Esther, Beatrice, & Lydia

Catching Up.....Again

2011-02-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

Once again we've neglected our blog for months. Sorry to everyone craving pictures of the girls. I'm going to try to be better about this. In the meantime, here are some pictures to catch you all up on our last few months.

Esther and Beatrice playing with our neighbor Zuleka. She comes over to play almost everyday. Esther says she never wants to move because she always wants to Zuleka to be our neighbor.

Esther lost her first tooth.

Beatrice LOVES Lydia. Lydia LOVES LOVES LOVES her thumb.

Beatrice is watching a movie of her cousins Winfield and Harriet eating salad and exclaiming how wonderful it is. We thought this might inspire her, but alas her hatred of all things non-bread goes on.

St. Nicholas Day

Lydia cooking.

We decided to cut Bea's mullet for her debut as a flower girl in our friends Tyson and Laura's wedding. For about a year, the back of her hair had been growing but the sides and front were not. It gave her a distinctive Billy Ray Cyrus look which we thought was hilarious. But really, how long can you do that to someone?

In November E & B's preschool's pet rabbit, Foffles, need a home to stay in over the weekend. Lydia was in love. Foffles did not appreciate the squealing.

For Halloween Esther was a tiger and Beatrice was a cat. Lydia was a bumblebee but apparently we don't have a picture of her...bad parents.

Lydia when she first started walking.

Catching up

2010-09-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting for 9 months! Here's a quick overview of the last year. It's a little sparse, but we promise to be better in the future. So here's our last year in reverse...

Lydia's First Birthday: we celebrated with a backpacking trip to 20 Lakes Basin (the kids hiked 5 miles!) and some mini-cupcakes.

Swim Lessons

Beatrice dressed herself.

When Sara went on vacation to Seattle, Jed took the kids camping and fishing. In the first picture you can see the big girls helping to keep Lydia on the tarp so she won't eat rocks.

Obligatory kid eating spaghetti picture

This summer Jed took the big girls to Indiana to visit the Dean family while Sara took Lydia home to Long Beach to see the Ocon family.

Summer Soccer Camp

A hike to Bald Mountain in Sonoma.

Fruit picking with Jerel and Chana

Obligatory 'baby in the sink' photo.

In May, Sara took Esther to see a local production of The Sound of Music. Her favorite part was the cupcake at intermission.

Rainbow cupcakes for Beatrice's 3rd birthday. She chose the pink one.

Here are some pictures from Bea's birthday backpacking trip. The whole family hiked about 3 miles to Coast camp in Point Reyes Nat'l Seashore.

Way to go Lydia! Compare.

Way to go Bea!

Lydia's first solid food in February.

Beatrice's first day of preschool in January.

Christmas Morning. The girls are wearing their favorite presents: "spinning skirts" from Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jared. Lydia seems frightened to be propped up by her sisters.

Of course only live action will do the spinning skirts justice.

Christmas Pageant. The big girls were shepherds.

That's Lydia as Baby Jesus.

Esther's 4th and Jed's 32nd Birthday.

Birthday cupcakes. This is the least weird face Bea made in these pictures.

Thanksgiving--turkey sandwich and pumpkin pie picnic

The week before Thanksgiving E and B picked one thing they were thankful for and one thing they were going to "give" each day. Enlarge to read the madness.

We're Back!

2010-09-14T22:13:00.001-07:00

OK, we have plenty of adventures to blog. Here is the first to tide you over until we post more adventures from the summer. Back in June Lydia found herself a nice life preserver so she could join the big girls on a float of the Russian River. The girls were excited and a picture was in order.

We will post more in the next days and weeks. We promise...

The Girls

2009-11-29T21:59:00.001-08:00

Halloween

2009-11-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

We had a few occasions for dressing up. The girls took advantage.
Here we have a lion and a pirate visiting the zoo

Grandma and Grandpa Ocon provided wonderful costumes for the big day. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of the girls in full garb. Esther was a cat complete with tail, ears, a mask, and a tiger velour dress. Bea had was a cute little dog with a tail and a hood with big floppy ears (which she wouldn't wear).

It took some encouraging from Grandpa before they got into the spirit. By the end of the night they had a big haul of candy for Dad to raid.

Bumbo

2009-11-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

Lydia at Nine Weeks

2009-11-10T22:31:00.000-08:00

Parties

2009-11-10T22:27:00.001-08:00

Esther and Beatrice believe 'making a party' is when you pull a bunch of stuff out of your room and pile it up in some kind of special configuration.

