Chloe's Pool Party

Chloe hosted her first pool party for all her "City" friends! We invited our friends from my SF Mom's Group out to Danville to Grammy and Poppo's house for a luncheon and pool party to celebrate my last week of maternity leave. The weather was fabulous and Chloe had so much fun introducing her friends to all of her cousins. KGB was the ultimate hostess with the mostess and Auntie Eileen and Auntie Lizzy brought their cuties along for the ride (including Reese!). Each of the babies got dunked under water for the first time... very exciting - but kinda scary! Then we all did bath time together and Chloe got cozy with her boyfriends, Liam and Dash. Thank you to Cassie, Jenny, Melissa & Sarah for making the trip out to the East Bay for a fun afternoon by the pool :-)

A Day with Grammy & Poppo

Chloe hosted a slumber party for her Grammy and Poppo on Saturday night while Mommy and Daddy were out on the town. The next day we hit Sunday Mass at St. Agnes and then we were off to the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair... quite a scene. Grammy and Poppo were sporting their true OBAMA flair and John was reminiscing his DeadHead days. We capped it off with lunch at Zazie, our favorite Cole Valley spot, and afternoon naps (um...for everyone)! Thanks for a great day, Grammy & Poppo!

Chez Panisse Treat

We had TWO huge events to celebrate on Saturday night: (1) our dear friend Brian's birthday and (2) BARACK OBAMA winning the Democratic nomination!!!! We decided to do it up in style and headed across the Bay in a limo to Chez Panisse, the home of famed chef Alice Waters. Delicious food, great wine, wonderful friends -- such a treat.

Hiking Bald Mountain

We met Dan and Alicia and some of their friends for a hike up Bald Mountain in Sonoma this weekend. With Chloe snug in the Bjorn, we climbed up the mountain and took in some awesome views... making only a few pit stops for breaks and snacks. It was quite a workout for John - considering Chloe is now our 14 pounder - but I told him it was good training for his imminent stint as a full-time dad. To reward ourselves for all the hard work, we stopped at KAZ Winery on the way down and were treated to friendly hospitality (they even brought out toys to entertain Chloe while we sipped wine!). All in all, the perfect California day!

Welcome Home Reese!

On Friday, June 6th (her original due date!), Reese Marie Brinker was discharged from the Intensive Care Nursery and welcomed home by her proud parents and cutie pie Sis. We were all there for the homecoming - decked out in signs, of course - and were thrilled to see Reese home where she belongs. Thanks to all for your constant prayers, emails, messages... we are so glad to have Reese home! Click below for more pics of Chloe's newest cousin.....

Reese Marie Brinker is Born!!!

On Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 1:02 p.m., we welcomed the newest member of our family into the world. Eileen gave birth to a baby girl, Reese Marie, who weighed in at a healthy 8lbs. 9oz. It has been a long haul for the Brinkers, and especially Eileen (who survived 10 weeks of bedrest waiting for Reese!), so we were thrilled when she was born. I was honored to be in the delivery room and was cheering Eileen on every step of the way. Reese had a bit of a tough entry into the world, though, because her shoulders were transverse and the doctor had some difficulty getting her out. As a result, she ended up in the Intensive Care Nursery with some nerve damage that is affecting her respiratory system. We are praying hard that Reese will recover on her own (without surgery) and will soon be home with her proud parents and big sis, Mia Grace. In the meantime, the doctors and nurses are monitoring her and she is being well cared for in the hospital. John and I have both gotten some great moments with Reese already and look forward to many more!

Happy Baby!

 

Chloe has discovered her feet and loves to grab onto them these days... we decided to capture her latest trick while she was hanging out on her favorite place (her changing table!)

Lovin the Hot Tub

 

 

 

Chloe is getting her sea legs these days and spending time in Grammy and Poppo's hot tub. She got a special treat last weekend -- some alone time (all the other cousins were napping!) with her adoring aunts and uncles. Daddy was right there with her, as always, as she learned to kick her legs in the water... can't wait for summer!!

Happy 30th Cammy!!

Happy Birthday Cammy Willing!!! We helped our dear friend Cammy ring in the big 3-0 in a big way... a night out complete with a bowling competition and stop in at one of our old hangouts - the Horseshoe. Cammy welcomed this new decade with her usual grace and we loved being part of the celebration. It was so fun to be out on the town with all of our friends (thank you to Auntie Julie for babysitting Ms. Chloe)... click below for more pics!

Carnival in the Mission

We took Chloe to check out Carnival in the Mission District of SF over Memorial Day weekend. John loved the floats (he is a sucker for carnis) and Chloe was soaking up all the sights and sounds. We also met up with Alicia & Dan for some lounging in Dolores Park...
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