Visit to Charleston, South Carolina

We just returned from a fabulous trip to South Carolina to celebrate John's birthday and introduce Chloe to her Charleston family. Chloe loved meeting her Gigi, Great Uncle Sam and Great Aunt Laurie, cousins Sammy & Christine - we had so much fun. Jan and Michael came down from Greenville, SC and we spent the weekend visiting and exploring historic Charleston. We also got in a family photo shoot to mark the occassion. Sam and Laurie were unbelievably generous and treated us like royalty - we truly experienced Southern hospitality at their beautiful home. Thank you to all of our extended family for making it such a great trip!

Hiking the Coastal Trail

 
We have had some amazing weather weekends here in SF... and have been taking full advantage of them!
 
Chloe loves being in the Baby Bjorn carrier, so we take her on hikes and long walks all around the city. One of our favorite hikes is along the Coastal Trail at Lands End near the Pacific Ocean. We love that Chloe is always up for anything - she is such a trooper!
 

Daddy Time

We took Chloe to Union Square to do some shopping and had to make a quick pit stop outside of Bloomingdale's (very convenient for Mommy) for lunch. Chloe started holding her own bottle, so we just had to snap a pic... too priceless!  
Chloe getting some play time in with Daddy!

 
Chloe's squnity, gummy smile - our absolute favorite!

 

Chloe's First BART Ride!

 

Her daddy was so proud.... Chloe and I traveled to the East Bay on BART for the very first time and she LOVED it! Chloe was looking all around and loved watching the trees and lights whiz by. She was her usual flirty self, handing out lots of smiles and giggles to the other passengers :-) Nothing like supporting the family business!

John's Birthday Celebration

 
In celebration of John's birthday this year, we were joined by our great friends Brian & Kristin and Jim & Cammy as we headed out on the town for drinks, dinner and a concert.
 
We saw Eddie Vedder in a solo performance at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley and it was phenomenal. John especially loved his songs from the soundtrack to "Into the Wild" - one of John's favorite movies. (check out the concert review: http://www.ibabuzz.com/concerts/2008/04/08/eddie-vedder-delivers-a-pearl-of-a-solo-show-in-berkeley/).

 
We were in a for a special treat when Sean Penn took the stage and raised his glass in a toast to his (then-estranged) wife, Robin Wright Penn. They reconciled before our eyes and we got the story before it hit the celebrity blogs - yes, we even scooped TMZ!!
 

Thanks to our crew of friends for an awesome night... and to KGB for babysitting Ms. Chloe!

Cousin Jack's Baptism

 
Jack Fitzgerald Farrell was baptised today at St. Agnes Church in San Francisco by our dear family friend, Fr. Mario Prietto, S.J. Jack wore the baptismal gown worn by all four Briggs girls, as well as Mia & Madison (Chloe will get her turn in July!). Surrounded by his proud parents and godparents (Ei & Aaron), Jack was welcomed into the faith and was a star!
 
Mia and Maddie were captivated by the ceremony!


Chloe Elizabeth got all dressed up to celebrate her cousin!

Liz and Mark hosted a fabulous dinner at the Olympic Club following the ceremony...which is always a special treat for John (they offer a gourmet buffet, so of course he manages about 10 plates of food!) Fisher Family at the Olympic Club in SF.

Thanks to Grandma Jan for the cute personalized bloomers for Chloe!

Cultured Chloe

 We took Chloe to a special Annie Leibovitz exhibit at one of San Francisco's most beautiful museums, the Legion of Honor. The exhibit featured some of Leibovitz's most famous celebrity photographs, as well as some intimate family photos.
 After visiting the museum collection, Chloe got some good QT with Brian & Kristin and took in some fabulous views!
  Our sweet girl.
  Enjoying the beautiful day together!!

Aloha from Hawaii!

 

We just got back from an amazing week on the Kona coast in Hawaii. Our family is lucky enough to be invited to stay at a private residence on the ocean each year and we were so excited to bring Chloe to this special spot for the first time. She absolutely loved it (well, what's not to love - right?!) John and I took Chloe to some of our favorite places on the island, including Hapuna Beach ~ where Chloe took her first dip in the Pacific Ocean! We were grateful to have a full crew of babysitters, including Grammy, Poppo, Auntie Julie, Uncle Ryan, Auntie Lizie and Uncle Mark, so John and I were able to sneak away for a romantic dinner and a fabulous scuba diving trip. Chloe also had fun in the sun with her cousins, Maddie and Jack, who always make her smile. She was an angel the whole time and soaked up the warm ocean air... which made her sleep even better than usual (if that is possible). Chloe's first trip was a total success, she was a dream to travel with and we had so much fun introducing her to Hawaii!!! Click below for the grand tour of our Hawaiian vacation...

Grandma Jan & Gabbe Visit

 

We were thrilled to welcome Grandma Jan back to California and were so excited to introduce Chloe to her Great Aunt Betsy (Gabbe). We had a wonderful visit with them and packed each day with lots of Chloe time and exciting activities, including Chloe's first trip to Daddy's office at BART! We also took a long walk in Golden Gate Park and took Chloe to the beauty salon while Jan, Betsy and I all got mani/pedis - so fun. Below is the full album of pics from our visit...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!