Book party:

Stair party:

Lincoln Logs

2009-11-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

Esther built this one all by herself.

Self Portrait

2009-10-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

Face, hair, eyes, nose, mouth with teeth, and a blotch applied above the head by her quick fingered assistant (shown, lower left). We weren't aware she knew how to draw a circle and then one day she produced this. Already she is more of an artist than either parent.

Lydia at Six Weeks

2009-10-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

Backpacking with Dad

2009-10-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

Jed and the big girls took advantage of his last week of paternity leave by going backpacking in the Marin Headlands. On the first day they hiked 1 mile to their campsite. Dad made them carry their own backpacks. Here's what happened when Bea decided she wanted to trade.

Along the way Jed taught Esther to "track" animal prints. Here she is tracing out a horse print and pointing in the direction the horse was walking.

The next day they hiked another mile back to the car and dropped off their camping equipment before heading out on a 4 mile hike to the beach and back. That's right, the girls hiked 5 miles in one day. We are so proud of them. We think they should be able to cover the John Muir trail by next summer! Here they are at the beach.

A hike to celebrate Huckleberry's first week

2009-08-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Lydia's one week BD, and to get out of the heat, we decided to go for a swim. We drove over to Henry Cowell State Park near Santa Cruz to swim in the San Lorenzo River. We hiked in about a mile to a swimming hole called the Garden of Eden. About half the hike runs next to old railroad tracks. An old steam train runs along these tracks between Santa Cruz and Felton. The whistle echoed through the redwood forest during our hike and the kids loved seeing it as it finally passed by.

Here are a few pictures. Esther, Bea, and Dad enjoyed a swim in the water. Mom and Lydia watched.

On the sixth day, she was bathed

2009-08-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

Guess what. She didn't like it.

I'm better when i move

2009-08-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Here is the little lady enjoying her first swing with Constantine the Duck.

Workin' at the Car Wash

2009-08-28T23:04:00.000-07:00

I talked these beauties into washing the car. Maybe I should talk them into watering the grass as well.

Super Dad

2009-08-27T14:57:00.001-07:00

Going home from the hospital

2009-08-27T14:54:00.001-07:00

Sisters meeting

2009-08-24T01:48:00.000-07:00

The first meeting between Bea, Esther and the girl they fondly refer to as "Huckleberry".

Holding the new sister.

Smothering her with kisses.

"Der some tiny fingers in der" says Beatrice.

Guess who's having a baby

2009-08-24T01:35:00.000-07:00

Sara on her way in.

Lydia, a few minutes old.

Lydia gets measured and takes a bath.

Lydia Karol

2009-08-24T01:30:00.000-07:00

Lydia Karol was born on August 22nd at 9:08 pm. She was 7 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches in length. Mother and baby are happy and healthy.

A trip to the big city

2009-08-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

Esther, Bea, and Dad took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon to take trip to the city on BART, aka "Daddy Work Train". The girls walked several miles of the city and saw the old Mission church, a few thousand city creatures sunning themselves in Dolores Park, and countless dogs for petting.

Along the way we passed a door opening to a room painted all white. The friendly artists were lounging on the ground in the front corner and invited the ladies in to view the installation.

As they pondered the scene Bea and Esther had a few questions. "Why that red string on the wall?" "Where they keep the bed?" That second one drew quite a response from the artists. The ladies were on to something. As the conversation between Esther, Bea, and the artists had gone beyond my understanding, I cannot offer additional insight.

Still contemplating the art. The ladies took a break on a stoop to watch the passing scene.

We continued our journey and stopped for a drink at Four Barrel Coffee. The girls collapsed in exhaustion upon arrival.

Esther tried some of the espresso. Her review of the beverage is captured by the look on her face.

The girls were given a tour of the roasting facilities and received these raw, unroasted coffee beans as souvenirs.

Floating the Russian River

2009-08-24T00:44:00.001-07:00

Armed with life preservers and floaties, we set out to cruise a mile or two down the Russian River with a few friends (Jerel, Chana, Cyndi, and Kevin).

Sounds too easy, no? Well, we decided to increase the level of difficulty by starting the trip at 6pm with a sick Beatrice and a 9 months pregnant Sara on a river that may or may not having been flowing. Now we had a challenge. Needless to say, we survived. We had a fun float, a late night trip to a local pizza parlor, and plenty of good conversation.

