Halloween's a coming!

Yep, my favorite time of year! Brody has already gotten into the spooky spirit!


Gotta love holiday pj's!

Date Night!

Last weekend, Mike and I drove up to Berkeley to attend a friend's wedding at the Brazil Room in Tilden Park. Niether of us had been there before, so if was kind of a treat to sneak away in the afternoon (Grandma and Grandpa came to hang with Brody) and enjoy an outdoor wedding with beautiful scenery. Because we got there so early, we had a chance to play with the timer on the camera and actually get a decent shot of the two of us pre-ceremony.

Congrats to Dan and Marie!

We've known Dan and Marie for a few years now and look forward to spending time with them again at concerts and 49ers games. Dan and Marie left for their honeymoon this past Sunday and headed off to Indonesia for a month.

Earlier this week, the west cost of Indonesia felt the effects of a MAJOR earthquake. Right now, we aren't sure where in Indonesia Dan and Marie were headed, we just hope and pray that they are safe.

Hodge Podge....

Okay, so I'm a little deliquent in updating my blog. Hey, at least I managed to find a cool new layout...complete with trains!

So, the Hurst Express has been on the go this past month. Here are some highlights from some recent adventures:

Birthday Party at Pump It Up: I have heard friends talk about Pump It Up before, but had never been there. In the past few months, we've been invited to two Pump It Up birthday parties, and I've got to tell you BRODY LOVES THIS PLACE!!! Mind you, our child has absolutely NO FEAR, so he quickly took to climbing up 30 foot inflatable ladders and sliding down HUGE slides on his stomach. At one point, I actually had to get inside one of the inflatable mazes to help Brody climb up an inflatable climbing wall because he got so frustrated that he couldn't do it on his own. (Guess who came home with the only boo boo of the party...ME!) Here's a shot of Brody sliding down on his belly and he expression once he caught his bearings at the bottom (my apologies for the red eye).

The Simple Things in Life:

Chocolate milk -

Blueberries -

Homemade Playdough -

Driving a Firetruck -

Life is good!

Mr. Independent

This week marked a HUGE milestone for Brody:

He climbed OUT of his crib.

YIKES!!!! I was in bed, Mike was on an early conference call, and while I could hear Brody on the monitor, I secretly wanted him to go back to sleep so that I could catch a few more zzzzz's before breakfast. All of a sudden, our bedroom door opens, and smiley little Brody yells "Mommy!"

I couldn't believe it!!! I ran into the office, threw open the door, and quickly asked Mike"DidyougetBrodyoutofhiscrib?"

After thinking about what I just said, he calmly replied "Nooooooo...."

Then we both turned to look at our mischeviously little guy. He had a HUGE smile on him face like he was so proud of himself. We took him back in the room, put him in his crib, then asked him how he got out of bed.

Brody's reply: "I joomped!" (jumped)

Lovely. Thank goodness that's not really wat he did. He did manage to show us how he got out of the crib. Pretty clever little guy.

So, I guess now we need to think about Toddler Beds or something? Can you tell that we are clueless and are in denial that our little man is growing up?

Later that morning........

Brody and I are eating breakfast and he DEMANDED that he feed himself his yogurt. Here's what that looked like:

And this is what happens when the yogurt is gone and it's time to wash up:

Guess we need to have lots of yogurt on hand to keep this guy happy. That, and a few cars perhaps?

It's All About CARS!

Obsession Alert!!!

With special thanks to Grandpa and Disney/Pixar's CARS movie, Brody is now officially OBBESESSED with any and all things related to cars. At 19 months, Brody has already acquired quite a collection of any and all things realted to cars (much to our amusement, and sometimes displeasure....I can't tell you how many times I have stepped on a stray car lurking out from under the bed).

When we visited Orange County in July, we went to Disneyland. Brody had to wear his CARS t-shirt and tennis shoes that light up:Then, we happily (hmm....not sure about that now) purchased some CARS related merchandise at Disneyland that Brody refused to put down throughout the rest of our OC adventures:

Now, we do a lot of lining up the cars...all over the house. Perhaps this means Brody will be organized? OCD? A methodical thinker?

