Snapshot #710: Piggy Tails

November 30, 2012.  San Jose, California.  She's just so darn cute!

Snapshot #709: Design Concepts

November 29, 2012.  San Jose, California.  I am searching for inspiration in developing the design concept for my client's new chiropractic office space.  So far...these images invoke the mood that I'm going for. 

Snapshot #708: Cozy Christmas Season

November 28, 2012.  San Jose, California.  It's raining outside today; enhancing the feeling of warmth inside.  We're having soup for dinner.  

Snapshot #707: Christmas Tree

November 27, 2012.  San Jose, California.  The Christmas music is blaring and we're decorating the tree.

Snapshot #706: Run & Hide

November 26, 2012.  San Jose, California.  One of Hazel's favorite things to do is run and hide.  She picks up something she probably shouldn't have, then she turns and runs to the smallest nook or cranny that she can squeeze her little self into.  (Her favorite hiding places in the house are behind the curtains, behind the rocking chair, between her crib and the wall, between the oven and the wall, or under the dining table.)  This new game has made going shopping an exhilarating experience as she has simply just disappeared...to find she's squeezed herself between a nearby grill and the wall and she's hiding there silently with a huge grin on her face!

Snapshot #705: Koret Children's Corner

November 24, 2012.  San Francisco, California.  Today we drove up to San Francisco to check out the Koret Children's Corner of the Golden Gate Park.  It was a beautiful day to be in the city!

Snapshot #704: Applesauce

November 23, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Oh my...as soon as she decided she'd had enough she started to use the applesauce as face paint...boy did she think she was funny!

Snapshot #703: Thanksgiving Day 2012

November 22, 2012.  San Jose, California.  The calm before the storm.  We're hosting 14 people this year.  I am thankful for great friends.

Snapshot #702: Turkey Brine

November 21, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Preparing the brine for this year's turkey.

Snapshot #701: Games for Baby

November 20, 2012.  San Jose, California.  I was thinking that I'd be able to give Hazel my old phone and she could use it to play her games on.  Turns out...my old phone is SO old it doesn't support the games that she likes.  Hmmmm......

Snapshot #700: You Make Me Smile

November 19, 2012.  San Jose, California.  They're both too adorable not to take a picture of!

Snapshot #699: Cougars in San Jose

November 17, 2012.  San Jose, California.  It rained on us and they lost the game.  But we'd do it again.

Snapshot #698: "Baby"

November 16, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Hazel officially says the word "baby" on a regular basis.  She LOVES pushing her baby doll around in the stroller indoors and outdoors.  I am amazed at how nurturing she is with the baby doll.  A week or so ago she cried and cried when she saw that her baby got caught up in the vacuum chord while I was cleaning.

Snapshot #697: "Give Thanks"

November 15, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Look, I made a Thanksgiving Wreath for my front door!  (Eventually I'd like to have a wreath for every season of the year.)

Before & After: Snapshot #696: Apple Butter

November 14, 2012.  San Jose, California.  This was my first attempt at making Apple Butter.  I had no idea it was such a labor of love.  Dave, Tracee, and I each stood at the stove and stirred for one hour each before it was ready.

Snapshot #695: Friends for Life

November 13, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Awwwww!

Snapshot #694: Preparing for Disaster

November 12, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Given the recent devastation in the New York Area due to Superstorm Sandy, I've dedicated our Monday nights this month to preparing for a potential disaster.  Earthquakes in the Bay Area are not an if, but a when.  Last week we created a family evacuation plan.  Tonight we're going to drive the route to the nearest emergency room...making sure we all know how to get there.  Next week we'll pull out our 72-hour kits and figure out what needs to be updated.  The following week, we're going shopping for missing items.  There's a great deal more we may do, but this is a good start.

Snapshot #693: Relief Society Activities Survey

November 10, 2012.  San Jose, California.  I just finished creating this survey of activities for my local Relief Society.  What are the most meaningful activities that you have participated in, in your local Relief Society?  

