I Passed the Bar Exam!

I'll be sworn in to the state and federal courts in 3 ceremonies (one at school, two with work).

Couldn't have done it without the support of friends and family, especially Pete and my Mom. Oh and Timmy. Actually, I'm pretty sure Timmy only made it more difficult, but maybe he was just the distraction I needed!

What kind of animal is your child?

Timmy is definitely a dinosaur or something equally scary and foreboding.

Timmy Roaring like a Dinosaur from Lisa Ottomanelli on Vimeo.

Although if it's true that you are what you eat, he would be a cat.

Halloween Pictures

Better late than never, here are a few pictures of our little monkey Timmy on his first Halloween:

Happy Birthday Pete!

Pete turned the big 2-9 today. We have been talking since we moved out to California about taking advantage of the close proximity to ski resorts and finally went today. What better way to usher in the last year of his twenties than feeling the burn in your muscles and the pain in your butt?!

We drove up to Mountain High which is about 80 miles east of where we live. It was pretty warm (in the 50s and 60s) and there was no real snow yet, but they had 3 runs and 2 lifts open. We got hot and sweaty out in the sun and fell our fair share on the snow, but we had a blast and cannot wait to go again soon. Hopefully we'll be able to go to Mammoth or Tahoe by the end of the season!







Downtown LA looked particularly pretty on the drive home as we drove straight toward the sunset (although this blurry picture doesn't do it justice at all):



Timmy was lucky enough to spend the whole day with Grandma, but he was very excited when we got home and read a few books to him before his bath.



All in all, a great day! We are so happy to officially be in "holiday season."

Mini Update

We had fun on Timmy's first Halloween. He went to have his picture taken at a pumpkin patch and then showed off his costume at Kirstin's Halloween party. Rest assured, this was not his real costume. I'll have pictures at the end of this week.

Over the past week, Timmy started crawling. Actually up on his knees this time. He seems delighted to be more mobile and has some weird attraction to the most dangerous parts of the house. Babyproofing now underway!

He now pulls himself up against everything...





I taught him how to brush his hair yesterday, and he was extremely pleased with the results.





He also learned his first word in sign language. Not surprisingly, it was cereal. LOVES cereal. This includes most finger foods. He makes it all day long. It has already bit me in the butt because now he pretty much refuses to be spoon-fed, stubbornly flashing his little cereal sign in my face until I acquiesce.

I know he understands a lot more of what we say to him than he can say back, and I am excited for him to be able to communicate more. He says Mama and Dada all the time now, and often he looks us right in the face to say it. He giggles excitedly when I ask him if he's hungry or if he wants to read a book. And every time he sees Sweet Pea or Furious George, I can see him focusing on trying to say "Cat."




Next up, numbers. Looks like he has the number 4 down. Maybe he knows how many cousins he has?

Sneak Peak

Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought I would give a sneak peak to Timmy's costume.

We have thought about it for awhile, and wanted to give him something unique.

At first we thought he could be a baby Buddha, but I didn't feel like cleaning up the aftermath of painting Timmy's whole body with gold paint.

Then we thought he could be the Michelin baby, but we soon found out that is the name of an actual disease, so we didn't think it would be appropriate.

Finally, we settled on something simple yet sophisticated:






I think he's really excited about it.

Welcome!

Yesterday we got a new niece and Timmy got his fourth cousin!

Beatrice Elizabeth Noble was born at 3:10pm. Trust me when I say she is a beautiful baby!

Congratulations to the Noble family, we can't wait to meet her!