Happy Birthday to my big boy Lucas! Today, he turns 4 years old and he knows it, too! He’s been reminding us that his birthday was coming up for the past few months :) It really does feel like yesterday when he wasn’t able to talk and was waddling around in his diapers. Now, he talks sooooooo much and wants to do everything by himself. And, I’m pretty sure he’s better on the computer than many of us! Also, he’s been a great big brother to Nathan and I love seeing them enjoy each other. It gets pretty crazy between them at times, but Nathan adores him and copies everything he does, both good and bad!

We are having a birthday bash for him tomorrow and it should be a fun time at the park. He had his party at pre-school yesterday and he came dressed to impress thanks to Grandma! Happy Birthday Lucas! and Happy 4th of July to everyone. Have a great and safe weekend!

Jordi and Sean were ready to go for their engagement portraits! They were up for anything and we got some great stuff in some cool places. I’ve always wanted to shoot at a library and I knew it would be pretty cool in there! Their wedding is just around the corner in January and it should be a great one. Check out some highlights!

Going to San Francisco is always a treat for me. I get my taste urban living for a little bit and it’s always just nice to spend some time in an interesting place away from home. I always debate whether urban living is for me or if our family would like it and I’m still undecided. I would definitely like to give it a try one of these days, but really not sure if that will ever happen.

We stayed with Tey’s aunt who lives near UCSF and they have great restaurants just down the street from their apt. It’s just so cool to walk to all these places and take the train to where ever you want to go. Having a car is really just a luxury and not a necessity like it is down here in So Cal. Did an urban hike/tour through Haight-Ashbury, Mission and Castro. Experienced some pretty great eateries… Chow and Park Chow, Pizzaria Delfina, Miette and had a pretty fantastic Smoked Salmon/cream cheese open-face sandwich at the Farmer’s Market. Too bad the Creme Brulee Cart guy was out of town!

Tey also has a giant post of everything we did…check it out.

This is from the top of Dolores Park with spectacular weather.

The boys on the way home. We stopped for some pics somewhere off the 5.

My usual jumping thing.

And Lucas trying to emulate :)

Last weekend was a busy one! I have a ton of family in town for a family wedding, so it’s been wild and crazy for a bit. Most of my cousins have lived elsewhere for as long as I can remember, but now, it seems that everyone is moseying over to Southern California. Not sure how long everyone will decide to live here, but it’s fun while it lasts! We had a family wedding reception and shot a wedding on the weekend. So it was almost like a double-header! Then on Monday, it was BBQ time at the house. Feeling the pressure of feeding many, many hungry mouths, I decided to upgrade my grill to a much larger one. It was a success!

The boys have been loving all the family around and it’s great seeing them interact with the aunties and cousins. Lucas is a pretty funny little dude and says the funniest things. My favorite is probably when my aunt asked him “How old do you think I am?” And Lucas quickly replies with “You are FIFTY HUNDRED years old!” Hilarious! And of course, Nathan is the good boy. Doesn’t care who is taking care of him and will play with anyone. That’s probably the biggest difference between the two boys. Lucas was a picky little guy when it came to people. Nathan just smiles, drools and goes!

Here’s a few pics of the boys. The first one is a shot of Nathan taken by Lucas! Yup, he always wants to shoot with “Daddy’s” camera, now:

This second one is what happens almost everyday. Lucas decides to sneak into our bed. We often don’t realize that he’s there (a plus of a King sized bed!), but he shimmies his way in somehow. Caught you!

Happy weekend!

Lucas’s first foray into sports is soccer. He has been going once a week for the last 4 weeks. He likes it, for the most part. It’s pretty darn cute watching these 3 and 4 year olds running around. Most of them pay attention, but, as expected, there is a whole lot of grass-picking and day-dreaming going on. Of course, Lucas’s favorite part of practice is when it’s over and he can go to the playground. Go figure! Here’s a quick clip of his initial soccer experience with music from my favorite “sports” movie. Thanks to Tey for the handy camera work and to Grandma for the dope soccer gear :)