Seattle 2010

Seattle was wet as expected but we were so excited to meet little Anya and see Abby, Uncle Chris + Aunt Rachel that we barely noticed. We had a really nice time hanging at Abby's house and just having a relatively chill weekend. She is a cutie and I can't believe I've already forgotten how tiny they are at 2 months! The one big outing we went on was to the Seattle Zoo, which is amazing. It is HUGE and we saw snow leopards, penguins and even a bird show. They also have a great indoor playground which Sasha enjoyed.
Check out the photos from our trip:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/Seattle2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ3f_96k_uDbqQE&feat=directlink 

Homebody Days

Sasha is a homebody, Noah and I are not. But we still enjoy just hanging around and having a lot of silly play time. This post includes photos of us dressing up, which we do every day, jamming on Daddy's mandolin and just general good time goofiness! Also, while we all know Noah is a droolie kid, check out the wet shirt on him! He is just like his Mommy was as a kid...

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/HomebodyDays?authkey=Gv1sRgCOSh3rmbpoS5lQE&feat=directlink

Noah Eats at the Table

Noah for some time now when dinner is ready walks over to a chair and wants up...we would like to keep him in the highchair but he seemed determined. So this Sunday night we got out the booster and he was ready. Not sure it was the best idea considering there was tomato sauce involved but I have now learned that a towel under the booster is a great idea. Look at how happy he is!! We also have some lovely pics of Sasha being a spaghetti goofball...Really though Noah is so fun right now- this is a great age and he is learning new words often- he now says clock, truck and is even spinning in circles when we ask him to dance. What could be more fun!

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/NoahAtTheTable?authkey=Gv1sRgCImk5I-BoOrewwE&feat=directlink

Placerville Pumpkin Patch

Friends thought we were crazy to drive so far for pumpkins and apples but we made a fun day trip out of it. We drove 2 hrs. to get to a bunch of farms in Placerville which we had gone to when Sasha was one. They have the most amazing pies, great apple cider and a lot of fun events for the kids. Sasha went on a pony, we ate apple donuts, drank apple cider and listened to a bluegrass band. We wandered through apple orchards and pumpkin fields just checking things out and all had a nice day. It ended up being super hot but luckily one of the farms had a sprinkler which Sasha and I ran through...ok I made her do it once while I must have gone through 10 times but man it felt great! Here are some photos of our day!

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/PumpkinPatch?authkey=Gv1sRgCIfT8rCc-MvpEg&feat=directlink

October 2010

We headed back to Maryland this month to visit with Alex's family and had a great time. Somehow we didn't take many photos...not sure why...but we did enjoy ourselves quite a bit. We saw lots of family, had fun with Grandma Nellie and even had a fun adventure with friends. We met at a pumpkin patch and went through a corn maze that Sasha and Lucy navigated...we thought we may be in there all night but they did quite well. While we love DC we weren't as impressed with the outlying areas as I had hoped so I don't think it will be in the running for moving back there...Alex is thrilled and keeps saying to me, "I kept wondering what you loved about it there..." My reply is, "It must have just been all the wonderful people I met honey." Also included in the photos are a few shots from our sweeter mornings at home, the kids sleeping and cuddling which just makes us giddy. And a very nice picture Sasha made Alex as she sat on the front porch waiting for him to come home. He LOVES having the kids run to him and yell Daddy or DaDa when he gets home- it makes his whole day.

Enjoy the few photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/October2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCP_BkZDF6InsjAE&feat=directlink

Pixar Exhibit

I often don't get to exhibits that I want and there are a ton in the Bay Area but this one I thought we'd all enjoy. So we went to check out the newly redesigned Oakland Museum which was really nice graphically not sure what else really changed. I had to move quickly through the exhibit but the drawings were amazing and Pixar impressive. They showed the process from beginning to end and it really does often start as a cartoon sketch on a napkin. I would love that job...Sasha loved the movie at the end of the makings and Noah even ran up to the screen and started clapping at the end...it was a bit before it was over but then he got a huge laugh from the crowd and everyone clapped with him. Sasha and I were laughing and we all wandered outside to the sculpture garden. A nice day for the three of us! Here's some pictures of the day:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/PixarExhibit?authkey=Gv1sRgCPObp--T0PXoAg&feat=directlink

Yom Kippur Services

I always liked Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holidays b/c as most of you know I am quite reflective and enjoy sharing my thoughts and feelings on just about every topic that has entered my mind. Lucky Alex! HA! For me, in Judaism this is the time to do just that, think about the last year, cleanse your body, mind and soul by fasting and apologize to those you've upset, forgive yourself and others and generally begin again. I like the service at our Temple, and the kid service is nice and short. So we decided to go to that and got dressed up to celebrate. We actually got some nice pictures out of it but too bad Alex was taking them and couldn't join for a family photo. Check out the pictures:


http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/YomKippurServices?authkey=Gv1sRgCImHpJiEmZ6PrAE&feat=directlink

Another fun Zoo Day

We headed to the zoo at the end of Sept.- we usually go about once a month and had a blast. We rode the train and saw the Australian exhibit- we saw kangaroos and an emu. But the best part was seeing the mircats. Kids can crawl in this little concrete tunnel and watch from a window and the animals come right up almost like they are watching the kids. Well luckily it was a slow day at the zoo b/c I crawled in the tunnel as well [so Noah could go] and the two of them danced, sang and put on a bunch of shows in front of the window for me. We all laughed a lot and had fun being silly and you can see from this photo Noah really got into it drool and all!

Here's some photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/AnotherFunZooDay?authkey=Gv1sRgCPy168u2g_H7lAE&feat=directlink

Halloween

Halloween weekend was fun for most of the Harwin household, Sasha was a fairy princess and happily used her dress up clothes to create a costume [different ones each time she went out] and Noah was a cute little bee. It was raining the morning of the parade but some friends met here and Alex walked with the kids up to Piedmont Ave. I was sadly sick and missed out on all the festivities and Alex was fighting a cold but was a trooper heading out in the rain.  Sasha got some candy, went in plenty of bouncy houses and even got a free pumpkin so it must have been a fun day! Noah spent the whole time watching from the stroller all bundled up and "trying" to take a nap. He finally fell asleep the last 20 min. of the parade but was then up and ready to go by the time they got home. Sunday night I was feeling better and Sasha and I went out with some neighborhood kids just on our street to trick or treat. She made out like a bandit and was nice enough to share her pretzels with Noah.


Here are some photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amyres/Halloween?authkey=Gv1sRgCJLKjNmEnryoUA&feat=directlink