And recently, we went out of town for Labor Day Weekend. Of course, we had to take some (try like 20) cars with us for the car ride and for entertainment purposes throughout the weekend. Mike even rigged up his mini laptop so that Brody could ride in style and watch the CARS movie in the car. While this proved to be an excellent mode of entertainment to keep our little guy occupied and eventually help him drift off to dreamland during the 4+ hour car ride, we didn't really like the 1:30am wake up call we received from our cars obsessed toddler. Imagine a cute little sleepy head standing up in his pack-and-play looking at you and asking "Cars? Cars? Cars?" So, we all laid in bed, watching a hour of Cars before heading back to dreamland.

We did manage to enjoy our trip and spent some time at Lake Alpine. Brody had fun playing in the water...chasing after (hmmm, let me think) his CARS!

I secretly hope that this cars phase lasts a LOOOOONG time. We have enough cars here to start our own car lot. And while I now seen the CARS movie more times than I care to admit, I actually think it's a great flick.

Perhaps Brody will skip the LEGO phase. This is my secret wish. I son't know how many times I can go stepping on hidden legos without wanting to throw them away! (Is that terrible of me?)

Newport Beach and a Surprise for Grandma Linda Sue!

After our Disneyland adventures, we were able to relax a little before the next round of excitement hit the following evening. The main purpose of this road trip was actually to help pull off a surprise 60th birthday dinner for my mom. My father, sister, and I had been planning this for a few months, and we managed to keep things under wrap until the big night.

That morning, Brody, Mike, and I headed down to beautiful Newport Beach to enjoy brunch on the Balboa Pier at Ruby's. Growing up, I loved spending time at Newport Beach and always liked walking out to the end of the pier, watching the fishermen, and enjoying a milkshake and burger at Ruby's. I figured it would be a fun way to enjoy breakfast, plus we were meeting up with my dad and three of his sisters and a brother-in-law that had flown in just to surprise my mom for her birthday dinner.

Breakfast conversation and Cheerios with Grandpa

Mary, Laura, Betty and Tom flew out from Indiana and Ohio to enjoy the beautiful California weather. We tried to convince them to just stay and forget about the midwest...they were tempted!

After a walk around Balboa, we headed back to the hotel for nap time (mommy snuck in a quick pedicure), we ventured back to good 'ole Tustin for the main event. It was a treat to see so many family friends. Many folks had only seen photos of Brody, so I think that they got a real kick out of seeing him alive and kicking....actually, running around the dining room and throwing around toy cars was more like it. My mother was truly surprised when she showed up, and especially surprised when Brody marched up the aisle right to her and Grandpa. Here are some shots from the evening:

Enjoying Grandma's cake

Getting better at using a fork

See Grandma, I am learning to do it all by myself!

Happy Birthday Mom (aka, Gamma)!

Adventures at Disneyland...Continued

Okay...so where did I leave off? Oh yes, with pictures of our little man enjoying the day at Disneyland (pre-meltdown):

Staring around in amazement on "It's a Small World"

Hanging with daddy on the Toon Town fire truck

Meeting his first costumed character (Goofy). I'm not quite sure Brody knows what to think!

Enjoying the Merry-Go-Round

Stoller City in front of the Casey Jr. Circus Train

A pat on the head from Winnie the Pooh

Saying hello to Rabbit

Overall, a successful trip to the Magic Kingdom with a toddler. Brody held strong until about 2pm, and then we knew it was time to head out and check-in to our hotel. But, not without a Rainbow Sherbet on Main Street USA. Brody was happy as a clam for ice cream, but not so happy when he realized that the drive from Disneyland to the hotel wasn't even long enough for a decent cat nap. Who knew that we would hit the freeway at the perfect time without any weekend traffic? That was certainly a first for me!

The Happiest Place on Earth (until about 2pm)

Last month, we drove to Orange County for a whirlwind weekend that included the following:

1. First Trip to Disneyland
2. Dinner with Mike's Fraternity Brother and His Family
3. Trip to the Beach
4. Surprise 60th Birthday for Grandma Linda
5. Brunch With Family
6. Park Playdate

I'm tired just thinking about all we crammed into a 48 hour window of time!

So, let's focus on a rite of passage for any kid - the FIRST trip to Disneyland!

As a former employee of The Mouse, I'll admit, I was a bit hesitant to take Brody to Disneyland. He's still so young and I really wanted him to remember the experience, plus I thought it was going to be sensory overload for our little guy. We were leaving San Jose at 2:30am to drive STRAIGHT to Disneyland and be there at park opening, so I figured that if Brody didn't sleep well in the car after being woken up in the middle of the night, then we were in big trouble. Fortunately, Brody fell back to sleep (after about an hour or two), and he was up and at 'em by the time we pulled into the parking lot, though I can't really say the same about mom and dad (walking zombies were more like it). While he was excited, throughout the day Brody had a "deer in headlights" expression...not quite sure what to make of his new surroundings. Here he is with daddy on the tram leading into the park.

