Alec the athlete

Last week was the final swim class for Alec at UCSF Gym, he's gotten much more comfortable in the pool, and goes under water and jumps off the side eagerly. The next classes start soon.

happy swimmer

And after the pool, we attended Alec's friend Luca's birthday party. They had a great bouncy castle in the garden for all of the super heroes -

Havoc!

... and a Spidey pinata, and the weather was great for just hanging out outside.

Whack!

Of course all of this activity left Alec with a cold and an earache this week, but perhaps that is the price to pay!

*skiing photos to come soon...

Visit to the barber shop

Alec was in desperate need of a haircut before jetting off to Quebec, and since our previous DIY efforts resulted in much crying and screaming (read: stress for everyone) I decided to use my first vacation day to take Alec to the barber shop, with some treats afterward.

Apprehension...

Contentment

 We ended up at Chong's Barber Shop in North Beach - while it wasn't a luxurious salon, there were toys and a patient Vietnamese woman who did a pretty good job of taming Alec's mane.

Then off for a cookie at Stella Pastry around the corner, followed by a few rides on the carousel at the Zeum.

More photos coming soon -

Alec et la banquise

Alec est arrivé à l'Isle d'Orléans avec son papa après un voyage plutôt long mais sans problèmes. Alec sort jouer dans la neige tous les jours - même deux fois aujourd'hui: en raquette avec grand-papa, et sur la banquise avec papa!

Happy Holidays

Hanukkah came early this year, just a few days after Thanksgiving. But we celebrated - lighting candles every night, reading Hanukkah stories, and eating latkes a few times. And of course, seeing everyone at the family Hanukkah party!

Alec's tiger menorah, gift from Aunt Ceevah and Uncle Irwin - finally all the candles are lit!

And then a week later, the annual holiday dinner with friends, hosted by Eva's parents. The food, as usual, was fabulous, as was the company. And the kids loved their presents - dress up from Adair was a big hit, with three ballerinas and a mighty superhero zooming around the house.

Chickens in San Francisco

feeding the girls

Aunt Rai Rai and Bernie have 4 chickens on their "urban homestead". The girls just started laying eggs a few weeks ago, and on Sunday, we went over for brunch (scrambled eggs, of course!) and to see how they were doing. Alec had fun feeding the chickens and chasing them around the back yard.

under the lemon tree

relaxing after some hard work!

Down by the sea

We drove down the coast to spend the evening with Adair and her parents this past weekend. The weather was gorgeous (and still is!) and we stopped on the way at the Princeton pier to watch the action - airplanes, people fishing for crabs off the dock, and lots of boats. The light was wonderful right before sunset.

Then off to play with Adair and share a wonderful dinner. We ended with gingerbread pear cake - here are the kids enjoying theirs, à la mode, of course!

Visit with the grandparents

N's parents just came for a nice 10 day visit, and Alec had a great time with them. Who wouldn't love all of the attention? The weather wasn't great, but they had fun playing, reading, and going to the park.

And of course, several trips for ice cream cones at Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous:

Lemon crunch!

Sunday was a beautiful day in the Bay Area, and we spent the morning at Crissy Field. Alec rode his tricycle the whole way, with a stop in the middle for a picnic.

tricycle power

 Glorious!