November Re-Cap.

 I have fallen very behind on this so here is a re-cap of the past month or so..

We moved into our new place over Halloween weekend and have been non-stop since!  We are finally settled and unpacked (most of our stuff is in storage) as we continue to house hunt and get to know the area.

Even though we were buried in boxes we still managed to dress Sophie up for Halloween.  She was a Butterfly Fairy (yes, I made the costume as you might be able to tell).  She loved all the sparkles and her wings!  We didn't trick or treat but did parade around the neighborhood a bit! 

Tom's parents came out for a week during Thanksgiving and we packed in a ton:  Sonoma, Muir Woods, Sausalito, In n' Out Burger and an awesome Thanksgiving dinner!  We loved having them here and it made us miss all of our family and friends even more when they left. 

Thank you so much for coming out - it meant so much to us!  We hope to have more visitors soon!

Muir Woods

Sausalito



Thanksgiving Blueberry Pie - YUM!

 

Downtown Sonoma

Swinging in Sonoma

We are gearing up for our first Christmas in California and trying to get used to the idea that we aren't buried in snow!  More soon.

So long SOMA.

This is our last week in our corporate housing in San Francisco.  We have been living in SOMA ("south of market") on the bay, just 2 blocks from AT&T park for the past 2 months.

We are going to miss our neighborhood (especially the view)...

A view of the Bay Bridge from our dining room.

China Basin and Port of SF

Downtown - you can see Tom's office and the dome at night from our living room.

Sophie had a great time playing in the toddler park along the Embarcadero next to AT&T Park and we loved walking along the water looking at the boats and watching the sea lions.  

Walking along the marina.

We were lucky to have a library across the street.  Sophie loved going every week to her toddler music class with her teacher Jasmine.  She never missed a class.  We will have to find a new music class soon in our new neighborhood!

We will miss our long walks along the bay, the morning fog and the sunrise over the water.

We met Daddy for dinner after work for a nice dinner before we move (again).   Daddy and Sophie are posing in front of the dome that we can see from our apartment.

We are moving on Friday to San Rafael in Marin.  So stay tuned...

Pumpkin Patch!

We took Sophie to the Adobe Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma for some fall fun...

This picture says it all!

 We had fun exploring the farm, had a picnic lunch, road the kiddie train and petted all the farm animals.  Sophie loved the ponies, goats, sheep, pigs and bunnies!   Sophie also loved dancing around to the singing scarecrow playing the guitar (he played several of her favorites). 

 The biggest hit was by far the pumpkins - she loved running around and climbing them!

We love this time of year.  Fall has always been our favorite season and it's even more fun with our girl.

Happy Halloween!

San Francisco Zoo

We went to the San Francisco Zoo for the first time this weekend.  It was a great day and Sophie loved seeing all the animals, especially the children's zoo where she got to pet several! 

Sophie has always loved watching birds so she was very excited to see so many different kinds...
 

You have to look closely but notice the HUGE owl behind Sophie (she just so happened to be sporting an owl shirt too!).

DUCKS!  Always a favorite.

So excited to see the pink FLAMINGOS!





We had to chase him but finally got to pet a sheep...wishing Guinness was with us!



Woa Horsie!  Sophie tried out her first saddle - she loved it!

What a great day and we can't wait to go back again soon!





Stinson Beach



We packed up the car today and hit the beach!  The drive across the Golden Gate is always amazing and as we head up the "1" it just kept getting more beautiful.  We keep pinching oursleves that we live here.



We had a picnic on the beach while Sophie played in the sand and we built sandcastles.  

Sophie LOVES water - bath, pool or ocean and she's in! She'll even splash in a bucket if given the opportunity.  She took off straight for the water. 



Sunday funday has a whole new meaning these days! 



1 Year Old.

Sophie turned 1 on Friday, September 10th.  We can't believe it's been a year and we still feel so blessed to have such a healthy and happy baby girl.  She has such a good heart and is so friendly to everyone she meets (she waves at everyone). 

Since we already had a small celebration in Chicago before we left we honored the day by taking our baby girl out to dinner downtown for gourmet burgers at Burger Bar in Union Sqaure (did I mention that Tom met the chef/owner Hubert Keller while holding our table).

The birthday girl dined on sliders and sweet potato fries and then polished off her celebration with a HUGE banana split with stawberries and fudge - she loved it!

Days later, I am still finding fudge in places it shouldn't be...

New Friends - Old Friends

We couldn't be happier that one of my oldest and dearest friends lives here too and couldn't wait to hang with them.  Thanks to Becky, John and their baby girl Ellie (who is adorable) for living here and giving us tons of tips already on the area.

Sophie is so very excited to have a new friend and Guinness and Cole reunited as if they never missed a beat!  We can't wait for many fun times ahead together with the girls (and dogs too).