Thanksgiving 2007

A fun holiday weekend, split up between a trip to Kids Concepts, where Zoë discovered she loved the ball pit.


Andy Athena enjoyed playing house with plastic food.


And for Thanksgiving itself, a lovely, non-traditional dinner at our Uncle's restaurant with the girls' Uncle Nam, Aunt Jenny and cousins Floyd and Sean.

11/4/07 - Daddy's birthday

Last November, Sally was kind of enough to get a cake for an intimate birthday celebration, and wherever there's birthday cake, Athena's sure to be close by.



Here we are having just sung Happy Birthday, with Zoë applauding.


Then I move to blow out the candles, only to have Athena throw up her arm and yell "STOP!" Apparently, she's the designated candle blow out'er in this family. Here's a photo of me laughing at Athena's blatant power grab.


And then, she blows them out, as is her firmly established perogative.


Then, we lit the candles again and did the whole thing over again, because, well, we can.

Athena, Interweb sensation

Devon and I finally finished our latest short, which features Athena, with Zoë in some significant cameos.



And here's the original vid for which this is a mock "Making of" feature...

11/1/07 - Post-Halloween and pre-Birthday

The day after Halloween was marked by two events. One, Athena remembers she once wore Zoë's labybug costume and insisted that she try it on. (After all, it fit before.)




Next Sally bought a birthday cake to celebrate my impending birthday.


Athena loved lighting the candles and singing.




Here's me laughing moments after Athena -- realizing I was about to blow out the candles (on, let's remember, my birthday cake) threw her arm up in front of me and indignant shouted for me to stop.




Apparently, our family's only big enough for one candle blower.








For her part, Zoë enjoyed eating the cake more than the pomp preceding it.

Halloween 2007

Another Halloween, and we took the kids out to hit the Victorian home district close to our place. Athena wanted to be an especially frilly princess.


And Zoë went as a ladybug, a costume familiar to many as Athena's costume from Halloween's past.




Here's me helping with the costume.




And off we go...




Divvying up some early spoils.


Athena works the crowds.






Back home, Zoë wonders my Athena gets more junk food .


But we still get them to pose for some pics.

10/29/07 - Playing in bed

We took these pics when Athena and Zoë were doing one of their favorite things, playing in our bed. Ironically, the later it is, the more they enjoy it. I think these photos show how lucky we are to have such good natured girls who can have fun together and show genuine affection toward each other, although we have to be careful that Athena doesn't get carried away and squeeze her sister a little too hard. The last picture, for example, was taken mere moments before we intervened and, in true parent fashion, put a damper on all the fun.

10/20/07 - Disney Visit

As the year drew to an end, so did our year memberships to Disneyland. So here's some pics from our last trip, where we went to California Adventure (the eternal Frank Stallone of theme parks) to avoid the crowds.

Here's Zoë showing that Athena's not the only one who enjoys commandeering Daddy's hat.

Before...


And after...


Zoë's at that special age where she doesn't realize the trash cans are not supposed to be an integral part of the fun of going to Disneyland, on par with any of those rides.

Hey, this trash can doesn't even have a line!


And Athena hasn't yet realized that all the displays of toys can actually be purchased and taken home. (That'll be a fun day.)


Here's some shots from Flik's Flyers. First, amusing Zoë as we wait...


Then me and Athena enjoying the ride.




We spent most of the day at Flik's Fun Fair, the one part of California Adventure aimed at younger kids. The place is a marvel of design, where everything is scaled to make one feel bug-sized. The carriage we're riding in actually looks like a discarded box of Chinese take-0ut.

Finally, here's a closing shot of Athena and Zoë showing sisterly love.