rancho tanuki tykes

IMAG0399.jpg, originally uploaded by sassylou.

A fairly recent photo from our stay at our friends house in Sebastopol. Maybe I will actually post to this blog this year!

The fruits of my labor (the non-child version)

IMG_0724.JPG, originally uploaded by sassylou.

Well if the 2 kids don't take up all my time, this garden sure does. I have been pulling bucket loads of ivy out, prepped and installed planters around the perimeter when my family was here, planted in April, pulled out half the sod for a gravel patio and installed redwood trim around. We had 2 tons of gravel delivered, had a gravel party and also have original San Francisco cobblestones (25 lbs each!) as a border from the grass (still to be mortared in, but you get the picture). I am amazed at how everything has grown in so fast (who knew?) as these were itty bitty 4" pots. Minus a couple gopher stealing incidents, we haven't had any more casualties. Maybe I have a green thumb after all. Much more to grow in to make a full hedge around the yard. But I will tell you, these were only taken about one week ago and I already see so many changes in the plants. They grow faster than the kids. Click on the picture for the full set. Now onto the front!! (Get ready again mom...)

If there is anyone left out there....

Yes, shocking I know...an actual post! Well it has been quite busy on the Ghezali front, but I have to confess it is just pure laziness around updating and uploading pictures. Oh well, what can you do?

Here is a little brief movie to show brother and sister. They are doing quite well. Rex is a range rover and is all over the house. He uses his walker, stands up and cruises around and is quite a fast crawler these days. He is such a happy baby and is getting a kick out of his sister. They are really starting to interact which is just precious. Leila likes to hold "Rexy's" hand in the car from time to time, gives him big (sometimes too big) hugs and kisses and says I love you to Rex all the time. She is also somewhat generous with her toys, but not always! Rex is 9 months as of yesterday and I do wonder where my baby has gone! Life with 2 is definitely fun!

Work is crazy busy for me, but very happy. Enjoying work on the garden, and I will post some pictures as my mom is dying to see the garden. I am very proud of how it is shaping up and now will turn my focus onto the front yard. I am really enjoying getting into gardening, who knew you could develop a green thumb after killing so many plants in your past?

That's really about all folks. Life is good, busy and looking forward to a visit from my family in July. After that I will have a lot of travel in August for work...Canada, Oregon and Texas (ugh!) for the project I am leading. All exciting stuff!!

I think if I just go for bi-annual posts I could keep this going...

Rex's Baby Blessing...a tree of life and persimmons

IMG_9432.JPG, originally uploaded by sassylou.

Here are some pictures from our baby blessing for Rex. We planted a tree in our front yard to commemorate Rex's birth (thank you John and Mark!) It will one day be a wonderful large persimmon tree and we will enjoy watching it grow! RIght now it has more resemblance to Charlie Brown's Christmas tree! We had a beautiful day for the blessing with our friend Karekin performing the ceremony. Afterwards we had our housewarming party and it was wonderful to share our home with our friends and family (Uncle Mike was in town!) Promise to post some more pics soon!

Let me tell you a secret...

let me tell you a secret..., originally uploaded by sassylou.

As we reflect on 2008, we feel so very blessed to have had such a wonderful year with many new beginnings...new jobs for both of us, our new bundle of joy Rex and our new abode. Life with children is definitely such a gift and we are treasuring every moment (well almost all moments...) You do wonder just where the time goes. We wish everyone a wonderful new year and look forward to what 2009 brings. We are hopeful for a better time and a change for this country and are optimistic about what tomorrow will bring with new leadership! Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New Year's celebration. If I make it to midnight it may just be a Christmas miracle....

click on the photo to see some more pics of who else...the kids!

A new facelift...without going under the knife

Here is our unveiling of the new house. We have truly enjoyed the process of picking colors, working with our painter and transforming our homestead. Here is the finished product (well of the outside at least). Will post pics of the bambinos soon, but we are so excited about the transformation, we wanted to share!

November Days...

IMG_9029.JPG, originally uploaded by sassylou.

Well, we are still here and frantically busy enjoying our 2 little kiddies and our new house. Home improvements have taken up major (but fun) time and we have really settled in. The kids really like the house too (Rex I am sure doesn't REALLY care at this stage, but we like to think so). Leila is in her big girl bed now and made the transition easily. We have yet to move Rex into the room, he is still in the moses basket by our bed (who wants to walk anywhere in the middle of the night for feedings?)

Click on Rex's cute little face above for a random smorgasbord of pics....

-Halloween (Rex clearly did not enjoy his Hedgehog outfit-I didn't have the heart to make him wear the head, but Leila sure did enjoy the lollipops).

-Leila's trip to the Oakland Zoo, she loved the rides.

-Leila's constant torturing of Rex. She LOVES to get up in his face 24-7, it is adorable yet annoying at the same time as you have to be nearby to ensure she doesn't hurt and/or smother him. Too much love from a 2 1/2 year old can be a bad thing sometimes when you can't defend yourself!

-Our Thanksgiving meal which we had as a family at our house. Although we missed being with our family and didn't get together with our friends this year, we did enjoy our small gathering and being in our very own house.

-And, FINALLY some pics of our own butterball turkey Rex...he is a bruiser and is already 12 lbs. 10 oz. 2 pounds heavier than Leila at this age. He is a sweetheart and so good natured. He is all smiles and coos right now. He will just sit there and talk to himself-today he was trying to master his fist to mouth for almost a half hour, fully entertained.

Love and thanks to all of you, promise to keep you updated with more posts now that we are all unpacked!