After paying an arm and a leg for the two of us to enter into ONE park (Brody is FREE until 3 - thank goodness!), we tried to get the standard"postcard" shots...not easy with a curious 18 month old. Here are our attempts:

Brody and I at the Main Entrance

Family Shot on Main Street USA

And wouldn't you know it, as I write this, I'm experiencing some technical difficulties with the rest of the Disney photos! More photos as soon as I can figure out what is going on!

Family Time

We've been so fortunate to spend lots of quality time together as a family this summer. Recently, we headed to Vasona Park in Los Gatos for a stroll near the lake and an afternoon complete with good friends and Snow Cones. While Brody might not have gotten to indulge on lots of high fructose corn syrup, he did enjoy some time "flying" with daddy.

Up, up, and away!

18 Months...Where Does the Time Go?

Like most parents, I now know that it feels as thought time is flying by. This past week, Brody hit the 18month mark. I can hardly believe how much this little guy has grown!
1. Brody is chatting up a storm. While much of what he says doesn't actually make a whole lot of sense, you can just tell by watching him that he is so determined to get his point across whenever he babbles. He does know quite a few words now (mommy, daddy, pup pup (dog), kitty cat, car, truck, tractor, choo choo, more, milk, cheese, juice, pee pee a poo poo (which he LOVES to say in public!), ball). He also knows quite a few animal sounds...needless to say our time in the car sounds more like we are in a barnyard as we practice our sounds every day.

2. Brody is running, climbing, hopping, jumping, falling....all over the place. Lately he quite enjoys climbing atop the kitchen table and sitting up there like he is King of the World. It's very amusing....especially watching him realize that he can't climb off the table.

3. We have reached the "Obsessed With Cars and Trains" phase. Make that OBSESSED! Brody love the Disney/Pixar Cars movie and ALL of the characters - Lightening McQueen, Sally, Mater, Guico (which he pronouces "Geek-O"), Sherrif, Mack, Doc, Ramone, and more. He also LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine. In fact, we finally broke down and thanks to Craigslist, we are now the proud owners of a train table, lots of wodden tracks, and Thomas and friends train cars. And yes, we occaisionally find cars and trains in random places throughout the house. I found a dump truck in my running shoes the other day...So FUN!!! :-)

4. Brody experienced a rite of passage with his first visit to Disneyland. While he might still be too young to remember his day at "The Happiest Place on Earth," it was fun to see his face upon meeting Winnie the Pooh, playing around in Toontown, and seeing the antique fire trucks on Main Street. (It was NOT fun to see him breakdown in the middle of the day because of exhaustion, sensory overload, the heat, etc.)

5. Brody is becoming a pro at using Skype to "talk" to his Grandparents. While he has a short attention span, he does like seeing Sasha and Tula (the family dogs) on the computer screen. Porter likes that too and definitely is NOT afraid to let us know with his own barking.

We've got our 18month check up on Thursday, so more later on his growth. In the meantime, how could you not love a cutie like this:

Happy 18 months little man!

Aquarium Adventures

We first took Brody to the Monterey Bay Aquarium when he was about 7 1/2 months old. While I think he enjoyed it, he was a bit too small to really get out and explore the exhibits and enjoy all of the fun things that they have especially for younger children. With our annual passes in hand, we ventured back to the Aquarium, this time as "members," and embarked on an adventure through the eyes of a now 17 month old. Here are some images from the day:

We backpacked it this time! No stroller to mess with...
highly recommended method of travel for any little one!

One of our first views upon entering the Aquarium.

Not quite sure what these were, but they were pretty cool!
(Brody was more fixated on other things, so I didn't
have time to catch the name of this sea creature)

A pretty orange fish. Brody thought it was "Nemo."

Giving the anchovie a kiss.

Brody trying to "find" Nemo.

Giddy up!

There's something fishy going on here!
(Cutest Halloween costume idea!)

Enjoying the slide in the Splash Zone.

Look mom and dad! I caught TWO fish!

Plant or sea horse?
(This was part of the new AMAZING sea horse exhibit!
I could have spent hours at this exhibit alone, soooo cool!)

Again...AMAZING!!!