goodbye twenty eleven

i can't believe a new year is just around the corner.
can 2011 really be over?

every year seems to go by faster and faster. *sigh*

since i have been unsuccessful slowing time,
i made an effort to get as much enjoyment out of 2011 as i could,

while burning off a little fat that i think i packed on this holiday season.

here's what I did: since the days have been beautiful all week {sunny and lows 70s},
i headed to mission bay for a run and to enjoy a little sun.

my plan was for the boys to ride their bikes alongside me,

but c had taken the volvo to work which meant i couldn't fit both bikes in the prius.

boys both moved up to larger bikes a few months ago but up until then,
i could fit scoutie's lil' 12" bike and finn's 16" bike into my car.

scoutie now rides the 16" red cruiser that was finn's {the cute one with flames on it},

and finn moved up to larger cruiser. i shared the news that we could only fit one bike in the car,
and finn said "that's ok, i'll run with you mom. dad's been teaching me the proper technique".
{c ran cross country in high school and has been trying to teach me proper running technique
since well, forever}. *grin*

my goal was to run at least 3 miles, but with finney, we were only able to do 2 {with just 2 stops}.

i was quite impressed and reminded him he'd be ready for our annual st. patty's run in march.

later, i picked up maddy and her girlfriend and we headed downtown

to photograph the girls in an urban environment. we'd been talking about it forever and
finally got around to it.  the girls are so silly and kept me laughing the entire time.
{i can't wait to share pixs}

last, we have my neighbor and friend's sweet little logan here for a few hours.

he's almost 4 and this is his first time with the gerbers without his mom.
he's doing just fine and after a update to his mom via text, she's ok too. *grin*

these two cute superheros have been busy fighting 'bad guys' for the last hour
{and much too busy to stop to let me snap a photo}

i better run and get a cake mix into the oven.
the boys and i are heading over to my girlfriend's home tonight for a new year's party
and i've been asked to bring a desert. i sure hope they are expecting anything fancy.

all the families invited have young children, so my friend has hired a teenager to entertain
them until they crash. we're all pretty excited.
{now if only i can make it until midnight}

here's to twenty twelve!

christmas 2011

from our family to yours.

christmas day 2011

we need a little christmas, right this very minute,
candles in the windows, carols at the spinet,
yes, we need a little christmas, right this very minute,
we need a little christmas now.


for the past few weeks, scoutie has repeatedly asked me to
play the glee version of this song over and over in my car.
he loves it and if truth be told, i love it too.
if the holiday was longer, i might feel differently,
but it hasn't grown old to me yet.

after lots of anticipation, the BIG day arrived.
typical in the gerber casa, the boys woke at dawn.
finn continued last year's tradition and came into our bedroom
jumped up on our bed and sang 'jingle bells' at the top of his lungs.
he had warned us the night before he would do be doing this
{still it didn't seem to help prepare us}

the boys were so excited to see if any 'magic' happened in the night.
they yelled up to us "santa came and there's no coal" {like they had doubts}.
i wish i could have gotten downstairs before they did to capture that first look on film,
but i didn't have my running shoes on yet.  i'll be better prepared next year.

this year, scout was able to search out presents with his name on them,
going as far as reading which ones came from santa, mom and dad and auntie jen.
he wasn't able to make out the ones from grandma and grandpa yet,
but next year i have no doubt he will be able to read all the packages.

i think the packaged stickers he received from auntie j and santa were his favorite gift,
with the creature peeper and watch-a-bug from grams and gramps a close second.
finn's favorite gift was a new lego set which kept him building in his room for the entire day
{literally} breaking briefly for candy from his stocking and skyping with family.

when i look back on this christmas, here's what i hope to remember:

• finn playing christmas carols at our piano 
• our first christmas paper chain
• making a gingerbread house with the boys 
• chili on christmas eve
• cute robot jammies
• special ornaments
• happy holiday movies 
• auntie jen with us
• skyping with loved ones
• being the recipient of the most thoughtful gift i ever received, one that made me cry tears
  {and will always make me cry} when i pull it out. i will treasure it forever. .

my heart is full this holiday season.



scout too engaged with his 'spy gear watch'  for pictures

my silly two, finn (7) + scout (4)

countdown to christmas

image: supermommoments.com

this morning at the crack of dawn,
scout came into our bedroom announcing he was going to "cut the chain".

he was referring to the paper chain that we made 2 weeks ago to
help the boys {scout especially}count down the days until christmas.
time is a tricky concept for young children and this chain has helped so much.
i only wish i would have thought of this years ago when finn was his age.

the boys are enjoying it so much, this might become a new tradition for our family.
we can keep as simple as this year's chain {all white}or fancy it up using  variety
of papers, patterns and colors. oh how i love this idea!

