An Early Christmas

Oma and Opa fled the land of blizzards just in time to enjoy the rain in California. Despite the poor weather, we had a splendid early holiday. We ate good food, opened lovely gifts, and enjoyed some quality family time in front of the fire. They left yesterday and we already miss them. Oscar woke up and searched the house top and bottom for his grandparents.

Oscar hardly left his grandma's side the entire visit.

Jeff & Carol gave Oscar these great hand puppets. He squealed every time the bear licked his hands and feet.

We took a trip south to visit Great Grandpa Earl. Here is the second four-generation photo of the Voelz men. Click here to see the first photo taken one year ago.

Oma explores Oscar's playroom.

(A big thanks to Jeff for taking most of the photos!)

Oscar shows off his walking skills.

One!

Oscar turned "1" on Nov. 19th. We took a trip to Yakima, Washington where Grandpa Tim & Grandma Linda live. Uncle Chad & Uncle Ryan joined us and we celebrated three birthdays in one week (Grandpa's 60th, Oscar's 1st, and Ryan's 31st). We had a wonderful time. Here are a few highlights.

We took a day trip to Roslyn, WA (where they filmed "Northern Exposure"). Ryan is a huge fan of the show. We had lunch at "The Brick". Uncle Chad and Oscar bellied up to the bar. The bartender heard that it was Oscar's 1st birthday and thought a bottle of Jack would be appropriate for celebrating. Don't call child protective services on us, he only had one shot ;)

As we walked the streets of Roslyn, we hummed the

Northern Exposure theme song

Oscar is obsessed with wheels of any kind, especially steering wheels. Grandpa Tim let him take the wheel while we waited for Ryan to finish souvenir shopping in Dr. Joe Flieshman's office.

We made a Thanksgiving feast on Oscar's birthday.

We thought it may be fitting that he celebrate with a homemade pumpkin pie.

... and he liked it very much.

Oscar opened birthday presents with Grandpa Tim.

O and Grandma Linda snuggled in the cool morning air.

Grandpa read "The Legend of Mackinac Island"

(a gift from uncle Ryan)

Oscar taught Uncle Ryan how to spell with his alphabet train.

More snuggling with Uncle Chad.

Passed out on the flight back to San Francisco.

O...

On the Farm

Recently, our good friends Karen & Malia moved to Sebastapol (about 60 miles north of SF). They bought a cute house with a bit of land. They have apple, peach, lemon, persimmon, and pear trees. They also have 2 chickens and plan to raise goats in the near future. We drove up with Therese and Mimi to see their new place. Oscar had a blast.

Karen & Malia were so gracious to let us rent their 2 bedroom house in San Francisco (10 block from our studio apartment). With a toddler to chase after, we decided it was time for more space, so we moved. We love our new home. We are now able to host visitors for anybody who would like to visit. I will post photos of the new place as soon as we are settled. But for now, here are a few photos from a trip to the farm.

V & O sample the tasty apples.

Therese and Malia pick apples.

Abby helps Oscar open his birthday present from Karen & Malia.

Malia introduces Oscar to the neighbor's goats.

Did you see the horses over there?

Therese teaches Oscar how to be gentle with red chicken.

Fall Fun

While Vince attended a conference in Switzerland, Oscar and I enjoyed the fall weather in Minnesota.

Here are a few highlights from our trip.

Little Pumpkin (courtesy of Grandma Gayle)

Maddie, Scarlett, Oscar, and Birk

raced down the streets of Minneapolis.

Oscar and Scarlett were quite cozy.

We even caught them holding hands ;)

Oscar basked in grandparent love the entire trip.

(Grandpa Jeff put up a swing for O on his back porch)

Oma taught Oscar how to drive her John Deere tractor.

Riding behind a much larger tractor with both grandmas at

Pine Tree Apple Orchard.

"Look at the size of those tractor wheels!"

Playing in the leaves with Oma.

A Trip to Santa Cruz

A month ago, Vince gave me the best birthday present, a future trip to Santa Cruz (home to some of my favorite surf spots). We decided to go this past weekend and we had an awesome time. We stayed at the Dream Inn located right on Cowell's beach (where the crowded surf line-up looks a bit like a seal rookery).

Oscar loved the beach and the ocean. He squealed with delight every time a wave rushed over his toes.

Vince and O had a fun time walking on the beach, flying kites, and building sand castles.

I think this little grom may grow up to be quite a waterman! The waves were perfect that day. After not surfing for over a year, it was great to be back in the ocean. A sea otter popped up about five feet from me and I watched him snack on a clam.

O holds on tight as mom runs through the waves.

Listening to the sea lions bark under the pier.

O played in the sand for hours.

On our drive home, we stopped at our favorite BBQ joint.

Gorilla BBQ was recently featured on Food Network's

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

A Day at the Beach

The weather has been amazing in SF this past week.

The sun has been shining for days! We decided to take a trip to the beach. Oscar enjoyed the sand, the water, and views of the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, he liked the sand so much he decided to taste some while I took this photo.

Lil' Oscar

Lil' Oscar is not so little anymore. Our big man is 9 months old today!

The Best of the Midwest

(Oscar enjoyed the sunset at Uncle Tom and Auntie Roxie's lake cabin)

I just realized it has been nearly a month since we posted any photos. We have been too busy enjoying these endless summer days. We spent the last few weeks visiting family and friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We are still downloading all of the photos from the trip and will post a slideshow when we are done.

Crawling

Oscar is learning to crawl!

Hats in July? San Francisco summers are chilly and foggy.

Blueberry Mustache

Oscar enjoyed his first blueberries from the farmer's market.

His mom now understands why you can't find blueberry baby food in stores.

Relaxin' in the Hammock

On the 4th of July, Oscar relaxed in a hammock

in Justin & Lauren's back yard.

Happy 35th Birthday Vince!

Oscar surprised his dad with a giant

oatmeal & golden raisin birthday cookie.

Like any good baker, O wanted to taste his work.

To his disappointment, cookies are not a first food for babies.

Dad hypocritically explained that "cookies are a sometimes food"

(Cookie Monster Video)

Havin' as swingin' time

Our "little" man is growing up so fast.

Here are few new things he loves to do...

sticking out his tongue,

clapping,

swinging while sticking out his tongue and clapping.

Watching the tropical fish at the California Academy of Sciences.

We have a membership and live only 4 blocks away, so we visit the ocean creatures frequently.

We also went swimming for the first time at a local public pool.

(Sorry, not allowed to take photos at the pool)

He loves the water and playfully flirts with the little girls.

Oscar's TV face

Here's Oscar watching some old-school Sesame Street.  We think he's left his Dennis Franz phase and is now entering an Archie Bunker phase....