2010 in Review

Each time I sit down to update this blog (which seems to be far and few between these days), I find myself trying to tell a story with a group of pictures...whether it be a major milestone (e.g. birthdays, holidays) or a special event or outing. But as we said goodbye to another wonderful year, I found myself with a bunch of random pictures and remembered why I started this blog in the first place. Yes, it was to capture and preserve those birthday celebrations and major milestones but it was also to remember the little moments that often happen in an instant and pass so quickly you don't even realize it was a moment to remember. So here is to our "missed moments" of 2010....
Emma at about seven months old.
A day at Gilroy Gardens - our new favorite summertime hangout.

All dressed up for 'dress up like a prince or knight" day at preschool.

A few weeks before her 1st birthday....

Cooling off at Gilroy Gardens during a very warm summer day.

Snack time...

A day at Happy Hollow in San Jose.

On his first big boy bike...with training wheels of course!

Not yet walking....

Out at Pier 39.

An extremely rare photo of Mom and Dad sans kids! Notice the shadow of the photographer...it's Jake!

Emma with Grandpa Nguyen.

Jake, Emma, Cousins Elise and Sean at a sleepover at our house.

Proving to be a bit more adventurous than her older brother...Emma's first big carousel ride and she is clearly enjoying herself! Jake has yet to ride the big carousel and prefers the kid-sized ones.

Water play at the San Jose Discovery museum.

Already quite the girly-girl, Emma loves to put on her shoes and go out. It's the one thing that I rarely have to coax her into. When it is time to head out, she grabs her shoes and marches right over to her little stoop, sits down and waits patiently for me to put her socks and shoes on.

Christmas 2010

We celebrated another christmas season filled with our usual traditions and some new ones too!
As always, we kick off the holidays with a trip to the christmas tree lot in search of the perfect tree. And in record time, we spotted our tree within the first five minutes...either that or chasing two toddlers was too much and we decided the first tree we saw was "the right one".


With Uncle Gary and Uncle Glen, we ventured down to Ghiradelli Square for the tree lighting ceremony to get into the spirit of things. This was our first tree lighting experience and because of the crowds and parking...it will probably be our last!


Is that snow in San Mateo?? Nope...we also visited Gilroy Gardens for their Holiday Lights Show and this is snow in Gilroy, courtesy of a snow machine.

Celebrating christmas with Dad's side of the family.

Up and coming Giants fans! Thanks to Uncle Gary, Jake and Emma will be well-dressed for the 2011 season and hopefully cheer our Giants on to back to back World Series Championships!

Emma playing with her musical table, a gift from her great-aunt and uncle.

Jake and Emma each get a new ornament every year...and helped put it on the tree!