It's the great pumpkin Charlie Brown

Katie just loves Halloween. Not sure if it is the costumes or the candy she likes more but regardless it's one of her favorite days of the year. So when October rolls around we pull out the Halloween lights and decorations and get into the spirit. Living near Half Moon Bay, the pumpkin capital of the world, means you don't have to go far to find a good pumpkin. People flock from all over the bay area to buy their pumpkins at the local pumpkin patches and we are within walking distance to our favorite one, The Pumpkin Depot. To say the least we were both excited to take Sarah to pick out her first pumpkin. Being six months old of course she couldn't tell the difference between a pumpkin patch and a Christmas tree lot but regardless it was a memorable experience for both Katie and I. The patch is filled with old beat up tractors to play on, scary monsters and pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors. With pumpkins bought and Sarah's Halloween costume in the closet all there is left to do is carve the pumpkins and walk the streets Halloween night taking in the sites and sounds of all the kids trick or treating.

Rob

The Giants win the NL West

Yesterday afternoon I spent a few hours with dad watching the Giants beat the Padres and win the National League West title. I was really excited for the most part because the Giants are my favorite team and my future husband Buster Posey plays for them. I was also a little sad because Grandpa Craig loves the San Diego Padres and since the Giants won the game the Padres were eliminated from making the playoffs. I knew grandpa would be sad with the outcome of the game. My dad made me feel better when he told me that my grandpa was used to his San Diego teams choking at the end and never winning the big games. I felt a lot better once I heard that. Go Giants!

Sarah

I took a pee in the pool

So mom and dad enrolled me in swim classes and today was my first day. As soon as mom put on my stylish bikini bottoms I thought it would be funny to go pee. Mom was a little bummed since she happened to be holding onto me at the time but oh well. Being my first day in class I had a huge rooting section in attendance to cheer me on. Grandpa Craig is in town so he was there as was Grandma Debbie. My dad left work early to watch me and he never leaves work early so I knew it was a big day. The class is good fun, we sing songs, splash around a lot, jump up and down and go through tunnels and down slides. I was enjoying all of it until the mean lady who leads us through all the fun and games decided to dunk me under water. What was she thinking? Well I tell you I let her have it. I made sure I screamed loud and hard so she wouldn't think about doing that again.

Sarah

Katie and Sarah

This picture was taken a month after Sarah was born and is one of my favorites. You can see in the photo the bond and the love that Katie and Sarah share together. Katie has come so far in the past six months and watching the two together is one of the best parts of my day. I really feel the time and energy Katie has put into Sarah has helped her become the amazing child she is today. I have so much to look forward to in the future watching the both of them together. I can't wait.

Rob

Rolling, rolling, rolling

So one of the things I looked forward to doing as a new parent with my child was throwing her in the stroller and going for a jog. I have always enjoyed exercising and I thought taking the kid for a stroll while burning some calories at the same time would be killing two birds with one stone. So I was stoked beyond belief when my mom and sisters went in and purchased us the BOB stroller of my dreams. This stroller very well might be nicer than my 10 year old Subaru. The shock absorbers, three wheel design and amazing handling all make for a smooth ride for both child and parent. I had to wait for Sarah to reach a certain age before we could utilize the almighty BOB. I was counting the days like a young child anticipating Christmas. The day finally arrived and I was so excited but Sarah had other plans. She hated the BOB. I started by taking her on routine walks and she would scream bloody murder. People looked at me like an unfit parent. Didn't they know that I had been looking forward to using the BOB from the moment Sarah was conceived? Katie and I tried everything to get Sarah used to being in the BOB. Long walks, short walks, seat up, seat down, toys and so on but nothing would work. Sarah would just cry and thrash around like a crack addict on detox. Eventually we just gave up and sadly put the BOB in the garage where it sat for months like a discarded race horse that never made the grade. So this week I made it my mission to get Sarah and BOB together again for one more try. I dusted off the BOB and placed Sarah in the seat expecting the worse and to my surprise she didn't go mental. She wasn't exactly happy but she was tolerating the BOB. After a few days of experimenting I am happy with the results. Sarah is able to spend a half an hour or so in the BOB without much of a fuss. We aren't jogging yet but I'm sure in due time we will make it happen.

Rob