Easter Fun at the Zoo

We took Jack to the San Francisco Zoo last weekend for some Easter fun, his first Easter Egg Hunt, and a little zoo action.

The Easter Egg Hunt was indeed a "zoo" with even the 2-And-Under section filled to the brim with two camera toting parents per pre-walker. By the time we got onto the lawn, we found one egg and got another from a roaming Easter Bunny who was handing out eggs to us less fortunate hunters whose basket was nearly empty. In the end, Jack really only needs two eggs to have fun anyway - one in each hand to bang together.

There were jumpy houses, puppet shows, crafts, face painting, picture opps, organic treats, bubbles, and lots of sunshine.

After the Easter fun, we headed over to the Petting Zoo where Jack brushed some goats and gawked at the ducks and roosters.

CLICK HERE for more pictures of our fun day at the Zoo.

Jack has started to take his first steps. He can Frankenstein along while holding your fingers in one hand and can take four or five steps independently and unassisted now.



At next year's Easter Hunt, he will inevitably be running off by himself to hunt his own eggs and off to chase the goats!

Jackson Playground

There's a playground in the Portrero Hill district of San Francisco called Jackson Playground (Arkansas Street, between Mariposa and 17th St.). We had to check it out!

The playground is laid out in separate play areas -- one for toddlers, the other for kids 5 and up -- and separated by a low, gracefully curving wall that's just tall enough for Jack to walk along.

The wall is embedded with tiles along the top and side. A neighborhood artist who was chosen by the San Francisco Art Commission to conduct a tile-decorating workshop for kids, taught over a 100 young artists how to paint and glaze tiles. Their 150 hand-painted creations are installed on the top of the wall and the artist did the colorful mosaics along its sides.

Jack isn't yet walking but loves to swing, watch the older kids, is fascinated by the sand, and likes to slowly climb and crawl around.

CLICK HERE for more pictures of our visit to Jackson Playground.

First Time In The Sandbox

Toddlerdom, Here We Come

Jack turned one this past weekend and we had a birthday bash to celebrate his (and our!) milestone. Lots of friends came by - many of whom held Jack for the very first time when we had our Open Houses to meet Jack a year ago (CLICK HERE for pictures from our first Open House, and CLICK HERE for pictures of our second Open House).

Grandpa and Grandma Blossom came to visit from Portland, OR and we had an afterparty of opening presents and visiting with Tom's cousins who drove from Sacramento to see his parents.

The piñata was a hit with the kiddos. No whacking involved - just pull each of the strings, only one of them will open the trap door and release all the goodies.

We played with a modern blue and yellow Monkey party theme and feasted on french toast, quiche, fruit salad, and other brunch fare on monkey plates with homemade monkey cupcakes for dessert. Made from scratch by Mindy (yes, true story, that's not a typo :)


We have very generous friends and family and Jack received several wonderful gifts. One of the most inspired and fun birthday wishes Jack received was from his friend, Lola, in NY (thanks to her creative Mom and Dad, Maggie and Scott!):


CLICK HERE for more pictures of Jack's first birthday bash.

CLICK HERE to look back a year to February 2009 and read about the day he was born, and see newborn pictures and videos.

Monkey Boy Series

Jack recently received a super soft blanket from his favorite Auntie C for his birthday (thanks Christabel!) .

The blanket has a cute hood with a monkey design and is so soft and cuddly that it deserves its own series.

CLICK HERE to check out the Monkey Boy series.

Student Driver

Breakfast with Jack

Breakfast with Jack from mindy blossom on Vimeo.