ellie time!

Miss Ellie is 9 months old now...she is saying some words, making some noises and pushing her stroller SO WELL! we loved being with her all day and watching her sweet little self grow up so quick before our eyes. i can't believe it!

with her hello kitty that granny got her!

she loved it!!! and hardly let it go...

stroller time!

she got all her toys out of her basket...

she loves her sister Cami!

kisses!

story time... i'd just woken up from a nap myself.

daddy and grandad!

we walked to see the improvements on the TCU stadium

matt got to feel the baby kicking/moving inside me...

he was so excited! finally... he's been trying for a while now and it happened for the first time last night in bed. he said, "this is special." so sweet! he's going to be such a good, loving daddy!

CALIFORNIA...

well, Matt and i just got back from a week in California! it wasn't so sunny, kinda rainy actually, but was still fun. Matt was part of his friend Rob's wedding to Amy. they live close to my grandparents so it was great to get to see them and all our family for the weekend!

pe-pa with great grandson Robby

Robert, Courtney, Pe-pa, Robby and Me-ma

the whole group!

jen, pe-pa, dave, Robert, Adam, Chelsea, Katie, Me-ma, Courtney, Robby, Me and Matt

here we go for our drive up North.

we didn't plan much for it though. we wanted to see the Sequoia trees (the ones you can drive through) but had NO IDEA it was SNOWING there. we even got stuck on the highway for 1/2 an hour cause the 'grapevine' (a snowy high area, i guess) was closed. we call as we're headed that way to discover you need chains on your wheels to get into the park. OK, scratch that...

then there were torrential rains the night before we left, causing mud slides so our second plan also was scratched to drive up HWY 1...bridges were closed, etc. but it ended up being ok, cause we were able to get to SF by midday and saw the Golden Gate Bridge that afternoon, freeing us up more for our second day there.

on our drive up, we went from this...

to this...

to this...

Oakland Bay Bridge, we crossed over to get into SF

Golden Gate Bridge!

matty found us this descrete spot to get a shot together...

first Mary Emma outtake! kinda like it though...??

so close! there was this great lookout point, matt and his friend discovered a decade ago, which is now a specific tourist look out point.

so windy, outtake #2!

the next day. rainy day and alcatraz! this was the morning our Agnes passed on...i didn't find out till that night...but looking back, all i can think was that she'd been gone this whole time.

cells...

the yard...

pier 39, sea lions! they were barking and barking...not these guys, they were just packed in like sardiens sleeping. but 2 others were quite vocal...very territorial

Chinatown

cool crosswalk in Chinatown

Chinatown

loved this breakfast spot, check out my latte

and yummy oatmeal!

lastly Delores Park...from Sweet November!

the bridge she walks under at the end of the movie in Sweet November

26 and 27 weeks and KICKING!

i am THRILLED to report i can finally say for sure i know the baby is KICKING! i was unsure for some time...the literature says, "anywhere from 16-24 weeks, you could start to feel the movements inside you..." well, here i was almost 27 weeks and STILL unsure...so i scheduled an apt to hear the heart tones and the NIGHT BEFORE i feel him, no questions asked. then again the next morning, then again on the couch at the dr's office...but it ended up being ok cause my mom and dad were in town and so my mom got to come in and hear the heart tones, even though i was not concerned at all at that point!

thanks GOD!

it's quite an interesting experience, feeling my baby moving around inside me...kinda feels funny! but at least i know he's alright if he's moving! keep it up little man!

26 weeks

27 weeks

so happy with my new potted geraniums!

they remind me of my grandmother, euince!!! she always had some on her front porch!!! AND of Europe! they were all over Italy and Greece! i love them! and i think they look great against out white house!

our beloved aggie...

well, it was a week ago this morning that we lost our beloved dog, agnes. i say 'our' dog, but really she was my parents dog. they got her when i was a senior in high school, but we all loved her SO much! she was atypical. very submissive and tender. always loving and ready to snuggle. she always wanted to have a paw on you, to touch you. she licked your hands, my mom's mostly to tell her she loved her and went on many walks with us all and lots with my parents on their land out in galisteo, NM. she got to where she knew her way home and would take off ahead of them and be waiting on the porch when they got home. we did photo shoots with her in matt's studio, we held her tons and mostly we just LOVED her company SO SO MUCH. she was a sweet, sweet dog and will be greatly missed.

i still remember the day my mom walked in the front door with her. she held agnes (who is named after the artist Agnes Martin, by the way) and i came down from the stairs, looking at her thinking gross, bc she was very dirty and greasy and looked like a goose with her neck stretched out. but that was a day of saving grace for aggie. she has heartworms and my parents got her on medicine to get rid of them. for the next 13 or so years, my parents loved on her like no body could. i loved her so much and always wanted to make sure to say a special goodbye to her when she left in my parents car, when they 'd come up to visit...as she got older, you just never knew when would be her last day and i didn't want to have regrets.

anyways, it was a peaceful passing for agnes. she was surrounded with loving arms and words form my parents for the last two hours of her life as she passed on, after suffering a stroke. i still cannot believe she is gone, forever, from us. she will be missed so much but we are just eternally greatful for getting to have her as part of our lives and to see the sweet spirit that was Agnes for that many years. there will never be another pet like her. thank you Lord for our pets.