Welcome Reese Marie Brinker

It's a day we have been waiting for a long time.. but after 38 weeks and 4 days Eileen gave birth to a beautiful baby girl... weighing in at a substantial 8 pounds 9 ounces. I was honored to be there for her birth. 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. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

Swingin' with Cousin Chloe

We were making the rounds to all our favorite parks this week and one of our new found favorites is Gratten Park in Cole Valley, probably because its so close to Jen and John's house. Jack loves the swings but he loves them even more when he is joined by his cousin Chloe who is now almost 5 months old (how cute is she?)
Madison loved playing the role of big sis/big cousin and pushing them in the swings.
Side note: I will say it before most of you will, because I know you will... Jack has bangs!! I know, I am aware and I am assessing what to do about the situation. His hair has grown so quickly that he either has a comb-over (hello, Sam Donaldson anyone?) or bangs poking out from his baseball cap (so Backstreet Boys from the '90's) either way the end result will probably be his first haircut at the age of 7 months... but comb-over not how can you resist that smile?

Jack's on the move

Jack is sooo close to crawling and my life as I know is about to get a lot crazier. Madison never crawled, she just walked around 10 months but Jack, my little man, is about to be on the move. I need to get serious about child-proofing, etc because when he figures it out there is going to be no turning back!! This is a picture from the other morning.. I left him on the floor for a second while I went to change Madison's diaper and sure enough I came back to find him "hiding" under the couch.

BADM with the Eggert girls

We love the "Disco" museum as all the cool, hip moms call it and this week since the sun was out we went there with Makenzie, Sadie and Gina Eggert. Sadie and Jack stayed in their strollers most of the time which allowed Gina and I more time to chase those "twos" around. They love the outdoor stream filled with fish and frogs... here are a few pics.

Moscone Park with Oma and Opa

Moscone park is located right on Chestnut Street in the Marina and special meaning for the Farrells. Mark used to enjoy this park when he was little and spent many hours "hanging out" there when he was a teen, he also worked at the rec center during college summers. Now this park is one of Madison and Jack's favorites and we were lucky to be joined this week by Oma and Opa.

A Night at the Museum

We joined the Eggerts and the Fishers for "Family Fun Night" at the DeYoung Museum. It was a cool way to spend a Friday night (something different) even if we only made it to a few exhibits. Madison and Makenzie were really into Makenzie's new "rocker" tattoos.

Braving the heat

We had a VERY rare occurrence this week in San Francisco.. it was 90 degrees and it actually felt like summer in the city. We got to wear shorts and dresses to the park instead of sweaters and parkas. I am not complaining I LOVE it.. given my east bay roots. We went to the beach and people were actually wearing swimming suits.. I know this sounds strange to most but it rarely gets above 70 degrees in the city so when it does everyone goes crazy. Here are a few pics of how we tried to beat the heat.

Tante Friedel turns 99!!

Tante Friedel turned 99 on Friday. She started taking care of Mark when he was 11 months old and has remained a huge part of his life ever since and now she has become a huge part of all our lives. She is a wonderful woman with such a kind heart. We had dinner at John and Lena's with her family and toasted to her 99 years and more to come.

Tutu's for Twos

Madison took her second ballet class this week.. and after the first one didn't go so well this one was a big improvement and you can see she really enjoyed herself.

36 weeks and no more bedrest

On Friday... Eileen made it to 36 weeks... she is now officially off bedrest and the waiting game begins. She looks great and is feeling good. To celebrate her new found freedom she headed into the city with Mia and Grammy and we all went to Breakfast with Enzo (a music concert for toddlers, famous for songs like "Lumberjack" and "Make a Pizza"). After the music we headed to the beach to build some sandcastles and we ran into Jen and Chloe who were finishing up Baby Boot Camp.