Here are a couple "before" pictures.

Art

2009-08-24T00:34:00.001-07:00

Esther brings home quite a few art projects from school. This piece is quite large (roughly 2x3 feet). It some sort of VERY fragile foam piece with numerous popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, jewels, toothpicks and various other sticks along with plenty of glitter and paint. She was quite determined to send it to her Grandmother through the mail ("I think her gonna be real happy bout it").

It now hangs above our fire place.

Road Trip!

2009-08-24T00:14:00.001-07:00

For our 5 year anniversary we decided to take a road trip up the coast of California. Our final destination was the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park near the Oregon border. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

For months now this little girl has possessed a special ability to consume breakfast food.

For example, she can eat three packs of instant oatmeal (Maple Syrup & Brown Sugar) and a banana. Within an hour she is begging for crackers. Here is a glimpse into her approach to the project.

5 years

2009-08-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

June 26, 2009 marks 5 years of marriage. Three kids and many wonderful memories later, do either of us look like we are about to crack?

Bea and shoes

2009-08-23T23:51:00.001-07:00

Bea prefers to wear her Crocs on the wrong feet. Here she illustrates the strength of her preference, as well as her creativity, with Esther's flip flops.

Out with the old, in with the older

2009-08-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

The two Volvos ("Esther's car" and "Daddy's car", for some reason) are gone to the junk yard. The state was kind enough to buy them from us as they were, or were about to become, gross polluters. The ladies have asked about them on numerous occasions. I told them we could go see them at the Pick-N-Pull but they said it would be too scary. The ladies think I should go but that they would prefer to stay in the van ("Bea's car") in the parking lot.

Here is the new car ("Huckleberry's car"). It is a 1980 Mercedes 240D, as in Diesel. This beauty is a 4 speed manual and would finish a distant second in a race with a turtle. As it has proven itself through 418,000 miles (just short of the distance to the moon and back), we figured it was good for a few more. Perhaps you can imagine Esther and Bea, in different dresses of course, on their way to prom.

A Peach (and nectarine and cherry) Picking Party

2009-08-23T23:15:00.000-07:00

I think it worked.

A peach pie for a party in the park.

Dad + Esther + Beatrice backpacking (again)

2009-08-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

This time we decided to tackle Portola Redwood State Park and the Iverson, Summit and Slate Creek Trails. Esther hiked all but a few steps of the ~5.5 miles trip. Bea did about 4 miles. Now if I could get them to carry some more of the gear...

Goofy smiles at the halfway point...

A break for a snack of "salamali" and crackers...

The crew in action...

Here we are close to the trail camp. Notice the hiking sticks.

We made it!

Staying warm at the trail camp...

Here are the ladies as we broke camp in the morning.

All in all, a great trip. Plenty of mosquito bites. A tick. About a hundred banana slugs (or 'nana pugs' if you ask Bea). Lots of running. A few organized slow downs by two members of the team. And a nice two day break for Sara.

Young girls driving old tractors

2009-08-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

It's a "Sticker Train" y'all

2009-08-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

Camping on the Sonoma Coast

2009-06-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

In May we went camping on the coast in Sonoma where the Russian River empties into the Pacific Ocean. Here are the girls enjoying the river at Goat Rock.

That night we put the girls to sleep in the tent each in their own little "beds." But when we came into the tent a little while later, this is what we found.

Beatrice's Birthday

2009-06-05T17:59:00.001-07:00

Beatrice turned 2 in April. In celebration of the special day, we went on a 'big' hike to Chimney Rock at Pt. Reyes National Seashore.

The day really wore her out.

But after a good bath she was ready for cake.

Summer Garden

2009-06-05T17:44:00.001-07:00

This spring, in addition to planting vegetables in the sunny backyard planter box, Jed built a new planter on the side of the house for 'shady' foods. Here are the girls helping him plant lettuce, green onions, and carrots.

Here is the lettuce after about a month when we picked our first batch.

Esther washes the lettuce very carefully.

Our first salad.

Seriously, do these kids have parents?

2009-05-15T22:59:00.001-07:00

Hiking in Yosemite

2009-05-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

Dad and Esther hiked from the Yosemite valley up to the top of the waterfall and then out to that point to the right of the waterfall and then back down to the valley. Here we are after the trip and ready to hear of the adentures of Mom and Bea.Here Esther is standing next to the river just before it drops over the edge forming Upper Yosemite Falls.That river down there at the top of the picture is the location of our finish line photo.

