsten Comes to Visit!

We were SO HAPPY when Kirsten came to visit (week of January 8), after having spent the past 6+ months in Africa. Calista just adores her aunt. Notice how Calista's shirt says, "My goal in life is to be as charming and sophisticated as my auntie." Fortunately Calista got her aunt's beautiful blue eyes, so I can only hope the rest comes true. We took Calista to Tumble & Tea in Oakland (first photo below) - a place where grownups can have a latte and kids can romp around - and of course the playground. Below Kirsten is reading Calista a book that Scott's Aunt Joan gave her for Christmas. Calista loves it to pieces (literally!).