By: Ann
Another sorry for the extreme delay in the updates in the post. Jason’s surgery went well. He had no complications and he is back to eating his regular (rabbit) diet. Jason was never an unhealthy eater, he just inherited the bad genes where his cholesterol and gallbladder are concerned.
A few weeks later we went to a wedding reception of one of Jason’s coworkers, Koklynn. She and her husband had the big ceremony in China and smaller wedding and reception in California. We were a bit nervous because we were going to travel 2.5 hours to Sacramento and be out pretty late. We’ve never been out late with Athena before. She was great. She partied and danced all night long until 10:30 and fell asleep in the car at 11:00, just in time for the drive home. Everyone was very impressed at how well behaved she was.
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A few weeks later on Independence Day weekend, we traveled up to Medford, Oregon to see the Oregon Newmans. It was great seeing my brother, sister-in-law, and baby niece Alia. Athena’s new favorite word that weekend was “baby” followed by “Alia” (pronounced by Athena Ahhh-leyah).
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The picture below is from the city park in Jacksonville, Oregon. Athena kept on refusing to admit how cold she was.
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This is probably the only thirty seconds in which she didn’t cry when I held her. That’s okay. I didn’t take it personally.
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On Independence Day, we drove down to Howard Prairie Lake for some lakeside fun. The babies loved it. Athena, again, refused to leave the lake even though her lips were starting to pale a bit.
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We were so impressed with the fountains in Jacksonville (OR) that we decided to find some in our area. Low and behold, there were some fountains right in downtown Los Gatos near my clinic. The fountains were a little much for Athena, but I think she had just as much fun.
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Tired baby after the fountains…
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The next weekend, Julie and Alia drove in for a wedding. Athena was thrilled to see her baby cousin again. She was as gentle as she could be. Alia isn’t quite crawling, yet, but she was definitely scooting as fast as she could to keep up with her cousin.
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The next weekend our friends from Cleveland (Ryan, his wife Jessi, their son Asher, and JJ) came to stay a week with us. Ryan and JJ went to high school together…and I’m pretty sure Ryan and Jason went to grade school together, too. JJ and Jason know each other from preschool. It was great having them for so long. Time went by so quick. The first day that they were here, we kind of relaxed and took it easy. It’s pretty rough traveling with a baby. Here’s Asher and Athena playing with some fake food that was given to us by JJ and the Glows. Later that night I fed the gang with Chicken parmesan. Since I am a vegetarian, I think little faith was put in my cooking abilities. I’m pretty sure I surprised everyone with a tasty dinner. I haven’t been vegetarian all of my life, people.
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The next day we went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. This festival is supposedly nationally known. If you’re a garlic lover, this is your paradise. You can even find weird oddities like garlic ice cream. It was pretty crowded and hot by the time we ended up giving up on finding the garlic ice cream.
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We found out that Athena loves live children’s entertainment. This is her climbing up on stage to join the other children dancing.
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Later that night I fed the gang with homemade pizzas.
The next day, while I was at work, They all headed down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The kids absolutely loved the place. I wish I could have been there to witness it. That last time we were there, Athena had a great time, but she was not walking, yet, so we couldn’t go on any of the rides.
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Athena has oh so much love to give.
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The next day, also while I was at work, Jason treated everyone to some Google lunch. Who knew that a Google tour would not be as enjoyable running after 2 babies? After Google, the gang headed down to the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose.
Look at my girl climbing where she’s not supposed to go. Surprise, surprise…
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Later that day when I got home from work, we all decided to hang out on Castro Street for some good Mexican food and gelato.
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On Wednesday we toured some wineries in Sonoma. JJ was our designated driver. We were able to stop at 6-7 wineries which were all okay, but Jessi and I have a distinct taste for dessert wines, which are better found in colder areas, like coastal California. I guess we know this for next time. It’s been a while since I have hung out like this sans baby. Jason was at work (that day and Thursday), Athena was in daycare that day (which she made us pay for later that night) and Asher stayed home and relaxed with his daddy while the girls played. It was great.
We had cameras. We were just a little too tipsy to remember taking pictures. But we did remember to check in on Foursquare at each location (with JJ’s help).
On Thursday, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Fishies galore. It was a big hit with the babies.
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Thursday night we took it easy since it was the last night for the Glows. Asher and Athena ended up taking a bath together, but I had to take Athena out. She was super excited to have a friend to share her bath with. She’s usually pretty wild for her baths, but she was particularly wild this time, which was a little much for Asher. But they made up soon afterward. Please let it be known that if Rachel B. is unavailable to be Asher’s prom date, Athena has first dibs.
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On Friday, the Glows left, I returned to work, and JJ enjoyed her six hour San Francisco tour without having to push any strollers or be in charge of holding Jason’s fancy camera while someone ran after children. I’m glad she got some adult time. I was starting to feel a little bad.
The next post will be all about our long weekend in Chicago and how I surprised my brother and mom for a visit. This plan has been in the works ever since May, so I was glad that no information was leaked to important sources. We are still uploading many pictures from the visit, so please be patient with us.
To clear up any confusion…Jason, Ryan and I went to pre-school together. Ryan and I went to elementary school together. Then all 3 of us went to middle and high school together. Thirteen years later, we went to Mountain View together.
Blame Jason. I asked for specifics. Sorry for the confusion.
Athena looks so beautiful at the wedding! I love the pictures of her having fun too.
There are some good looking kids in our family.