As soon as we knew were moving here (and had a spare room to host people in) I started telling all my friends that they were welcome to come stay with us and explore the area. No one had taken me up on the offer until mid-April, when I had friends come for two weekends in a row! The first weekend was spent with a college friend who is having her first baby this summer (she was going to stay with me, but ended up staying with another mutual friend in the area which worked out really well because I get boring and tired at around 8:00pm each night). [Side note: They told me that they went out clubbing one night and I believed them and was so jealous! They laughed and laughed at the idea that my almost-30-week pregnant Mormon friend would go out clubbing in San Francisco late into the night and that I was gullible enough to think it actually happened.]

My two college friends and I drove down to Carmel on Saturday, which is one of my new favorite places because the light was stunning and the white sand makes for gorgeous pictures. I’d like to find the perfect spot (with closer parking) and come back on a regular basis.

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These are a mixture of photos by my mom and Kristin of Dezember Photography. Dezember is based on Utah, but Kristin travels out to the Bay Area on a regular basis if you’d like to work with her as well.  I’m so glad we did these with my parents here, because getting myself ready, as well as a 3-week-old and an almost-3-year-old without the extra help would have left me sweating right after I got my makeup on.

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In March my parents came down for a weekend (my dad hadn’t had the privilege of seeing T2 in person yet) and we packed those few days as full as they could get. We decided to celebrate T1′s birthday a month early, took family pictures, and gave T2 her blessing.

One of the presents my parents gave T1 was a kite. We took it over near Google’s main campus to fly it. Note: You are not supposed to fly kites here. We did not know this when we started.


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I have only a handful of images of me with my mom growing up. She says she tried, but no one ever wanted to take over the camera. I’m trying to make sure this doesn’t happen with me and my own kids, but I’ve realized that the same thing is happening once again with my own kids! There really aren’t that many photos of T1 with his grandma, and I want to make sure that doesn’t become the status quo for us.

So four days after T2 was born we cleared out a corner of my bedroom and did a quick photo session with T1, T2, and Nana. I was tired, sweating, and exhausted afterward but these pictures are so worth it. My parents are coming back in early March and I might try and convince them to do one more quick session with the kids while both Nana and Papa are here so they have nice pictures with grandpa as well. Next time we visit Poland I want to do the same thing with That Husband’s family as well!

When I launched Jenna Cole, my mom told me “No matter what kind of success you find with your business, you’ll be so glad you have this equipment and these skills when you have kids.” She was so right.

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Yet another year where I (Jenna) am writing this Christmas card from a different location than in years past. This year we are located south of San Francisco in the Palo Alto area of California. It took me approximately three days to declare that I love it here and want to stay forever. We are so grateful that TH not only has a great job, but one that allows us to live in such a beautiful place.

When 2012 started, we thought we had an idea how things would go. TH would graduate with an MBA from the University of Chicago, we’d move back to Dallas, T1 would continue learn and grow and amaze us with his interpretation of the world around him. The first and last have turned out as expected, but a new job offer for TH has taken us in a completely different direction than previously anticipated.

While I went back to school this Summer my parents generously offered to employ, house, feed, and entertain TH and T1 up in my hometown while I finished up at BYU. I was so grateful to have my mom, dad, and sister present as I walked across the graduation stage (I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English), and three days later we were lucky enough to find ourselves in Poland enjoying the company of TH’s family while eating Krakow Cake in the backyard.

T1 has reached the language explosion stage, and conversations with him become more entertaining as each day passes. He loves preschool, talks all the time about “friends”, and comes home singing songs that I have to look up on YouTube so I can sing along. All those who spend time with him consistently describe him as a sweetheart, and he is developing into an earnest, determined, and meticulous little boy. He loves to whisper secrets to and hug the baby inside of Mama, and though we didn’t find out the sex of our second little one he will always predict that it’s a girl when asked what mommy is having. It’s going to be such a treat to watch him fill the role of big brother.

Our plans for 2013 include surviving with a determined/demanding preschooler and a newborn. We know many of you have done it, so it must be possible… right?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!