Snapshot #692: Unfinished Project Pile

November 9, 2012.  San Jose, California.  My unfinished project pile includes a 4th of July Wreath, Felt Flower Hair Clips, Fabric Car Organizer, and Re-Painting my Dining Chairs.  Not shown:  make applesauce (with those apples from Apple Hill), make a felt quiet book for Hazel,  Read the next chapter in "Caring for your Baby and Young Child" (my essential baby guide), Design the millwork for Dr. Tio's office (but first purchase AutoCAD), return the green tights Dave didn't wear for Halloween, publish the 'Staycations' booklet for those who ordered it, refund money to those who didn't show up to make soap, submit receipts for Craft Day for reimbursement, figure out why the printer won't print, buy Hazel a new noise-maker (her previous one broke and she's starting to wake up at 5:30 in the morning when Tracee makes noises in the adjacent bathroom), buy a space heater for Hazel's room for the winter, publish "Little Bird"(an adoption story), call Dr. Schmo, do our Health Plan Enrollment, box away Hazel's too little clothing and too little toys, set up new Savings Accounts to help accomplish our budget goals, unclog the tub's drain, call that friend in New Jersey, mow the lawn, weed the flowers, plan Thanksgiving Dinner, find Dave voice lessons, come up with a musical number for performance at the Ward Christmas Party, finish the Christmas List, and make travel plans for the holidays.  Oh yeah, make dinner, vacuum, and scrub the bathroom, iron shirts, and do something with that pile of laundry on the bedroom floor.  
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed today.

Snapshot #691: Lock & Key

November 8, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Yesterday in the doctor's office I was reading an article from which I looked up and found Hazel doing this.  She doesn't miss a thing. 

Snapshot #690: 15 Month Check-up

November 7, 2012.  San Jose, California.  Hazel's 15-Month Update:  She weighs 22.7 pounds (50th percentile).  Her height is ?? inches (80th percentile).  Her hair color is blonde; her eyes are a blueish-gray.  She can say Mommy, Bubby (Daddy...I think), Meow, Whoof, ee-ee-oo-oo (monkey sounds) and baby.  She can whistle.  She does sign-language for "Ya No" (All Done), "Daddy", "Mas" (More Food), and"Donde" (Where).  She understands most of what we say and she obeys commands.  Her bedtime is 8:00.  She consistently sleeps 11-12 hours through the night.  She has been walking for five months and has started to run.  She is semi-attached to a binky and a pink lovey.  
And she brings us Immense Joy! 

Snapshot #689: I Voted

November 6, 2012.  San Jose, California.  I am proud to have had the privilege to vote.

Snapshot #688: Toddler Trek

November 5, 2012.  Cupertino, California.  I got out this morning with Hazel and some friends and went for a two mile walk through Rancho San Antonio.  Thank you Strollerhikes.

Snapshot #687: Apple Hill

 

November 3, 2012.  Camino, California.  I have virtually fallen in love with the concept of Apple Hill (all through the internet of course).  Think Wine Trail...but for Apples!  I even found one  Apple Hill orchard for sale.  Today was the day I finally got to go check it out in person.  Harvest Season in this countryside (northeast of Sacramento) is a Big Deal.  I was overwhelmed by the masses of people who had flocked to the farms.  The 'orchard' we visited had 3 acres of land just for the parking lot.  Also a restaurant, artisan tents, fishing pond, pony rides, fudge factory, cider shakes shack, general store (think apple donuts, apple fritters, apple butter, applesauce; you name it), hay rides, cider press, and bake shop.  I was not expecting it to be so crowded.  (But that's only on the weekends and during harvest, right?)  Probably my favorite part was escaping the crowds and finding an orchard where we could pick our own apples.   

Snapshot #686: Self-Expression

November 2, 2012.  San Jose, California.  One of the advantages of having a play group is that when I need to find someone to watch Miss Hazel, there's already a group of Mothers-and-Children with whom Hazel is very much acquainted.  It makes leaving her behind SO much easier because there is little to no separation anxiety.

Snapshot #685: Design Inspiration

November 1, 2012.  Sunnyvale, California.  This artistic photograph is my inspiration for designing the new logo wall for my current client; a chiropractor.  My goal is to come up with a backdrop for his Office Manager that will welcome his clients and inspire them toward strengthening their core.