New Years Eve 2011 Dinner Party At The Whitley's

Happy New Year Kellan!!! 2011 is going to be thrilling!

Kellan loving hanging with Uncle Emerson, as usual!

Not sure who is more excited in this shot?!

Course 1 - Jalapeno-goat cheese hush puppies, Stilton bacon and scallion puffs & Piquillo peppers stuffed with goat cheese

Pairing - Chardonnay

Compliments of Chefs Abbi & Dennis

Course 2 - Scallops in a citrus broth over purple potato pancake and topped with caviar.

Pairing - Champagne, of course!

Compliments of Chefs Liz & Brad

Course 3 - Herb gnocchi with roasted butternut squash, chanterelle mushrooms, melted leeks, in a brown butter truffle sauce, finished with crispy sage & fresh parmesan

Pairing - Etude Pinot Noir

Compliments of Chefs Meredith & Dan

Course 4 - Roasted rainbow beet, pear & almond salad

Compliments of Chefs Bill & Hilary...sadly, not Clinton...would have made for an epic and interesting evening!

Course 5 - Beef tenderloin with a duet of sauces (horseradish cream & au poivre) served along side herb mashed potatoes

Pairing - Provence Cabernet

Compliments of Chefs & dinner party hosts Emerson & Tiffany

Course 6 - a decadent chocolate cake served with Bi-rite salted caramel ice cream....PURE HEAVEN!!

Pairing - Port served in Argyle Port Sippers (so fun!) & Beringer Nightingale Dessert wine

Group shot of the whole crew cheersing the new year, good times, good friends and delicious food and wine!

Playdate With Bella

Denny and Elaine so sweetly had us over for dinner last night. It was great catching up and hysterical watching Kellan and Bella. They were best buds and Bella was so patient with a very excited and sometimes grabby little baby boy.

None of these pictures are exactly in focus because these two never stopped moving!

Loving Being Warm & Cozy

In my new super soft "Kellan" robe from Grammy and PapPap

Instead of Happy Feet, Happy Hands!

Working Hard

My boys working hard on their computers

We Most Certainly Had A Merry Little Christmas!

Welcomed with smiles on Christmas morning

Such a sweet little babe

Family Christmas breakfast - vanilla/cinnamon souffled waffles, maple oat scones, fresh squeezed navel/blood orange juice, berries and maple bacon - our tummies were happy!

Time to open stockings....

Or in Kellan's case hord candycanes...the kid can't get enough...had 4 in his mouth at a time!

Daddy and Kellan playing with his new Thomas the Train set from The Scott's - THANK YOU, what a hit!

Kellan rockin' his hand-knit hat and matching booties from GG - too cute for words!

Another favorite new toy is his Busy Ball Popper from the Hodermarsky's - THANK YOU!

And last but not least....it's the year of electronics and Kellan is one lucky boy with his new cell phone, car keys and digital camera - Thanks BB, Papa & Santa!

We were lucky enough to spend Christmas dinner with our SF family, The Portnoy's!

Burrata finished with olive oil & sea salt, marcona almonds, fig jam, arugula and toast points

The festive Christmas table is all set and ready to party!

Ben, Erica and Dan CHEERSING the baby girl news, the holiday, Ben's new job, new beginnings, old dear friends and overall appreciating and loving life, laughter and good food!

Chef Ben prepared 2 soups as our amuse bouches - ginger/carrot and celery/pear - DELIC!

Followed by shaved citrus brown butter brussel sprouts, Thomas Keller's whipped silky Bouchon potatoes, fennel/onion/thyme stuffed roast pork loin with a pancetta marsala cream sauce. Light - not so much. Delicious - we certainly thought so!

One Year Ago Today

We can't quite wrap our heads around the fact that this is Kellan's second Christmas already. It seems like only yesterday we brought our little precious bundle home from the hospital. For a trip down memory lane, here are a few of our favorite shots from last year.

It's a......

Alas the waiting is over...it's Christmas morning and time to open the secret envelope in Kellan's stocking.....Is this precious second child a boy or a girl?

Drum roll please..................

Daddy is thrilled, Kellan is a little shell shocked

Now he's come around. What a good older brother-to-be! We could not be more excited, all of us, about this joyous news and are eager already to meet our littlest princess in mid-May! WOW ~ what a Christmas blessing we will never forget!

Christmas Hike

Our annual Christmas hike was bumped to Christmas Eve due to the weather report. Despite the change, it was just as FUN!

Look at how little Kellan was at last year's Christmas hike

Fast forward to this year...what a BIG boy!

Kellan loves being outside and was taken in the view after a long strenuous hour hike up the mountain

The difference a year makes......here I am with my little 13 month old boy and 5 months pregnant with a little girl! Love this series of photos that Dan took. Kellan's facial expressions are adorable and so loving!