Green food

2009-05-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

Mom was out for the evening so Dad and the ladies decided to have a green dinner.

Refining a few moves

2009-05-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is the sort of thing that happens every evening at our house.

It's been a while

2009-04-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah. We know. We haven't posted in some time. Since last December we have done a few things. Esther turned 3. We learned we are expecting Little Dean Lady #3 (sometime in the end of August). We spent a few days in Tahoe at Christmas with Tyson and family. We bought an old minivan. We spent a few days near Sequoia NP with Jerel and Chana and family. Esther got her hair chopped. 4 months pregnant Sara hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back on a backpacking trip. And the girls spun a lot of spins.

Here are a few videos from the last few months...

Umm..many things going on in this one

2009-04-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Crazy in Green

2009-04-18T06:55:00.001-07:00

Hugging in Easter dresses

2009-04-18T06:54:00.001-07:00

Free form dance in Easter dresses

2009-04-18T06:52:00.001-07:00

Spinning sans Single Ladies

2009-04-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

Spinning, or every night at the Deans'

2009-04-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sisters

2008-12-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

The girls love their new matching purple jackets. Here they are playing together. They are having so much fun together these days.

O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

This year we inherited a train that goes around in circles under the tree. It has a light and and lets out puffs of steam. The girls could not be any happier.

The bunk beds are finished.

2008-12-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

Does Esther seem excited to sleep up high?

Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sara made the Turkey.
Jed made the pumpkin pie.
Johanna made just about everything else.
The girls wore their pajamas all day.

Yosemite in the Fall

2008-12-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

Aunt Johanna came to visit in November and we took a trip to Yosemite.

Here's Esther at Glacier Point. Notice the blue hat hanging on the back of her head...
Here's where it ended up.

Jed, Johanna, and Esther hiking down from Glacier Point hatless. Esther looked and looked for her hat on the way down, but couldn't find it. She decided it was "in the riber."

Esther and Beatrice in the tent cabin at night snuggling up to stay warm

"I wan cuh-yer"

2008-12-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

An artist must work close to her art.

Beatrice in her Canadian tuxedo

2008-12-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Blue Steel

Halloween

2008-12-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Patch

2008-12-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

Esther's First Day of Pre-school

2008-12-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

Beatrice wanted to be in her picture.

Bunk Beds

2008-12-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Jed is working on building the girls bunk beds. They aren't quite finished yet, but we'll post pictures when we have the final products. Here he is working with the new power tools he bought for the job.

Showing Esther how to sand:

Putting the girls to work:

Twenty Lakes Basin

2008-12-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

In August we did an 8 mile backpacking trip at 20 lakes basin just outside of Yosemtie National Park. Esther walked about half of it on her own, and Beatrice probably covered a good mile on her little feet, too. They are pretty tough girls.

Backpacking with Esther and Beatrice

2008-08-09T23:38:00.000-07:00

With Mom out of town at a wedding, Dad and the girls knew it was time to try something crazy. We decided to take a backpacking trip in Pescadero Creek County Park. Shaw Flat Trail Camp is 2.5 miles from the Hoffman Creek Trail Head and would be a formidable challenge for the gals.

The girls did well on the hike in. Esther hiked all but ~100 yards of the 2.5 miles and Bea hiked over half of it. Once we reached camp the girls were tired and hungry.

After dinner the girls put on their pajamas and prepared for sleeping in "tiny tent".

After a good night sleep, the girls were ready for breakfast and the hike out.

Unfortunatley, Dad spilled all four packs of Oatmeal on the forest floor. Here is a picture of the pile after we gobbled up all the oatmeal on top.

After eating breakfast and packing up the camp, the girls were quite dirty and ready for the hike out.

We were of mixed emotions as we broke camp.

The girls had a great time throwing rocks in the creek. Unfortunately for Esther this moment was caught on film.

The girls had lots of fun playing with sticks, tearing apart leaves, singing, yelling, walking backward, and drawing in the dirt.

Each day it took us about 3.5 hours to cover the 2.5 miles. This should give you an idea why.

Camping in Lassen Volcanic National Park

2008-08-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

The girls celebrated the beauty of a high sierra lake by throwing rocks, sticks, and such into it.

Esther and Bea found a mule willing to carry them into Bumpass Hell so they could get a glimpse of the geothermal activity. Here they are next to a colorful pond near the fumaroles and mudpots.

