Picture taking time!

One of Mike's responsibilities is to pick out Zeke's Christmas outfits, and he usually does a good job. This year, I was really impressed and loved all that he chose!
We decided to get Zeke in one of his Christmas outfits and try to take some pictures one afternoon. We just went to a little grassy area by our house that has lots of leaves to try to give the fall affect even though it has still been in the 70s in San Diego lately.
Isn't his sport coat the cutest?



He loves throwing leaves too:



And climbing over a fence to get pine cones:

The Day After Thanksgiving!

The day after Thanksgiving is usually a big shopping day for Sheila, Mom and I. We actually braved it last year with Zeke in stroller and he was a good sport. I wasn't holding out this year, but Sheila and Mom-Mom insisted that he come with us. We only went to the Forum which is just a little mall by our house and Pop-pop was on call to come pick Zeke up if needed. Well, he lasted about 15 minutes in the stroller - thank goodness there was a coy pond with lots of fishies outside of Chico's where Mom-Mom and Cioci Sheila took forever in! Then Cioci decided to take over and when we went into Talbots, Zeke bee-lined for the window with all the Christmas ornaments in it. Finally when the sales girls were giving us looks I gave Sheila a look and took out the phone to call Pop-Pop. Sheila finally took Zeke to Gepetto's while I bought Mom-Mom a Christmas present. Zeke was totally content at the toy store and didn't even want to leave with Pop-Pop. However, we finally bribed him with something and got him in the car seat. The boys went home and had some lunch and took naps while us girls went and had a very relaxing lunch. Thanks so much Pop-Pop!
The Forum was having a special Christmas event starting in the evening so we all ventured back to take a ride in a horse drawn carriage. Zeke loves horses and was so excited, but the waiting in line wasn't so fun. Overall, he was a pretty good sport this time!
Here is one of us waiting in line:



And here we are on the carriage:

Thanksgiving!

Mike had to work on Thanksgiving and usually he is the photographer of the family! I really failed in this category and finally remembered to take some pictures at the end of the evening. Here is one of the only good ones, but it is a precious one of Zeke and Cioci Julie:

New Friends

Some of Mike's friends from college were in town and they stopped by so Zeke could play with his new friend Sierra.



Here is Sierra and her mommy Becca on our swing!



Thanks Bill, Becca and Sierra for stopping by. We had a great time!

HALLOWEEN!

The day had finally come. Zeke loved his bat costume and had it on a couple times before the big night. However, on Halloween he didn't want to have anything to do with the costume. It may have been that it was almost 80 degrees at 6pm and his bat costume was full fleece and very warm. So mom bribed him with some cookies to at least get the pants on.



Then I remembered Zeke loves the mirror so I took him and the costume into the bathroom and was able to get the hood on Zeke to show him what he would look like with his costume. It worked. He fell in love with himself and then wanted the whole costume on! Isn't he the cutest little bat you have ever seen?



We went trick or treating with some of our neighbors and then Zeke even answered the door for some trick-or-treaters.

Pumpkin Patch

The Sunday before Halloween after a good nap, we ventured to Stu Miller's Pumpkin Patch which is loaded with fun. They have a ton of pumpkins in all sizes and shapes, a petting zoo, rides and an inflatable jumpy house and a slide. Zeke loved the petting zoo and absolutely fell in love with the inflatable slide. It was a pretty large slide and didn't look too easy going up so Mike took Zeke the first time. He had so much fun after a couple of rides that I thought I should try to get in on the fun action. I will spare you the picture of my behind going up the slide!
Here are some pictures from the fun afternoon!



So many pumpkins to choose from...



"Check out this goat!"


The FAMOUS SLIDE:

October 2008

October has been a crazy month so far with a vacation to San Francisco, Uncle Stephen coming to town, the Patriots vs Chargers game, a trip to Bakersfield for Mike's alumni swim meet (where Mike did finish first in the 50 breast stroke!) and then Mommy traveling a lot for work. We had a great time visiting Liz, Mark, Madison and Jack in San Francisco and we even got to see Betsy, Jeremy and Lucca in Berkeley prior to Carlo's arrival.
Madison and Zeke hit it off very well and enjoyed playing together. Here are some pictures from our visit.
Zeke loved the trampoline:



He even got to push Jack in a stroller!



