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First Day Of School!!

Isabelle started Preschool today! She was so excited! Last week the school had an orientation so the kids could see their new classroom and meet the kids that will be in their class. She did a craft and got to talk to her teachers. We met her teacher a few months back and Isabelle was excited that Mrs. Ball remembered her. I really like Mrs. Ball and I think she is a great fit for Isabelle. Her aid, Miss Andrea is great too, She introduced herself to Isabelle last week at the orientation and Isabelle loved her outfit. I think they are going to be fast friends.



When we got to class this morning, Freddie and I were both there to drop her off. She knew exactly what to do and was eager to find her cubby again and unload her backpack and lunch box. Everyday the kids have to write their name and file it in their file with their name on it. It is the very first thing they do while Mom or Dad check them in. She knew she was suppose to write her name so as soon as she was done unpacking her things she went straight to find her tools and got started. She was thrilled to find that the teacher had her name in pink. As soon as she was done with her first assignment she was ready for us to leave. Freddie and I weren't quite ready to go, still taking it all in. We watched her make a new friend and wander around the classroom getting comfortable. Freddie had to pull me out of the room, I wasn't ready to go and it surprised me that I was feeling emotional. I didn't cry I was just so excited and so proud of my little girl!

Mrs. Ball and Issy at orientation

Miss Andrea and Issy at orientation

Isabelle and her new backpack (with her name on it) this morning, ready for school!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Yesterday we went to Reno to celebrate my Grandma's 80th Birthday!

It was such a fun party and we enjoyed celebrating with her and spending time with family.

Happy Birthday Grandma! We love you!!

Yosemite Day 2

On our second day in Yosemite we drove to Glacier Point. It was a long drive, but again worth the beautiful views of Half Dome and the Valley. We then made our way back down to the valley to see Bridalveil falls and walk through the visitors center, before eating dinner and heading back to camp.

Isabelle enjoying the view

Grandma and Grandpa G

All of us... Grandma and Grandpa G, Sarah and Gabe, Cousin Tino, Freddie, Isabelle and Calista, Great Grandma Nadine, Cousin Christine and DeAnna

Isabelle and Grandma G

Daddy, Calista and Grandpa G hiking down from Glacier Point

Bridalveil Falls

Isabelle and her new friend, Angie.

On the drive back to camp we spotted a beautiful sunset...

Yosemite - Day 1

Lambert Dome Toulumne Meadows Yosemite, CA

On Tuesday we joined Freddie's family for a camping trip in Toulumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. The drive was long, but absolutely beautiful. When we got to camp Isabelle was beside herself with excitement. So happy to see her family! An added bonus, there was a little girl just her age camping right next to us. So she had a playmate to play with at camp.

Our first day we just hung out around camp and enjoyed the beautiful Toulumne river just steps away from our camp site. We enjoyed a yummy feast for dinner and a campfire with delicious smores for dessert. Later that evening there was a meteor shower, the perseid meteor shower (around 1am) Sarah, Gabe, Vicky, Christine and I got up to go watch it. It was awesome!

Isabelle with "her" Sarah and Gabe

Isabelle trying out a smore for the very first time

The girls all ready for bed...

The Amazing Sky!

Mommy Post - Tower Bridge Fireworks

Another Mommy photography post, I know. I like putting my photography on the blog, cause I know it will make it in our family blog book at the end of the year...



On Saturday the Rivercats were having another post game fireworks show. So I decided to go again and take pictures of the Tower Bridge and the fireworks. I loved the sunset photo above with the purple and pink sky.

Look Ma!

Since Isabelle got her trampoline, there isn't a day that goes by that she hasn't jumped in it. There also isn't a day that I don't get called to her attention a thousand times to watch her show me "her moves" as she likes to call them. Earlier this week she begged me to get my camera and take pictures of "her moves" so here you go....

It's hard to catch on camera, but Freddie taught her how to bounce on her knees and then stand back up....

She's getting pretty high! Nice moves Isabelle!

Mommy Post - Alcatraz

This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a very special workshop in San Fransisco by Canon. My photography teacher was teaching the workshop, and he asked to invite a few friends along for this special trip, so he invited a few of his students. Canon bought out the entire Alcatraz Island for the event. The Island does a night tour, but there are usually hundreds of people who attend and it sells out weeks in advance and you are not allowed to bring a tripod on the Island so it is next to impossible to get good evening shots. There were only 40 people allowed on this trip so it made it all the more fun. We were put in groups of 10 with one ranger who took us around the national park and told us stories and granted us access to different parts of the park. Because it was a private tour we were granted access to pretty much everything as long as we were with our ranger and even places that are not viewed by the public on a normal day. It was also fun cause we could take any shot without worry that someone would be in our frame. It was amazing! I had an absolute blast, I learned so much and enjoyed every second of it. (I love history as much as I love photography!) I also got to borrow 2 lenses one wide angel lens and one telephoto lens, I was in heaven! Here are some of my favorite shots from the trip.

This is the Surto Tower taken from the ferry on the way over to the island, actually we were on a chartered boat, it was more a tug boat than anything, defiantly an experience the ride over... We rode under the Bay Bridge which was fun, but we were all pretty wet by the time we got to the island so I didn't try to take many shots. There was a lot of fog that evening and we were all worried that the skyline would be fogged out come sunset, but God was gracious to us photographers and cleared most of it.


