Merry Christmas to You!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas. Here are a few snapshots of our December.

Aidan helped make a gingerbread house, Koulourakia (a Greek cookie) and pumpkin cream pie. Yummy!

My bowties boys! Aidan was a willing participant in his preschool Christmas program.

Aidan also was in the children's Christmas program at our church. He even had a line, "A campfire!", which he spoke with great precision and gusto.

Pumpkins and Ponies

Aidan had a blast at the pumpkin patch. He picked out pumpkins for all of us. However, he didn't like my Cinderella pumpkin because the stem poked him. Aidan also had more pony rides at our church's fall family festival. He rode them several times and looked like a natural out there.

Harvest Time

In September, we harvested our merlot grapes. Aidan was Mark's assistant out in the vineyards. He helped by tasting the grapes and putting them in the bin! The other grapes were harvested in October...more photos to follow. I'm a bit behind on the blog.

Celebrating Tammy's Birthday on the Wine Train

"Transportation" was the theme for the month of September. We celebrated my birthday on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Out of a couple hundred people, Aidan was the only child aboard the train! We had a very lovely "white tablecloth" lunch. The chef accommodated Aidan with some pasta noodles. Aidan loved every minute of it. And I had a wonderful birthday with my two boys.

In the Big City

We spent Labor Day weekend in the City! We stayed near Union Square. What fun! Aidan insisted on riding a "city" bus --umm, that would mean riding MUNI! Yikes! So, Mark and I sucked it up and got onto Muni a few times. Aidan loved it.

We also had fun kite flying at Chrissy Field. What a fabulous weekend in the City! We miss San Francisco!

I wanna be a cowboy!

After living in Napa for over 5 years, we finally made it to the Napa Town and Country Fair. Surprisingly, Aidan insisted on a pony ride! I was almost positive he was going to meltdown when he was placed on the pony. However, Aidan LOVED every minute of it! He was a natural and kept grinning. His pony's name was Romeo:-)

Sullen Soccer Star

Aidan started soccer this summer. So I guess that means I'm an official "soccer mom" driving around in my Volvo station wagon?! Aidan seemed ok with the game but only time will tell. I think I kicked the ball as much as he did!

Meeting Baby Taylor

We flew to Denver in early August to finally meet our new niece/cousin, Taylor. Aidan had a blast on the plane with a Curious George movie and a piece of gum. Aidan loved Baby Taylor and was very gentle with her. He held her foot in the car to comfort her! Aaah, what a nice cousin. We visited the Rocky Mountain National Park and we were in awe of the beauty. We can't wait to visit Uncle Marc, Ontie Debbie and Taylor again!

Aidan gets hooked on fishing

At the end of July, we took a weekend trip with the Sohns to McCloud. Mark and Mike spent some time on the McCloud River. Aidan had a couple of outings too where he caught rainbow trout. I think Aidan's fish were bigger than the ones Mark hooked!

4th of July in Napa

Uncle Patrick, Auntie Brenda and Kaitlin visited us for 4th of July. Aidan loved hangin' with his cousin, "Kiki". He was her shadow for the entire weekend! We went to the fireworks but Aidan stayed for about 5 minutes and had to leave. Poor little guy! It was just too noisy for him. We also took a stroll on Napa's new River Walk. Aidan wasn't much into photo-taking. He was too busy running off.

Corn boy!

Aidan loves corn on the cob. Corn by itself doesn't cut it! The corn must be on the cob.

Artist in Training

Aidan ventured outside his normal medium of crayons and rubber stamps to finger painting. He enjoyed squeezing out the paint and squishing the paint between his fingers. My little artist!

Campin' at Pt. Reyes

The grandparent's came over to help us get ready for our Memorial Day camping trip to Point Reyes. Aidan loved the tent and when we finally arrived in Point Reyes, he absolutely loved camping and sleeping in his little sleeping bag.

We also made a visit to Cowgirl Creamery and the Pt. Reyes lighthouse. The lighthouse was totally socked in with fog. Aidan was a bit of a grump. We had to carry him for about a mile since he refused to walk. Mom and Dad survived 2 nights of camping in cold, wet weather. No more camping till next year!