only 2 chains remain as i sit and type this post tonight.
by 6:30am tomorrow, scoutie will have cut another one,
and one will remain. it will be christmas eve.

with my shopping done, cards out, and presents wrapped
{only possible with help from auntie jen tonight},
i'm relaxed and am ready for christmas.

i'll end with a sweet photo i snapped of scoutie at his
preschool class christmas party last week.
he was really enjoying this sprinkled covered cookie!

feliz navidad

just 2 more days until the BIG day!!

i think santa is almost ready to visit the gerber casa.

he's been busy preparing to visit 2 good little boys who are patiently awaiting his arrival.

we've been enjoying this week without any soccer practices in the evenings.
{just piano which has been a treat as all the practice songs have been christmas carols}
which we all love. last night the boys and i put together a german gingerbread house i picked
up at trader joes, and tonight we all watched miracle on 34th street, one of my favorite holiday movies

before c and i called it a night, he found a website and made a funny holiday video with the boys.
it's ridiculously silly and perfectly suited to two silly sprouts who love mexico and dancing

i hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

feliz navidad amigos!!

my guy's going to ghana

a month ago christopher tells me he'll be going to ghana {africa} in january.
i think i my response was really? and before he could respond i said "i wanna go!"

then he explained how it all came to be.

recently he gave a tour of the high tech high (HTH) liberty station campus {5 schools total} to a director of a private school organization in africa. because the hth system is unique, giving tours to folks
from all over the world is nothing new for christopher.  he leads tours of some type almost monthly.

getting invited to come to the country of someone he's toured {all expenses paid} IS something new!

the ceo of this organization is american, and his school's headquarters is based in ghana.
he wants to replicate some of the 'big ideas' he saw at high tech high during his tour there
a few weeks ago - specifically on the flexibility of the spaces {example: classrooms have walls
that roll up or move to the side so the rooms can be flexible for other uses}. he was thrilled.

so c's been researching construction methods so he understands the standard building method there
and his goal is to be able to bring the organization better building techniques, as well as better design.

he heads to ghana in early january for a week. i can hardly wait to hear all about his experiences there. i also want to see lots of photos. c has promised me he'd be more of a shutterbug than normal.
i'm counting on it.

~ we finished signing holiday cards tonight - we're up to 150 now so it took a while!
{one of the joys of having large extended families}. it feels good to have that checked off,
but there's still more to do before the big day! i better get to it. xoxo

santa and soccer weekend

my goal is to be in bed by 10pm tonight so before i turn in,

i wanted to be sure i posted about this past weekend.

it was special for two reasons:

first, this saturday morning was the annual breakfast with santa at the pb recreation center.
it's my annual tradition - we support the community, and get a chance to see santa and avoid the malls.
{i do however love online shopping}. it's so easy - saves time.

unfortunately, finney couldn't join us this year as he had a 9am soccer game in scripps ranch, 

so auntie jen and i took scoutie. 

before we left the house, scout announced he was not going to sit in santa's lap. 

i encouraged him by explaining santa loves children and it only had to be for a minute - 

just long enough for santa to ask what he wanted and for him to tell him
{and for mom to snap a picture of course}.

he thought about it a bit longer and told me he would do it IF patches {his sock dog}could come.
i remembered how in past years finn was always by his side on santa's lap and since he wasn't coming,
'patches' worked as the next best substitute.

while we were eating pancakes and drinking tang,

finn was playing and winning his first all-star game! 

auntie jen and i joined him at the field that afternoon for his second game.

his team lost, but finn played hard. he didn't seem too upset and reminded
us that soccer wasn't his passion, science was {how could we forgot!} 

and remember the UGLY sweater party i mentioned?

the big party was saturday pm and c and i couldn't find sweaters anywhere. 

apparently these are extremely popular parties and all the thrift stores sold out a month or so ago. 

{note to self: buy a few UgLy sweaters this summer to be prepared}.

c and i considered making our own sweaters with gaudy decor loaned and purchased, 

but our energy was low and we decided instead to blow off the party and have a date night,
just the two of us.  

we saw this heartfelt movie.
though we left the theater feeling a bit melancholy, it made us reflective on life.
the story was beautifully written and beautifully acted. 

i wouldn't be surprised if george clooney is nominated for an oscar for his performance.

we were up at 6:15am this morning and on the soccer field at 7:15am!
our team {riptide}gave it their all, but didn't advance.
regardless, we all so enjoyed watching these 7 and 8 old boys.
they played well and with such heart.  a few pictures from our weekend:

~ with soccer completely behind us, christmas preparation is now in full swing!

our holiday cards arrived in the mail last week and i spent a few hours
making and printing labels today.  now they all just need signed. 