The cell blocks and famous bleachers facing the San Fransisco skyline. Taken with my borrowed wide angel lens. I did very little editing to this shot, I only bumped up the contrast a tad, but the colors were really this rich when I took this shot. Our ranger was awesome, he has been doing tours 30 years and he knew when the lighting was right for this shot.

This was taken from the roof of the cell blocks, another amazing opportunity granted to us through this special tour. You are looking at the remains of the warden's house and the lighthouse.

The SF skyline taken from the cell block roof.

This shot was taken moments later, I love how as the sun sets the colors change dramatically.

God also provided for us a beautiful full moon rising just over the Bay Bridge....

Again just moments later and such a dramatic difference in light.

After we got done taking our skyline photos we went back in for some night shots inside. If you have ever been to Alcatraz you know shots like this are impossible with the 5,000 plus people who visit the park everyday.

One of my favorite non photography moments of the day was when out ranger showed us the way the cells open an close and he shared with us that George Lucas came to Alcatraz when he was filming Star Wars and recorded the sound of the cells slamming shut for use when the doors slam shut after Darth Vadar enteres the ship. He has also used that sound clip in every one of his movies since. The sound is intense!

This last shot is of the Hospital, the operating room. Another place that visitors are no longer granted access to. The room was pitch black and there is no longer working electricity working up there so we had to be lead by flashlight, it was creepy. I used off camera light to make this next shot.

Well Check Up Results

Both girls had their well check up appointments today, along with Calista's FINAL Hematology check up and of course, shots...YUCK! It is nice that they have Birthdays close enough together that we can just tag team appointments in the same day.

Isabelle is still on the same growth curve since birth, in the 100 percentile. She is 45lbs and 3 feet 7 inches tall.

Calista is also maintaining the same growth curve since birth, she is in the 30th percentile for most everything. She is 18lbs and 2 feet 5 inches tall. Her lab work today and Hematology appointment went well and we are done with those check ups for good! Praise God!

Thank you God for these two beautiful, sweet, healthy little girls!

Birthday Girl

Today was a fun day! Calista was the first one up, normally Isabelle is. I went into her room and rocked with her for a while and sang Happy Birthday to her and then we just played together for a while until Isabelle got up. It was nice to have special time with the Birthday Girl. We sang to her a lot today, and she really enjoyed it each time. After breakfast our good friend Samantha came to visit with a couple of her friends, they wanted to play with the kids and celebrate with Calista. We then made a special trip to the Special Care Nursery at Kaiser to bring cookies to the nurses and check in with them. They asked us to check in from time to time and I did about 3 months after Calista was born and they loved it and I thought it would be fun to go in on her Birthday. They loved seeing her and of course they loved the cookies. Several of the nurses on duty today were nurses who were the ones who cared for Calista the 10 days she spent in the hospital and they actually remembered us. They said they love it when they get to see "their" babies when they are healthy. I was glad we were able to go, I think about them all the time and pray for them and the babies who have to be in there.

When we got home we played and opened presents from Samantha and her family and they got Calista a Cozy Coupe and she LOVES it, Isabelle does too. She spent lots of time in her car this afternoon. We spent most of the day playing in the backyard and Calista was happy playing outside.

Calista's Very FIRST Birthday!

Today Calista is ONE year old! I can't believe it! It feels like yesterday that we were getting ready to go to the hospital to have her. This year has been an awesome year. She is the perfect addition to our family. Filling our days and our hearts with lots of smiles and love. She is a very mellow baby, a go with the flow kinda girl, happy just to be with us. She has proven over the last year she is a fighter too, she started her days fighting a very aggressive antibody and came through it even surprising the doctors who treated her. I am happy to say that tomorrow will be our very last check up regarding that and it looks like her body recovered from it with no additional problems! Praise God!

Calista loves her big sister and wants to go everywhere she goes, she adores her Daddy and no one can make her laugh the way he does. Our little family of four is complete!

Happy Birthday Sweet Calista! We love you and are so proud of you!

Here is a year in review with the yellow duck! It is amazing to watch her grow through these duck pictures...

Special Birthday Cards For Calista

At my baby shower for Calista last July my friend Rose had everyone who attended and even my Grandmother who lives out of state who didn't get to come, make Birthday cards for Calista for each year through 18 years. Even Isabelle did a card, with some help of course.

I thought it was the neatest idea. I couldn't wait to open this years card, so I opened it today. They are all sealed so I can't peak which is a good idea cause I probably would... Anyway, I held them in my hand and wondered who wrote year one. It was my friend Andrea, and it was so sweet. I love this idea, I love that many of the women in my life were able to write the cards and I think it is so special that Calista's Great Grandmas and Grandmas were some of those women to write her these special cards. I know that I will cherish them and keep them for her forever and when she gets old enough to understand I hope she will enjoy opening and reading them as much as I do.

First Birthday Cake Smash Photo Session

I saw this idea on a photography forum I follow. I thought it was so fun and couldn't wait to do it with Calista. I bought a cupcake cake pan, cause her Birthday party was a cupcake theme. I had the hardest time with that stupid pan. Our oven broke the first time I tried to make it, and I went to my friend Rose's house to try it again in her oven, I messed up the ingredients cause I was talking to her while trying to make it, the third time I didn't put enough batter in it and the fourth time I forgot to grease the pan. A total of 12 eggs, 5 cake mixes, and 2 ovens were used... finally I got it right! Calista actually went for it when we gave it to her, unlike at her Birthday party. She ate it and played in it for a while then ran off. This pictures are priceless and totally worth the cake head ache.

Stay tuned for another Birthday related post tomorrow...