Maniac...Mark's latest pride and joy

It's been two years in the making but on Thursday Mark brought home 8 cases of the wine he made with Mark Malcoun and Kevin Sidders. They picked the vineyard (White Hawk near Santa Barbara) and the grapes (Syrah) and then with a little help from their friends at Crushpad.. they created some pretty great tasting wine. They even designed the label and the cork... it looks pretty legit if you ask me. Please stop by for a glass if you can... it's what we'll be serving around the Farrell house for awhile.

Date night... a Dunn deal

Thursday night Mark and I snuck out for dinner at a great place called Nopa that we had been dying to try. Ryan and Julie offered to come over and babysit... and they were like old pros... between bath time, story time and bedtime.... it all went smoothly and both were down by 7:30p.. way to go Dunns!!! Thanks again Jules and Ry.

Wednesday night dinner

There is a long-standing tradition in the Farrell house that we all go to John and Lena's for Wednesday night dinner with Tante Friedel (she has been watching over Mark since he was 11 months old). This started out when Mark and I got married and back then it was an elegant and decadent dinner of adults which usually ended by 10p so I could race home and get ready to go to work at KTVU... now almost 5 years later it has evolved nicely into an early and almost chaotic evening... nonetheless it is a wonderful tradition we love sharing with Tante Friedel who will be 99 on Friday!!

"Big Girl Class"

Every Wednesday for 2 hours Madison and Makenzie Eggert attend "big girl class" which is a drop off class where they get to do art and yoga and the Mommies get to have a little free time. Madison takes her cup and her baby to class every week in her backpack. We had a big breakthrough yesterday when there were NO tears at drop off... yeah Madison!!

National Finalist

We found out last week that Mark is a National Finalist for the White House Fellowship Program (http://www.whitehouse.gov/fellows/) Out of 2500 applicants Mark is now one of 34 that have made it to the final round. He will fly back to Annapolis in June for an extensive interview process and then we should find out if he is selected by the end of June. We are so excited for him.. this will be a wonderful opportunity and a life changing experience!! keep him in your thoughts and prayers... Watch out White House here he comes!

Let's go fly a kite

On Saturday we bought our first kite and went to Crissy Field to teach Madison how to fly a kite. After a little inspiration from the Kite Runner we were off and running.

Sprinkle shower for Eileen

Eileen is now almost 36 weeks!!!! She has been on bedrest for the past 10 weeks and it's been rough but she has been amazing.. taking each day at a time and it is paying off! On Friday we had a sprinkle shower to give her just a "sprinking" of a few new things. My Aunt Mo was here from Texas and Aunt Bethy and then Julie, her mother in law, and Steph her sister in law. It was a great time. We'll keep you posted on when baby Brinker #2 arrives!!

Playtime at Grammy at Popo's

We used to call it Rancho Relaxo...but with all the new additions our time in Danville isn't so "relaxing" anymore.... now it's like a backyard circus... with the pool, sandbox, castle, bubbles, balls, etc. there's never a dull moment with Cruise Director Grammy at the helm.

Jack's first foods

Jack is now 6 months old so we decided he was ready for some solid foods... here's a look at how it went.

Kool Kittie from the City

Madison is really into being like Mommy these days ... and that includes wearing sunglasses and putting them on top of her head when she doesn't "need" them.

She also loves going to the dry cleaners with Daddy... I think it's just because the woman there tells her constantly her lips are like Angelina Jolies.... and she just eats that up.

Aunt Ellen comes to visit

We were so blessed to have Mark's aunt from New York come to San Francisco for the very first time to be a part of Jack's baptism. We had a wonderful visit with her and the kids loved getting to spend time with her.

Playdate with all the new additions

In April we had a really fun playdate at our house with the Cecchins, Pignattis, Barulichs, Eggerts, and Bradens.

Hawaii 2008

In April we had our first family vacation since Jack entered our lives.. and after a few rough moments on the plane (just ask Jen) we made it there and had an incredible time. Jack puts his toes in the ocean for the first time and Madison loved building sand castles with Dad.

M&M Play Time

Maddie and Mia love playing together!