DomesticatedBliss

DomesticatedBliss
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

During Aileen's shower, Anna sure had a lot of fun with June's 3 year-old son Jacob. I thought this was a funny photo of Anna relaxing in the playhouse while Jacob seemed busy doing all the housework. By the way, Anna and Jacob will be flowergirl and ringbearer in Aileen's wedding. Will they walk side-by-side or will she be pulling him along? Hee hee...

P.S. I've download my maximum number of photos through Flickr this month and may not be able to blog until August!

Aileen'sShower

Aileen'sShower
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

This past Saturday we hosted Aileen's bridal shower. We held it outside, and the weather was warm and breezy. Activities included a wedding word scramble, and a memory game which had guests trying to remember 13 wedding related items that were displayed on a tray for two minutes. Aileen's gifts included a set of drinking glasses, kitchen towels, and a coffee maker. Notice her veil which I purchased at a party store.

ShowerFood

ShowerFood
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

The menu included Chinese Chicken Salad (made by bridesmaid June), deviled eggs and stuffed tomatoes (made by my mom), mini quiches (from Smart and Final) and assorted cheeses, meats, fruits and veggies (from Trader Joes). Notice how I got away with not cooking anything (again)? The festive beverage bucket was a purchase from Costco, $19.00 I believe.

ShadowDancing

ShadowDancing
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

We had hot weather for a few days this week where the only time it felt comfortable outside was in the evening. That coupled with outdoor lighting made for a stage in our backyard.

35/53?

35:53?
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

I had a wonderful birthday on Monday, the family went to Fashion Island and I went shopping at Anthropologie, my favorite store, using some gift cards and a little extra (which was my present from Steve). Later that day Steve and Anna made me this cute cake. If you can see closely my age is on the candles... I was never sensitive about my age but when Anna was placing the candles on the cake she was about to stick them in with the numbers switched... I was about to dive for those candles and fall on the cake when Steve smoothly helped Anna fix them to read the correct way. Whew!
I also received among other things, gift cards, cute frames, candles and note cards, and a meat thermometer which will come in handy when I eventually cook (I did request this!). I also received a gorgeous knit item from Mari which will be featured in a future blog entry.

Bouncy

Bouncy
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Here is Sam looking smug in the bouncer which he just started using the other day and it has taken over the exersaucer as his favorite activity.

p.s. I haven't been able to access my email since yesterday morning, perhaps a problem with hotmail? You can always leave me a message through my blog by clicking "comments" and then just clicking in the "other" circle after typing in a note, it's easy and fun!

HappyBDayYumi

HappyBDayYumi
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Yumi,
Happy birthday to you!

70Club

70Club
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

We went up north this weekend for Ted's 70th birthday, a surprise party. Here we see a group of family friends who have also reached that milestone.

OutdoorParty

OutdoorParty
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

You can get a taste of the lush setting in Ted and Marilyn's backyard, great for entertaining. There were about 40 guests in attendance for the surprise party. This was one of the seating areas.

PiedPiper

PiedPiper
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

I must say that the food was excellent at the party. It was catered and the menu included gourmet burgers, deviled eggs and scalloped potatoes. The dessert was pineapple upside-down cake (Ted's favorite) and these delicious ice cream sandwiches, which brought the kids out from their indoor play, Carter first in line.

LittleTeddy

LittleTeddy
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

There are a lot of photos from the party so I decided to get Anna's cousins represented in this little montage. This is "little" Ted and dad Mark. Teddy is huge for being a year and a half old. He is very active and loves music from the Lion King and Baby Mozart videos. Look at the wavy hair!

Lily&Anna

Lily&Anna
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

These two cousins really bonded during our short visit. They are only a year apart and have a lot of similiar interests, especiallly dancing! It was an enjoyable weekend.

Mama'sBirthday

Mama'sBirthday
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Happy Birthday Mama/Grandma!

Grandpa'sGarden

Grandpa'sGarden
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

My dad called out of the blue and asked if Anna would like to pick some vegetables from the garden. I asked her and she jumped at the chance. She even brought her own basket. We picked Japanese cucumbers (one was two feet long) and some eggplant. We will hopefully go back when the tomatoes are ripe. Even though she hadn't seen him in more than 6 months Anna was smiling and friendly and called him "Grandpa".

Prim&Proper

Prim&Proper
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Even though Anna's outfit of choice these days is her pink poodle shirt and purple skirt, she does manage to wear different outfits on occasion, like this cute t-shirt & jean skirt ensemble. She also likes to wear headbands and ponytails or braids. She's come a long way from being "the lady in red"...

RedFlashback

RedFlashback
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

This is Anna when she was two years old, and this was her outfit of choice EVERYDAY for more than 6 months... and yes, we did have several versions of the shirt and pants available!

SkyCruiser

SkyCruiser
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

We went to Legoland on Saturday and had a great time. It's only an hour away from us, and we got there when it opened at 10 a.m. so we were able to walk onto many of the rides. This is Anna's favorite, the Sky Cruiser, from which you can view most of the park.

LegoPig

LegoPig
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

There are loads of things made out of Legos at Legoland of course, including this cute pig which Anna was drawn to.

LegoBoy

LegoBoy
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Sam is learning to like Legos at an early age. They definitely are a timeless toy. Sam enjoyed putting his hands in this lego bin and swirling them around, making lots of noise.

Mustafa&Allyn

Mustafa&Allyn
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

We had a quiet 4th of July with a small bbq at our house... well actually it was small in number but noisy, it was us 4, then my friend Allyn from Florida and her boyfriend Mustafa who lives in New Zealand. They are both boisterous (fun) people, she's a lawyer, he's originally from Nigeria with a loud accented voice. Anna fell in love with them and Sam cried most of the time whenever he was in the same room with them... Sam's sleep was way off that day. Allyn said it was all the noise. hee hee...
Of course Sam couldn't help but pose for this photo, one of his cutest looks ever!

Yoga?

Yoga?
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

One day Anna spontaneously flopped herself on the floor and started moving her arms around in different angles... then she said, "This is yoga." Here's one of her yoga poses.

Erika

Erika
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

This is Anna's friend Erika, she came over to play Sunday. Erika is a year older and will be going to kindergarten, but hopefully we can maintain their friendship.
It really takes less energy to entertain little kids when they have a playmate. Steve and I didn't have to pretend to be a different, more interesting character for that afternoon.

CostcoCouch

CostcoCouch
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

We bought this outdoor furniture set from Costco a couple of months ago and our lives have never been the same since. It is the most comfortable furniture we own. We now sit outdoors quite a bit, as the weather has been fantastic and Sammy loves looking out into the sky and feel the breeze when there is one. We always have to keep him in the shade as he has the pastiest skin I've ever seen.

CutiePie

CutiePie
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

Here's a close-up of Sammy on the outdoor couch. Ok, is it just me being his mom or is he one of the cutest boys on the planet? Hee hee...

WalkerWannaBe

WalkerWannaBe
Originally uploaded by MinaG.

When you stand Sammy up like this, he seems to look around in amazement, and starts moving around all excited as if he was really standing on his own. Doesn't he look proud of himself, hee hee... I'm sure it will be several, several more months before he's actually walking on his own.