Thursday, May 31, 2007

Fun with extended family!

We had Great Grandma Searcy (Dana's maternal grandmother) in town from Kansas City for a week and had a great time with her! Lola took a bit of time to warm up to her and she kept staring at her white hair, but eventually Lorelei found a buddy in GG-Ma. We also got together with Dana's cousin April and her boyfriend Larry for a BBQ with GG-ma. It was such a blast to be with family and Lola loves to entertain!

View these photos here:

Fun with extended family!

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Baker family time!

On Memorial Day we spent time with the Baker clan BBQing and swimming! It was great to get Matt's family together and we captured some great photos too!

Click here to see the photos:

Memorial Day 07

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Monday, May 28, 2007

Fun with the Millers

Over Memorial Day weekend we were so happy to have our dear friends Darcy, Luke and Sasha (same age as Lola) Miller visit us from Orange County on their way up to a family wedding in Washington. We met Darcy and Luke in the Birth Preparation class that we took at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA. Darcy and I had our girls within a week and a half of one another and we spent many, many hours together in the days and weeks following their births offering moral support and sanity to each other! It was sad when we left Orange County to move away from them as well as our other dear friends the Bluniers (Karen Blunier was my nurse during my labor and delivery at Saddleback Hospital).

These two couples were our entire social circle down in Southern CA. It took us a while to meet them, but once our lives crossed paths they were an integral part of our happiness in the time we remained in Orange County...and continue to be now! It was so wonderful to see Darcy and Luke again and we had not seen Sash since we had all spent Halloween together last October, just before we left for Lodi. Sasha was only 7 weeks old at the time and Lorelei was 9 weeks old. They have changed a ton since then. It was adorable to watch them interact and climb all over each other. We had a blast swimming with the babies, walking around downtown Lodi, and having a bonfire with s'mores! We were sad to see them leave, but they'll be staying with us one more night on the way back so the goodbye wasn't too difficult for now!


Check out photos of our visit with the millers here:

Fun with the Millers


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Sunday, May 20, 2007

Sunset Cuddles

We had an hour to kill before Lola-bean would hit the sack...so instead of staying indoors with a cranky baby crawling all over us, we headed out to enjoy an hour spent in the cool breeze and beautiful light of a Curry Avenue sunset. We snapped a few great shots in the process!

Here are some of our shots:

Sunset Cuddles

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Micke Grove Picnic

We decided to get together with some old friends of mine (Dana's) for a picnic with our families on Sunday. We had our 8 month old there (Lola), a 15 month old (Ashley) and a 21 month old (Caden). This rounded out the baby group. The three of them played very well on the picnic blanket together! The two "older boys", Adam and Cameron checked in with the babies in between runs down the slides! The adults had a blast laughing and cookin' up some hot dogs for the gang. The weather was beautiful and we had a great day. Lorelei even went on her first ride on the swings with Mommy!

Here are a couple of photos from the picnic:

Micke Grove Picnic

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Friday, May 18, 2007

The Curry House...No Not Indian Food

Here are a few photos of our current residence on Curry Avenue. The home was built by Matt's great-great-uncle, Lawrence Hosmer, and his wife, Francis Hosmer (who designed it). The inside of the house is beautiful lath and plaster and was constructed between the mid 1920's and the mid 1930's. We have the original hardwood floors throughout as well as a large basement, high ceilings and about a half of an acre of yards (lots of work but fun too!). Behind us are vineyards that used to belong to Matt's family. Our dogs LOVE running through them, but so too do the coyotes and jack-rabbits. We have cool old windows that swing out (and leak like nobody's business) and two great fireplaces. Our kitchen is cute but lacking a dishwasher and disposal that Dana would really appreciate. Matt and I use what used to be his uncle's painting gallery (Lawrence Hosmer was a famous western painter) as our bedroom. The vaulted ceilings and fireplace in there beckoned us although there is no closet. We have another room on the first floor that is Lola's nursery and two more bedrooms upstairs as well as a huge playroom. Here is where we hang our hats for now! Feel free to visit anytime, we have room!

Curry House

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Eureka, we found you!

We just returned from a wonderful time visiting friends in Eureka, CA over Mother's Day weekend.

Humboldt rocks!

Lorelei had a blast meeting the gang and checking out the cool weather that was a welcome escape from the heat of the central valley. We took her to all of our favorite places and even showed her the J Street apartment (her Mommy and Daddy's first place together) and the County Lane house where she resided in-utero! We were able to visit the Catalino Family (the family I nannied for while living up there) and introduce Lorelei to them. Lucy, who is now 4, had her birthday party on the Saturday we were visiting and so we were even able to show up for that! Those kids have gotten so big!

We also went by and saw Ryan and Tessa's brand new baby boy, Ruger! Tessa and I laughed to see how our husbands who had not even spoken on the phone in over a year picked right back up where they left off while working at LACO together. We sure do miss them! We loved staying with Kristen, Shawn and Otis! Thank you guys so much! Lorelei quickly generalized that Otis (though not jet-black like Bailey and Baxter) was a doggy like her own and started panting and saying "Dah" to him. Otis was a great sport and allowed her to pull his fur and eyelids and chew on his ears without so much as a flinch. Lorelei also loved seeing Mike and Sara's baby Sasha once again. The last time was when Sasha was 3 weeks old! It was so adorable to see them hold hands and squeal at one another! Zeke and Marina's 4 year old son Owen was also wonderful entertainment for Lorelei. She especially loved how Owen shard his toy snakes and played Peek-a-boo with her. We all had a blast and Lorelei LOVED all of the attention. She was (as we say in Humboldt), "passed around like a little joint!" Towards the end of the weekend she was showing off her skills at walking while holding our hands and crawling a bit too! Spending time with "the gang" once again made us realize how blessed we are to know true friendship, welcoming embraces despite time spent apart and genuine, unconditional love. How lucky Lorelei is to have this extended family. We love you all!

Here are some photos of the weekend. Enjoy!

May 2007 Humboldt Trip


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Monday, May 7, 2007

Lola Update

Hello all,

The Baker household is doing well. We are keeping ourselves quite busy but we are finding time for fun too! Lola is such a kick. Sometimes it is hard to believe that so much personality can fit inside one little tiny body like hers! I am guessing that in one of the next e-mail updates I will have to add "cruising on furniture" or perhaps even "walking" to her list of tricks. Oh boy. I am not quite ready for that (and neither are the dogs!). We are looking forward to a relaxing Mother's Day weekend spent among our "family of friends" in Humboldt. It will be so nice to go back to Eureka...the place where Matt and I started our married life together. It is even more special to take our daughter there for the first time. She was only a 5 month old fetus when we left! It really is such a cool place. It reminds us of simpler times (although we wouldn't trade our busier life now for ANYTHING). Happy Mother's Day to all of our friend and family "mommies". Blessings and love to you all.

The Bakers3

Lola Update

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