One Day with Lots of Action!

On Friday morning with Catherine slumbering in San Ramon, Sarah and Scott hit the road for Los Angeles with plans to take in some fun at Universal Studios and hang out with Aretha Franklin!

Universal Studios was very fun! We hit the new Simpson's ride (twice!), freaked out on the Mummy ride and had our stomachs drop on the Jurassic Park ride. We also ran into some old friends (see below).

Aretha Franklin was absolutely FANTASTIC. She sang everything that we were hoping and more. Her voice was amazing and she was in rare form, cracking jokes, telling stories and even sat down at the piano to just play and chat with the crowd. She also gave props to the celebs in the crowd: Jesse Jackson, Billy D!, Angela Basset and Halle Berry. So you know, that was all very fun b/c the closest we came to a star earlier in the day was running into The Scoob and Shaggy!

Picnic in the Park!

Catherine toured local parks this weekend to test out which grass was the best for walking. The jury is still out! The photos below are all from today's picnic to celebrate Grandma Drain's birthday. The girls had a good time hugging and walking (well...) and eating blueberries! We know the slideshow is large but some of the pics are better a tad bigger...maybe we're biased?!

Catherine's Birthday Party!

Wow..first tenpanyakki and then a party in the park! What's next? Well, a party at the Beach in NC but we'll have more on that in July! We had a great day today celebrating Catherine's 1st birthday with some friends and family. Check out more pictures from the day...

Happy 1st Birthday, Catherine Hannah!

Catherine couldn't decide on our taking her out for a meal or a show. Meal or show? Meal or Show? So, her dad thought that maybe this was the perfect time to introduce the bean to tenpanyakki! There was fire! There was smoke! There were people signing happy birthday and giving her ice cream!

We are so amazed at our little girl and can't believe that she is o-n-e. If you're feeling nostalgic and would like to take a quick trip down memory lane, click here or here or here!

All done? Wave your hands!!

As we near her first birthday, Catherine Hannah is finally starting to pick up some signs! Here she is with "All Done!" and a bit of a wave "Bye!"

Catherine "Crash" Drain

Kids grow up so fast these days.... With Catherine's first birthday rapidly approaching, we can't believe she's already behind the wheel... of a bus!!

Mother's Day started on Saturday afternoon when Scott, Jonas and Pete planned a few hours at the spa for me, Katie and Jess. A surprise for all three of us, we were thankful for our girl time! On Sunday, Scott and Catherine went to Noah's to get my favorite coffee and a tasty blueberry muffin to start my day. Then I learned that they had been shopping at Tiffany! Our nickname for Catherine is "The Bean" and in honor of that, they bought me a Bean necklace. Such a special and sweet surprise! In the afternoon - off to the A's game to celebrate Green & Gold Style followed by a BBQ at the Drains. Enjoy - we did!

P.S. To see more photos of Catherine at her first A's game of the season with her friend Jack, click here.

Post-Bath Bliss

We have some new words! Catherine has been saying "Hi" for about two weeks and toward the end of last week, she added "Bye!" to her vocabulary. She always accompanies these words with a wave but she seems to think that "bye!" is something that is said at any time of day: while reading a book, while bathing, while crawling around on the floor...! She has been saying "Dada" for quite a while and on Monday when Sarah walked in the house she said, "Hi, Mom!" while waving. Finally, just today she dropped her bottle and added, "Uh-oh!" Tonight that was the word of choice, edging "bye!" into second place. Did we say "finally"? We know it's just the beginning of this little chatter bug's vocabulary!

Dinner Time

Sometimes dinner is so good, it's worth rubbing all over your face!!

rocking out with dad

Dance Jams!

Monterey and Easter Trips

Last weekend we took a mini-vacation to Monterey, where Catherine spent some quality time with all of her fish friends. We even took a side trip to the 18th green at Pebble Beach so she could start practicing in anticipation for next year's U.S. Open. On Easter we went to Aunt Joan's house, where "the Bean" got to hang out with her cousin Elle and participate in her first Easter egg hunt. Fun times! -

Taking a Stand

Dad got a gift card, and with that gift card, Dad bought a new video camera. Catherine took the opportunity to show off her standing skills for her new and expanding audience..... This is pretty common for Catherine these days, continually bouncing from one object (or parent) to the next....

Catherine the Quick

With each passing day, the little lady gets a bit more confident in her crawling strides, and she can go longer and longer distances without stopping for a break. Of course, when Mom is at the end of the hallway with a camera, there's an added motivation....

Redevelopment

The first recorded evidence to suggest that Catherine might one day be a talented architect - or at least skilled in the art of demolition!!

Turkey Who?

Today was Catherine's 9 month appointment with Dr. Lam. She was very excited to see her doctor and show her how she can stand and giggle. She weighs 18lbs 13 oz and is 2'5" tall. That is one tall and lean bean!

What was most exciting about the visit was that her friends Tom, Tom, Tom and Tom's two sisters (Tamalia and Tamalia) showed up to make sure Catherine had a ride home. What nice turkeys!