The girls hiked most of the last mile, holding hands on the scary parts.

After the hike the girls went for a swim in Lake Helen at the foot of Lassen Peak (10457 ft). The lake is fed with melting snow so the water is quite cold. Esther saw Dad go for a quick swim underwater and asked if she could go too. She enjoyed her dunk underwater and then dried off in the sun on a blanket on the beach.

It seemed like the girls enjoyed their big trip to the mountains.

Esther's Big Day

2008-07-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

Choo choo!

2008-07-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Esther and Beatrice love to ride the steam train through the redwood forest nearby.

Sorry for the long blog silence. We've been so busy since our big move to Lafayette. Scroll down to see what we've been up to.

2008-07-08T23:07:00.000-07:00

Goofy Girls

2008-07-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

Esther loves to push Beatrice around on "Simba's Truck," but sometimes she gets a little carried away.

Bailey's Visit

2008-07-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Our niece Bailey came to visit for a month this summer. We had so much fun with her here, and the girls had a great time hanging out with their cool older cousin.

We went camping at Mount Diablo

We celebrated Bailey's 12th Birthday. She requested a chocolate cake with white frosting and sour candies...yumm

Bailey slept in a tent in the backyard for a week!

Beatrice Eats Spaghetti

2008-07-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Baby Skirts

2008-07-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

Our New House Has a Great Backyard....

2008-07-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

...with a sandbox

...and a slide

..and a sprinkler

Is this a marketable skill?

2008-04-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

Beatrie enjoys her first birthday cake

2008-04-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

The girls in their Easter dresses

2008-04-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

Esther picked out her own clother for a trip to the store

2008-04-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Esther helps Grandma cook

2008-04-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Esther changes her first alternator

2008-04-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

Sara ran the Napa Valley marathon

2008-04-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Esther's crazy hair

2008-04-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

The cages

2008-04-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

The ladies

2008-04-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Big Day Out

2008-02-04T23:36:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago the Deans went on a trip to Bodega Bay. We did a small hike (about 2 miles), and Esther hiked most of it all by herself.

Next, we went to visit Fort Ross, an old Russian fort on the Northern California coast. Esther was a bit scared on the Ruskies--here she is in full retreat.

Beatrice's New Skills

2008-02-04T23:30:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since we've posted (Sorry!), and Beatrice has acquired alot of new skills in the meantime.

Hanging out with Dad

2008-02-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Mom came home to find this in the living room.

This was the sign on the outside.

Here are the kiddies inside.

Baby Einstein

2008-02-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

From time to time, when Mom really needs a break, the girls get to watch a little Baby Einstein. Here they care watching like zombies.

Happy birthday dear Esther...

2007-12-22T12:01:00.000-08:00

Jed's 30th - Post #1

2007-12-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

Check out this venison roast!

Esther Made Her First Christmas Ornament

2007-12-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

Our Little Helper

2007-12-19T21:53:00.000-08:00

Esther loves to help us cook. A couple of weeks ago she helped Mom make and decorate some christmas cookies.

The other night Sara left Esther home alone with Dad for the evening. When she returned at 9 o'clock Esther was still awake helping Dad with some cooking. Esther was eating the sugar stuck to the inside of the measuring cup and saying "Mmm..good."

Notice her attire...

Beatrice Playing

2007-12-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

Our Big Road Trip

2007-12-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

The Deans took a 'little' road trip to Wyoming for Thanksgiving where we stayed with Jed's aunt Marcyes for over a week. The girls got to meet lots of relatives for the first time as well as spend time with their grandparents, which always makes them happy. They got to see all kinds of farm and wild animals as well as snow! We all had a great time. We took about 5 days driving out. Our friend Tyson came along for part of the road trip. The pictures below from the drive out are almost all from him, and you will notice a distinct drop in photo quality after he leaves. Enjoy!

We stopped to stretch at Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park. Here Jed is trying to get Esther to test out the lake for a swim, but she knows better than to get in a High Sierra lake in November.

Our first stop east of the Sierras was at a mining ghost town called Bodie.

Tyson took this great picture of Esther eating lunch outside the car at Bodie.

Here are Tyson and Jed in front of Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.

Next we spent the day in Death Valley. Here is a view of Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. The first picture is down in the basin while the second one is from 4000 feet above it. That white stuff is all salt. Pretty cool.

