while very late, i’d be remiss if i didn’t highlight officially the very thoughtful father’s day give i received from bryn’s dad, bill (aka “pop”).

about a month ago, bryn, leslie (bryn’s mom), bill (bryn’s dad), ellie and i took a trip to yosemite. the trip itself had some ups and downs, but the highlights were still captured on film, one of which bill took some liberties with.

like any photographer, amateur or otherwise, i sought *the* image of the weekend for the entire weekend. it alluded me until the very last day when we made our way to the o’shaughnessy dam. it was there that (after numerous attempts) i captured that image.

as you can see, bill blew up that picture and matted it. we grabbed a nice frame on sale at aaron brothers and voilà! an awesome wall-hanger.

it wasn’t the only thoughtful gift on that day (hot sauce!), but as you can tell, i’m pretty happy with it :)

thanks, bill!

“there’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.” -j.g. brown

bill & bryn, c. 1981

ryan & ellie, c. 2010

happy father’s day to all the incredible dads out there, especially my two favorites <3

last year on mother’s day (my first), ellie was a mere four months old and i was still in the midst of hating life while adjusting to my new routine. sleepless nights and hours upon hours of crying (both ellie’s and mine) took a real toll on any motivation i felt to get out of the house and soak up the warm spring sun i would typically enjoy. alas, it wasn’t the most memorable of holidays.

i’m happy to say this year was different.

despite the cold and threat of rain, ryan, ellie and i went to the steam trains at tilden park, something we’ve done several times before because clearly it is one of our favorite family activities.

everyone was crowded into the covered cars, so we decided to brave the cold and try our luck without a roof. it was a chilly ride, but we sure had fun! ryan took some great pictures of ellie and me as we sped through the lush woods that make tilden park so beautiful.

after the train ride we drove around for a bit to enjoy the views. as incredible as it looks when the sky is clear, i would venture to say the clouds make the bay look even more breathtaking from so very high.

after leaving tilden (and getting lost in the mansion-packed hills of north berkeley), we headed over to my mom and dad’s house to drop off my mom’s gifts. it was nice to spend some time with her before we came home, put ellie to bed and left in a hurry to make our dinner reservation at horatio’s. i looove that place, and it was so nice to get out of the house together, just me and ryan <3

a very special thank you to everyone we saw yesterday, everyone who expressed happy wishes with cards, facebook comments and text messages, and especially to ryan for making my second mother's day absolutely perfect.

also, i didn’t want to end this post without mentioning ryan’s grandmother isabel who, by all accounts, was one of the most amazing women and mothers to ever walk the earth. twenty years later, she lives on in the hearts of those who loved her. i wish ellie and i had the honor of knowing her.

happy mother’s day to you, isabel <3

last saturday we went to a pottery painting studio in lafayette called color me mine, but we couldn’t blog about it now because we made presents for ellie’s grandmas!

it turns out ellie’s a little too young to paint on small objects without making a huge mess (duh), but we attempted to get her handprints on a couple of mugs with the help of a nice girl in an apron.

once she had her painted hand on the mug, all she wanted to do was wiggle her fingers, which is why the prints look … a little funny. but she tried her best, we had lots of fun in the process, and we know her grandmas are going to love their special mother’s day mugs :)

we really enjoyed color me mine and look forward to taking ellie again when she’s a little older :)

in honor of earth day, here is ellie’s favorite sesame street skit: jason mraz singing “outdoors” with assorted muppets.

now get off the computer and go outside!

while neither ryan nor i are very religious (ok, we’re not religious AT ALL), we look forward to holidays like easter and christmas because of the candy and presents … just kidding! we look forward to them nowadays because we have ellie, of course, and such holidays are soooooo much more exciting when you have a kiddo.

last easter ellie was a mere three months old, so coloring eggs and hunting for them in the morning would have been silly, but THIS year we did it all! saturday morning consisted of a family dance party in the kitchen while we colored eggs, all 12 of which turned out beautifully.

my mom and dad came out early sunday morning to have breakfast and watch ellie do her first egg hunt. it was pretty cold outside, so i – i mean, the easter bunny – hid the eggs around the warm, cozy living room :) we gave her a little basket and demonstrated that she should put the eggs inside, and off she went! she got the hang of it instantly, and once she found all the eggs, she wanted to do it all over again.

sunday afternoon we met everyone at giuseppe’s, an italian restaurant in san ramon where we’ve had easter dinner for the past few years. ellie was a social butterfly and got to spend a little quality time with her extended family. well, everyone but her great-grandpa alex, of whom she seems to be semi-terrified. poor grandpa! he just wants his great-grandchild to love him :(

happy belated bunny day, from our family to yours <3 GO JESUS.