Brenda and I are happy to announce the arrival of the newest addition to our family: Kayla Lillian Knosp. Kayla was born at 6:26 AM this morning, weighing in at 6 lbs 13 oz and 21" long. She's 3 weeks early, but mom, baby, dad, and big sister, Natalie, are all doing well.

Happy Holidays to your from the Knosp Family! We were truly blessed to have a wonderful 2009 and we look forward to very exciting changes in 2010. Natalie just turned 2 years old just before Christmas. Seeing her change from an inquisitive, crawling baby into a playful, energetic toddler has been quite enjoyable this year. She enjoys attending swim classes, Gymboree classes and playing with her playgroup friends. She has recently started to talk and it warms our hearts to hear her chatter. Natalie doesn't know it yet, but she will also become a big sister in 2010! We are pregnant with a baby girl who is due to arrive in early May. We are thrilled to be expecting an addition to the family and we look forward to the excitement and challenges of a second baby.
I continue to enjoy my work as Senior Director of Professional Services at VMware, a software company located in Silicon Valley. Brenda enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom with Natalie this past year. With a second baby on the way, she doesn't have immediate plans to go back to work. However, over the summer Brenda completed the two exams necessary to obtain her Pharmacist license in California. We have been in our "new" house for about a year now and are enjoying both the house and our new hometown, Pleasanton. We've been exploring all that the San Francisco Bay Area has to offer including hiking, biking and many local events.
We had the opportunity to go on a number of trips in 2009 to visit with family and friends. In February, we traveled to Cincinnati and surprised my dad, John, for his 60th birthday party. In April, we went to Orlando and Natalie got to experience Disneyworld for the first time. Mother's Day weekend in May brought us to St. John, IN where we enjoyed a long weekend with Brenda's family. In July, we attended one of my college friend's wedding in Denver. Over Labor Day weekend, we made a return trip to Lake Tahoe this year. We took a long week in September to explore the Oregon and Northern California Coast with Andy's parents and also had an opportunity to go to the Purdue vs. Oregon football game in Eugene, OR. For Thanksgiving, we traveled back to the Washington DC area to spend the week with Brenda's sister Cheryl and brother-in-law Kiel. We had a great time visiting with family and friends there as we had not been back to the DC area since we moved to California in April 2008. For Christmas, we'll be traveling to Cincinnati to see my family then will be spending New Year's in St. Louis with Brenda's sister Kristine's family before heading home to California. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas and happy and healthy 2010,
Andy & Brenda Knosp

"Staycation" Day 2 - yesterday, we started the day with a late brunch at Perry's. After Brunch, we headed over to Fisherman's Wharf and stopped for coffee at Ghiradelli Square. From the Wharf, we drove up to Russian Hill and down the infamous crooked section of Lombard Street. We finished our day enjoying some fantastic views of the City and the Bay from Coit Tower high atop Telegraph Hill.

This week my parents are visiting from Lawrenceburg, IN. This is their first visit to the Bay Area since we moved here and we've got a week to be "tourists in our own town". Yesterday was our first day out and about. We had an absolutely beautiful day for San Francisco - sunny, clear skies, and around 70 across the entire city. We started our day with lunch at Pluto's in the Marina. After lunch we took a nice walk along the Marina Green, admiring the sail boats and the houses along Marina Blvd. Since it was such a nice day, we decided to focus our sightseeing efforts on things which would we best enjoyed when there was a clear day. After walking the Marina Green, we hopped in the truck and drove up to Twin Peaks where we enjoyed some fantastic views of the city and surronding area. After Twin Peaks, we took a drive along the Great Highway along Ocean Beach until we arrived at the Legion of Honor, a European art museum in Lincoln Park. From there, we headed north toward the Golden Gate Bridge stopping at Vista Point for a short walk on the bridge and some pictures. We finished our afternoon with a beautiful drive up Calirfornia Route 1 thru Muir Beach and on to Stinson Beach where we enjoyed some dinner and drinks and the Sand Dollar Restaurant. All pictures have been posted here.

Its been a while (a month) since my last post, so I wanted to provide an update on what we've been up to. Now that we're settled into our apartment in San Francisco, we've had the opportunity to start to explore the city and the surrounding areas. Two weekends ago (Memorial Day Weekend), we ventured out to Pleasanton for the Good Guys Car Show. Pictures from the show are posted here. That same weekend, we went to a street festival, Carnival San Franciso in the Mission. Also, we had the opportunity to get together with one our friend from Washington DC, Deb, while she was in town for a wedding. She surprised us with the news that she's moving to San Francisco this summer to take a teaching position at Golden Gate University.

Last weekend, on Saturday, we went up to Marin for the day and went for a hike around Phoenix Lake. On Sunday, we went to visit the San Francisco Zoo. Pictures from our day at the zoo are posted here.

This weekend, we decided to do some more hiking. Originally, we were planning on going to Angel Island; however, we got a late start and didn't have enough time so we went to Stinson Beach. From Stinson Beach, we hiked the Matt Davis loop in Mt. Tampalais State Park. Pictures from the hike are posted here. Today, we went to Golden Gate Park and the Conservatory of Flowers.