We stopped at Valley of Fire State Park outside of Las Vegas. Esther walked most of the way on a short hike to Elephant Rock, although she did need Mom to hold her hand sometimes and to carry all the interesting rocks she stopped to pick up.

Our last big stop on the drive out to Wyoming was in Zion National Park. Mom went for a run up to Angel's Landing while Dad took both girls on their own hike to see two waterfalls. Here's a self-portait.

We finally arrived in Wyoming at Jed's aunt Marcyes' house. Here are the girls with their grandparents. They are sure excited to be out of the car.

Esther loved Marcyes' cat Orange Juice. As you can see from these pictures, Orange Juice is a very gentle and patient cat. I don't think Esther has ever been more excited in her whole life than when she got to hold a cat.

About half way through our stay in Wyoming it snowed! Look how nice Marcyes' yard looks in the snow.

One night it dropped all the way to 0 degrees. Rudy took this picture to prove that Sara was able to walk outside at such low temperatures. She's from California.

Esther has been practicing jumping lately. Here she is showing off her moves in Aunt Marcyes' kitchen. Judge for yourself how close she is.

We visted Marta and Kirby (Jed's cousins) and family for dinner one night. Here are Esther and Bea sitting on their dog. He was very patient.

We spent Thanksgiving with about 25 family members from the Dean clan. Marta and Kirby hosted. Esther loved their house, their toys, and especially their kids. Here she is doing her favorite thing: running around the staircase pushing Wyatt on his police car. If you look closely you'll see they are chaing Garrett on his fire engine.

Here is Beatrice with her second cousin, Elena. Bea never falls asleep when people are around, but Elena had the magic touch.

The drive home was beautiful as well. Here's a view from the car of the mountains in Montana.

During the drive we listened to a book about the building of the transcontinental railroad beacause our drive took us along the route of the original railroad. Here's Esther at Promontory in Utah where the line from the West and the line from the East were connected with a golden spike in 1869. Esther is just so excited to see a piece of the history she learned so much about!

Still needs a little work...

2007-11-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

Esther was very unhappy that I put her down for a nap. In her fury she tried to pull her shirt off over her head. Apparently she needs to work a little harder on that skill.

Halloween

2007-11-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

Here's Esther all ready to Trick or Treat. Grandma Ocon sent Esther this beautiful princess costume. She managed to keep the tiara on all night. Thanks Grandma!

Grandma Dean sent this bumble bee costume last year. Beatrice loved it so much she couldn't stop laughing from the moment we put it on her. It was also great for chewing on.

Esther was mesmerized by all the strange costumes.

Dad borrowed a hat from a Mustard Bottle to make Beatrice laugh.

Dad with the girls

Bea's new trick

2007-11-09T09:08:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Day

2007-10-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Today the Deans went to Half Moon Bay to check out the pumpkin patches. We visited a farm that grew pumpkins and sunflowers and raised lots of animals. Esther had a great time.

Esther checked out all the pumpkins, carefully deciding which one to take home.

But Dad said she had to carry it herself back to the car, so she settled on this one.

"Thank You, Lord, for my beautiful pumpkin."

Esther looking at the chickens.

Checking out the ponies

Dad and his girls in the sunflower field. What a beautiful day and a beautiful place!

Beatrice's Big Day

2007-10-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Beatrice turned 6 months old! She celebrated with her first taste of solid food.
Here she is getting ready to eat. She was chewing on her bib she was so excited.

First bite.....

Another bite....

"This is kind of weird, but I think I like it."

Beatrice loves her toes!

2007-10-16T09:28:00.001-07:00

Mark it Zero!

2007-10-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

Esther was left alone with Dad last weekend. Apparently this is what they do when Mom's not around.

Esther Dances

2007-10-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

This movie is a couple months old now, but its still one of our favorites. Esther loves to dance. Check out her moves.

Sisters

2007-09-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

The other day Beatrice wanted to snuggle with Esther, so she climbed on into Esther's bed. She thought she could take a nap there if she could hide amongst the stuffed animals. But I think Esther figured her out.

New Kicks

2007-09-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

Esther finally outgrew her (fake) Robeez. She's now moved up to big girl shoes.

Cool New Ride

2007-09-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Esther and Beatrice have a great new jogging stroller so mom can get back to running.

Cute Bea

2007-09-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a movie of Beatrice. She doesn't do much in it, but it captures a bit of her that's hard to get from a still picture. Enjoy!