Beckett is now 2 years, 4 months and all boy!! Fortunately he thought it was fun to sit on top of the table and it’s the only way I had more than a split second to get a photo of him (good thinking Nana). I just love his hair, although I know his first big boy haircut is in the near future.

And B’s little sister Gigi is now 4 months old and cute as a button! I just love how sturdy she sat up in the Bumbo seat. They definitely should be a part of a photographers arsenal.

Check out these big blue eyes!

Oh my goodness, I love these babies!

I know I am a little biased here, since I am her Nana, but isn’t she about the cutest little one ever??

I just love how thoughtful she is prior to even going for the cupcake. It’s as if she’s thinking, “Mom, can I really have this??”

Ok, but I’m going to be very careful!

Yummy, maybe I’ll try a little more!

I think I like it, but I still need to study it carefully and not get too dirty when I eat!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEIGH LEIGH!! WE LOVE YOU!!

The official Pier to Peak race description is:

“Santa Barbara’s Challenging Half-Marathon takes you from the famous Santa Barbara Friendship Dolphins Fountain at the edge of Stearns Wharf, past the “Queen of the Missions” and on up an elevation of 3996 feet to the Majestic views at La Cumbre Peak. Capture the panaramic layout of the city, SB Channels and the Channel Islands. You can see where you started from 13.1 miles (sealevel) earlier.”

The race began at 6:30 a.m. which meant that the alarms at our house began going off around 4:30-5:00 a.m. Plenty of time was needed to wake up, eat a pre-race breakfast and stretch. At about 6:00 I heard the back door close as I was still warmly tucked in bed. This mama does not run! I am however normally at the finish, but this race finished at the top of “the peak” and wasn’t spectator (or car) friendly, so I had a quiet morning all to my self while waiting for the “call” that they had all finished. I waited and waited, but wasn’t too concerned that the call came later then they expected to finish, because of course, their phones were in their cars at the start of the race and they had to shuttle back down the hill (which always takes longer than expected).

They all ran the entire course and finished proud of their times!! All I kept hearing was “THAT WAS THE HARDEST THING WE’VE EVER DONE!!” I somewhat shrugged their comments off until later in the day when we drove part of the course.

Oh my goodness!! This mama was tired just driving the course. It was crazy steep, uphill all the way, winding the side of the mountain! It was honestly the type of drive that could make you car-sick!

I was happy when I realized that I had my little P&S camera in the car. I took these photos at about mile 7. Remember this was a half-marathon and mile 7 is only about half way. A half-marathon is 13.1 miles and this was all uphill!

These photos do not do the grade of the road any justice, but I’m telling you, it was steep! And curvy!

The bottom right image is the zoomed in version of the left image. I was trying to show where the race began, down at the pier.

And remember, from where I took these, they still had 7 miles to go. Straight uphill!!

And even after running, my two runners still had the energy to act a little silly ……

Congratulation to my runners, Ken, Jenny, Jeff  and Dave. And of course, the other 500 that also completed this challenging half-marathon. I love it, as I’m writing this at 10pm, my husband is snoring on the couch and Jen and the boys are out on the town. Oh to be young again!

Baby Gigi was born two weeks ago, just three days after big brother’s 2nd birthday! She weighed in at one ounce smaller than her brother at a healthy 8lbs. 11oz.

Here’s a little preview of our sweet Baby Gigi! There were a few more I wanted to share, but they’re going on the announcement so I’ll wait until those are mailed out before I share.

And Big Brother enjoying a little “pop” motivation before we attempted our sibling shots

So, from me to you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for making 2010 such a FUN and WONDERFUL year!!

I hope you enjoy my year in review as much as I do!

*please give the slideshow a moment to load before watching

Many Blessings to you and your family in 2011!

I am truly blessed, honored, excited and thrilled to finally introduce to you, the newest member of our family, Baby Leighton (Leigh-Leigh)! She was born just two weeks ago today weighing in at 8lbs. 2oz. I cannot even begin to put into words how much in love I am with this little girl. If you are a parent, you have an idea of how much love there is for a child, but there is something different about being a grandparent. It’s something you can’t explain, but if you are a grandparent you know what I’m talking about. It’s a whole lot about loving the new little baby, but it is also about seeing your child become a parent for the very first time. Watching my daughter and her husband care for and love little Leighton just overflows my heart!!

And before I begin to tear up, I’d like to introduce to you, the newest little love of my life, Leighton Ryan!

What a fun morning!! I went with my two favorite “little monsters” (calling them monsters only because of their halloween shirts) and their Mamas to Lane Farms in Santa Barbara. What an awesome place and perfect for a BUSY 16 month old! There were lots of pumpkins (in every shape, color and size), a corn maze, a hay ride, a few animals and even a talking scarecrow! Beckett had a blast and we were all exhausted just watching him! He was non-stop for the entire time we were there, just running from one place to the next, checking everything out! And little Miss Leighton enjoyed being carried in her Ergo for the very first time! It felt a little out of order posting a couple photos of her in the collages (since I haven’t shared her newborn session yet) but I didn’t want to leave her out. She was adorable in her little monster shirt!

You might notice that there is no eye contact with Mr. Beckett. He had pumpkins to discover, kids to watch, birds to chase, hay to throw, lots of open space to run in and animals to visit. I tried once to sit him on a hay bale and he immediately grabbed some dried corn to tried to take a bite………….oh well, it was a day for him to have fun, I can try for better photos another day.  And Little Miss Leighton was perfect! Not a peep out of her all through the pumpkin patch, a quick errand and lunch, she was perfect! It wasn’t until I was dropping them off at home that she decided she was hungry and ready to be fed.

Enjoy a little glimpse into our outing at Lane Farms:

When I was down in Santa Barbara for her shower, we did a quick maternity session. We borrowed a friends yard and I’m telling you, I could have shot there all day. It is gorgeous!!

Here’s you peak Jamie, I hope you love them as much as I do!

Little Miss Tate was great (and adorable I must add)! She let us move her around without a fuss and loved her nap in the PeaPod!