We ventured out in the city and went across the Golden Gate Bridge to get a view but it was typical San Francisco and the fog rolled in as soon as we tried to take a picture.



With Liz's advice we went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum which is also known as the best place on earth for toddlers. Zeke had such a great time with the stream and fishies, and the tunnels and flowers with the big bugs on them! Thanks Liz - we can't wait to go back!





As we were leaving the Discovery Museum we took advantage of the beautiful day, the fog had long been gone and Mike captured the bridge and Zeke. What a photographer!



After the busy morning at the bridge and Discovery Museum and after a good nap, all of us headed over to Berkeley to visit Betsy, Jeremy and Lucca. We all had a good time and the kids had fun playing with Lucca's toys.



Dinner was a good ol' time with Zeke and Jack on the floor, Madison and Lucca at the little kids table and poor pregnant Betsy was on a stool - I wish I had a picture of that - but you will have to settle for this picture of the boys on the floor!



Then as we were leaving and before the kids had a total meltdown, we took a picture of the mom's and the kids. It was supposed to be just the kids but that didn't work out too well!



On our last day in San Fran we went to Pier 39 to check out the sea lions and get some souvenirs.





Thanks to Mark, Liz, Madison and Jack for a great trip to San Francisco. We love you and can't wait to come visit again!

The next adventure was Uncle Stephen coming and Mommy and Daddy got to go to the Patriots vs. Chargers game in San Diego. Thanks for the tickets Stephen and thanks to Mom-mom and Pop-pop for taking Zeke.
Here is all of the Neal men from tallest to shortest!



and then Amanda and I (the Neal women minus Illys and Jodee):



Then to end this post I thought I would leave you with this picture of Zeke helping empty the dishwasher. He is such a good helper these days.



One more picture of a beautiful sunset that Mike took during one of his recent days at work. He does have a beautiful office!



Stay tuned for pumpkin patch and Halloween pictures!

Cabo San Lucas 2008

We ventured down to Mexico for Zeke's first real vacation. Cabo was beautiful and we had lots of fun. There are so many pictures I will have to post just a few for now until I get more organized!

Here is a view from our penthouse suite which we received since Mom-mom and Pop-pop upgraded their timeshare membership! YEAH!!



Mike has already taught Zeke to put on his own sunscreen and always wear a hat in the sun!



And here Zeke is enjoying the pool with Cioci Sheila



Zeke got to enjoy his first Margarita, I mean Limonada!!



Mike is enjoying the kiddie pool waterfalls and posing as the model he is!



Zeke even go for his first horseback ride!

New Stroller Practice

We were taking a smaller, umbrella stroller to Mexico for our vacation so I wanted to make sure Zeke was comfortable in it. So we got it out a little before our vacation to practice. Zeke enjoyed pushing the stroller more than riding in it!



He liked to either climb in the stroller or push his bear around in it.

Diegueno Park with Daddy!

Daddy and Ezekiel went to the park this week and had a great time. Zeke is so big now that he can climb on the jungle gym all by himself and go down the slide. He especially likes the steering wheels and can drive all by himself. Here is a slideshow from a recent trip to Diegueno park with daddy.

More Beach Days

Ezekiel takes after his father and loves the beach. He really can't get enough of the sand and ocean. He loves the waves and doesn't even get scared when they knock him over. We have been lucky with beautiful weather this summer and have spent many a days at the beach.
Here are some pictures from our most recent trip!

Independence!

Lately Ezekiel has become much more independent! He knows how to feed himself, well at least he thinks he does. He doesn't want mom or daddy to help him even though we would like to as he usually gets more in his mouth while one of us is feeding him! Here is a picture from one recent morning eating yogurt.

Fire Expo 2008

We decided to take a little trip to the Fire Expo 2008 and visit Uncle Dave at his booth and see all the cool fire trucks. Zeke didn't like the fire trucks all that much. He is much happier watching them drive by and pointing at them and getting all excited when he hears the sirens!



But Zeke loved Smokey the bear and protecting our forests as well as the kiddie obstacle course.