luca . my beautiful boy

luca, you make my heart sing... thank you for your patience as i drag your little butt out of the car on a whim... because the wildflowers are so beautiful.... the alleyway is just too cool... your smile is so big... or the ocean is too blue to pass up... i just can't help but to photograph you... always. you are my world and i want to remember every second. i love you, my beautiful, beautiful boy.

luca . rainy days

hope everyone is enjoying the rainy days! 

luca is finally able to break in his thomas the tank engine attire :) 

I'll be heading to WPPI this week (Feb. 15-19) but will do my best to respond to all emails & phone calls while in the convention. vegas, baby, vegas! 

big sur . the 2nd birthday

In May, my baby boy turned 2 years old-- he's a kid now!!!! We (My mom, John, Lucas and I) decided to celebrate in Big Sur and it was wonderful... I highly recommend a trip up the coast to unwind (and more importantly to eat like kings!!!) We had the most amazing dishes throughout the trip, quaint restaurants, beautiful views, organic delights... My favorite places being Big Sur Bakery, Nepenthe, and Deetjen's.  We stayed at Big Sur Campground and Cabins which was SO relaxing. Lucas had a blast exploring, playing at the river, the playground, and the basketball courts.





We drove to Monterey to visit the aquarium only to learn he's still a bit too young to fully enjoy it. We were way more into it than he was!







We stopped in some small towns, including Castroville so we could check out the artichoke capital :), and the Dennis the Menace park (highly recommend for little ones! it's HUGE) 

We celebrated his birthday dinner where he figured out how to blow out the candles. It took a few tries but once he nailed it, we lit them again, and again, and again so he could keep going.





a hike (very low grade, you might just call it a stroll!) to Pfeiffer Falls...




his birthday balloon below!!!!

our last stop was at a seal beach, where they lounge and relax in the sun....

Happy Birthday Luca!!!!!!!

lucas . dancing + airplanes = a nice way to pass the time

So, at almost two years old; dancing requires no music.... but stops immediately upon the site of an airplane....

and an adorable tiny voice peeps "bu-bye" as the plane soars by.
aww; my heart flutters.

lucas . a walk in the rain

couldn't resist! it was sprinkling last week so we brought the umbrella along on our morning walk... he thought it was the coolest thing!!!! his expressions make me melt; click on each spread to enlarge the images...

the belated (very belated) holiday recap

We had a nice relaxing holiday season. Close to Christmas, we headed to The Gentle Barn (home to rescued and rehabilitated animals), then to Disneyland for a couple of days... John's extended family had a big dinner at El Torito, then on Christmas day, we hosted Christmas dinner to both of our immediate families which was fun. I made another turkey; this time it was a little dry but still edible. It was a really nice season... I had so much fun. Lucas just went wild over everything; loved it all. the animals, disneyland, opening presents... so fun.

this one above just makes me smile so big, it's cuter larger. click to see the larger version.

and while most were ringing in the new year with parties and cocktails... guess what i did?! nothing :) absolutely nothing and it was all i ever hoped it would be. i was by myself ringing in the new year... john and the baby went to visit family and i elected to stay home to veg out. During those two days I crammed in all kinds of things I love doing yet don't find time for: reading, writing, going to the movies (Juno), drank hot chocolate on my patio at dusk under the Xmas lights, sat around and SLEPT IN.

it was wonderful. :)

here's to an amazing new year (can't believe we are already two months in!)