Party Girls

It was fun to get a little dressed up with Calista last weekend and go to our friend Amanda's place for a quick visit and nibble in celebration of her recent remodel. Calista was excited to wear a "party dress!"

Labor Day Weekend

We had a blast over Labor Day spending quality time together as a family. On Saturday we went to our friend Sarah's in Marin for pool time and lunch. Calista and Grant played a little together (hurrah) and had fun running down the hallway with his two truck toys. On Sunday, we went to Yerba Buena and took Calista on the carousel (really fun) and then to the playground there followed by burgers and milkshakes at Mo's. Naturally, Calista got a kick out the restaurant being called Mo's, since her nickname for her Elmo is "Mo." On Monday, we went to the zoo where Calista petted a goat, played in the prairy dog tunnel, and went on a carousel ride again. On Tuesday, Scott and I decided we needed another day off (ha ha)!

Drawing = Processing

After her first day at Pacific Primary, Calista came home and drew this picture "All the People at Pacific Primary." More recently, she drew a picture of everyone doing yoga (yes, she does yoga at preschool - lucky girl!). She really loves her teachers Eric and Sarah Watkins and has started to make some friends too, especially with two girls named Hana and Zuri. :-)

First Day of Preschool!

Today was a very exciting day because Calista spent her first full day at Pacific Primary! Scott and I took her to school in the morning and spent some time hanging out with her and some of the other kids and parents (they stagger the first week so Calista's first day was with 5 kids -- on Friday when she goes back all 16 kids will be there). She didn't cry or anything when we gave her big hugs and kisses and said goodbye. When Claire and I picked her up at 3, she jumped up and down and told me she loved me and gave me hugs and kisses. Teacher Eric said that Calista was in a great mood all day, ate a good lunch (they cook lunch for the kids every day), napped (teacher Sarah Watkins came and rubbed her back and helped her go to sleep), didn't have any potty accidents, and when she wanted to play with some dinosaurs that a little boy didn't want to share, she went to teacher Eric and asked for help -- Eric said he thought it was wonderful that she could use her words and then the three of them worked together to find a solution without any arguments or tears. To celebrate her wonderful first day, Claire and I took Calista to Bi-Rite creamery for ice cream. We are all so proud of her! Yay Calista!

P.S. Funny story -- when I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she said "cookies." I don't know if they gave her cookies for snack time, but that's what she said. And when she was talking about a little boy named Noah she told Claire, "No....ah. That's kind of a silly name!" because she thought it was funny that a boy's name would start with "no."

Celebrity Chef Calista?

For Scott's birthday, we invited friends to meet us at the playground across the street this past Sunday. (We were so busy we didn't have time to take any photos!) But little missy was very excited to help frost cupcakes -- and eat them too. Then she got into her celebrity mode and wore sunglasses around the house.

Beds, Boxes & Babies

We recently got Calista a big girl bed (the photo of her jumping for joy is when she sees her new bed) and saved the box for her to play with. She loves going inside and pretending it's a lion cage, or closing the "door" and pretending to go to sleep. I tried to take a photo of her putting her doll up her shirt and pretending she has a baby in her tummy like mommy, but it didn't really come out. At least you get the jist of what she is doing. :-)

We got Calista an Elmo and Cookie to take to preschool with her for naptime. As you can see, she loved playing with everyone together.

Friends and Daughters

Two weekends ago we met up with Peter, Nathalie and Tyler and their twins Charlotte and Emilie, and Laura and Munir and their little girl Penelope who were up from LA. We met at Pete's then moised over for playground fun at Duboce Park. Great to see everyone - even if we didn't get to chat all that much! (Babies and toddlers keep their parents on their toes, that's for sure.) Fortunately, we had a bit more time with the Haddads and Pete over lunch at Duboce Park Cafe. Cute photos of Calista and Penelope!

Mission Hipster

Here's our girl back in August wearing earrings that I made for her (as Calista says, "Earrings like Dynanee" referring to her Friday nanny Daiane who is no longer with us since Calista is starting preschool but who Calista still talks about all the time!) and eating a Mission burrito from Papalotes (fantastic Mexican restaurant on 24th). Calista is a very big girl and now insists on eating in grownup chairs for the most part. We got rid of the high chair even!

Busy Girl in SF and Piedmont

Love this photo of Calista (taken August 9th) wearing her turtle hat, turtle backpack and riding her Dora "car." Also very cute photo (taken August 23) of her playing with puzzles, which she has recently discovered and gotten quite good at.

Earlier in August Calista and I went to visit Wendy, Don, Sydney and Brendan in Piedmont. Sydney just graduated from college, so that means she is the same age that I was when I lived with them and babysat Brendan when he was in preschool (about Calista's age). Now Brendan is about to leave for college in a few weeks...so I am seriously not sure how about 15 years just flew by like that!

Baby Shower & Bolinas Weekend

Our friends Stef and Zac Lee had a Star Wars themed baby shower party at Zac's parents' place in Walnut Creek on August 8th. Calista loved being able to go to a pool party and was basically the first one in! (They are due about 3 weeks after Baby Brady and are having a little boy. Very exciting that Baby Brady will have friends its age!)













Later that day we drove to Bolinas as our friends Rotem and Shelley (and their cute boys Ethan and Elliot) had invited us to stay at their family's place. Calista was in heaven romping around the beach there! The next day we got a tour of Shelley's dad's art collection which was amazing. Calista loved playing in the outdoor sculptures. We had a really lovely weekend -- so nice to get away with friends, and feel a million miles away from the city at the same time.

A Visit to See Eden

Calista's best buddy Eden moved to the East Bay at the end of July, so our share care ended -- very sad for Calista who has missed Eden a ton and still talks about her every day. In August, Claire took Calista to the East Bay on BART and they met up with Eden and Stephanie for a playground date. And we will continue to see Eden now that they are back from vacation, so their sweet friendship can continue. :-)

P.S. Fortunately Claire is still taking care of Calista and will even be with us a few hours a day when Calista starts preschool! We are so grateful that this is working out.

Randall Museum & Zoo

Also in July we took little missy to the Randall Museum for the first time. It's such a cute place, and the price is definitely right (free!). Calista loved all the animals there - they have a guinea pig, chicken and duck to pet, plus a barn owl and a beehive, and had a blast playing with the animal hand puppets in a little house.

The next day we took Calista to the Zoo, a perennial favorite, where she spent a bunch of time at the petting zoo and rode a little tractor.

City Streets of SF

The day we got back from Connecticut (yes -- it has been a while since I updated the blog -- sorry!) San Francisco closed off a big section of Valencia to cars, so Scott and I took Calista for a stroll with her tricyle and took in the sights and sounds. Naturally, Calista wanted to stop and dance to an impromptu dance party, where they were playing "Off the Wall" in homage to Michael Jackson's recent passing.