{c and i won't let them get out the door without a hand-written note on each of them}
we divide up by families since both of ours are large. 

soccer season is over

this past saturday was bittersweet for me.

it was the last soccer game of the season coaching my little sharks.
though i am happy to see this 3 month commitment come to an end and
will enjoy having some of my time freed up, i am sad to say goodbye to these
children who now occupy a very special place in my heart.
{our weekend games were truly one of the highlights of my week}

and though we didn't win on saturday, we had so much fun on the field!
at the end of the game, every player enjoyed a special treat - cupcakes baked by ME.
they weren't fancy {from a box mix} but i did put these cute toppers on them.

if you have ever witnessed a soccer game with 4 and 5 year old players,
you know that 'end of game' treats are very important to them,
this and the 'tunnel' the parents create for them to run through.
{i admit, i probably enjoy this as much as them}

the gang: nicole, scout, curren, logan, jaycee and jake

AND each kiddo received a trophy, many of them their first ever.

scout (4) - first soccer trophy
PLSA U6 League

the night before our final game, scout asked if we could sign him up for soccer again because 

he LOVES soccer". "of course" was our response.  it was apparent to c and i just how much
he enjoyed playing from day one, so we are already looking into neighborhood leagues that have
spring soccer. {the y only offers soccer in fall}. 

i won't be coaching this spring, {and the jury is still out about next fall}, 

but i will be on the sidelines cheering for this sweet lil' guy. i'm already excited.

finn ended his season with plsa this same day too, but because he's gotten lots of blog posts over 

the last few years with his soccer and because i'm short on time {i still need to post mexico photos}, 

i wanted to be sure that scout was represented, especially since this is his first season playing.

finn's all-star team has their big tournament this saturday and sunday - 2 games each day. *whew*

after sunday, i can really focus on getting ready for christmas which i'm happy about. 

our tree went up this past friday.and auntie jen came over to help decorate it with us,

but i still have holiday cards to get signed and mailed and a bit more shopping to do. 

{i need an ugly sweater for an 'UgLy SwEaTer' party this weekend too and am having no luck finding one}

finn's first piano recital: 2011

today was a BIG day for finn oliver {and for me too}.
for the past 2.5 months, he has been taking piano lessons,
and today he performed in his first recital,
an annual christmas recital hosted by his teacher, nancie mclees.

for the past few weeks, i've been a bit concerned about his readiness.
he's only been playing since the first of october,
and we were gone for 2 of those weeks for our family vacation.
also, with him playing on another soccer team,
it was really hard to find time to practice mid-week.

since we committed to both of these activities as a family,
we worked hard to squeeze in 15 minutes of piano practice most evenings
{even if it was right before bedtime}.
for the last few days, finn has been at the piano practicing the two christmas songs
he was assigned from this book.  he also practiced the proper way to bow *grin*

so mid-morning today, auntie jen and the family watched finn perform (2) songs:
jingle bells and deck the halls which he actually sang to {his teacher's request}.
he did well and was so proud of himself.
and yes, his family was too.

the very best part for me was seeing him enjoying himself at the piano.
{he even came home and played his songs again}.
i said to c, he may never be mozart or even perform beyond an annual recital,
but my hope is he will continue to play for years to come, and always enjoy it.




~ morning scare: we changed vehicles at the last minute at
home and left finn's sheet music in the other car.
we noticed this when we were arriving at the recital,
and i experienced something close to what i imagine a panic attack
must feel like! his teacher said he probably knew the songs by heart,
and when i asked finn if he did, he responded "i think so".
he showed no signs of anxiety {he is his father's child in this way},
and for the most part, he did know his songs by heart. *whew*

baby alert

just when i thought all or most of my girlfriends were done having babies,
lucky for me {and them}, this isn't the case at all.

in the past 2 months, 2 dear girlfriends shared their happy pregnancy news.
i posted about shannon, and almost forgot to share about the other.

marty and bonnie are also expecting a little one.
and i was happily reminded of this when an email showed up yesterday.
it read:

so Bons and I are at the doctors for her checkup
and start checking out their bulletin board...

and if it isn't the Gerbers with Finn!!

{these two pictures were attached}

i smiled from ear to ear.
that was the first photo we ever sent to dr. o'hara
i was elated that our friends were there in the same doctor's office
we were when we were preparing to become first-time parents.
it took me back...to all the jitters and excitement that come with it.

i remember the day that photo was taken.
it was beautiful summer day and we were at my company picnic on mission bay.
i had just recently gone back to work after a few month's off for maternity leave.
we were happy new parents i was excited to show off my lil' white bald baby boy.

oh it doesn't seem possible that photo was taken 7.5 years ago.
*sigh*