This is my wonderful wife Darienne. She thinks I don't take enough pictures of her. Considering what a terrific smile she has, she's probably right. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her. 

Darienne is very pregnant in this picture with our second son, Finn. Finn is very much on the way (due in early January), and my wife has been valiantly carrying around her extra "grocery bag" for awhile now. Still, she is a scratch mini-golfer. Don't let her hustle you!

Darienne in Yerba Buena Gardens up in San Francisco over Thanksgiving weekend. Darienne loves the city and would like to live there someday. What's holding her back? Little things like the weather, the hills, the parking, and the crowds. Other than, SF is perfect.

Darienne and Calvin on the way to San Jose's Christmas in the Park. One of Darienne's many fine qualities is that she is a terrific mother. She gives Calvin lots of love and affection, planning outings and activities with his many playgroup friends. Calvin, Finn and I are terribly lucky she's so dedicated.

Back in the day. We're coming up on a dozen years together, and we both still enjoy a glass of white wine on a sunny afternoon.

Here's Darienne the adventurer. She loves to travel and explore (behind her is an out of focus Grand Canyon). Last year's trip to Costa Rica was the first of what we hope will be many family trips outside the country.

My wife enjoys a good victory cigar. Here's one she smoked after climbing Mt. Washington with me on a whim. We were so sore, we had to hitchhike back down the mountain (luckily there's an auto road to the summit). But that didn't stop us from lighting up.

Poolside in Costa Rica. My wife can be very brave - she doesn't flinch as the crocodile charges. This comes in very handy during childbirth. 

My wife has excellent taste in food - which means she has taste like me. No mushrooms, seafood or foie gras. This picture was taken at a private dining room in Costa Rica. The meal was lovely until the waiter inexplicably threw on the Michael Bolton CD during dessert. He might as well have said "you folks have been here long enough." 

So on our recent vacation celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary, I lost my wedding ring in the ocean. Last week we went to Tiffany's to get it replaced. The lady behind the counter asked why I wanted "Huckleberry" engraved, and we explained that it was from the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and the song "Moon River." I suggested she throw in the engraving for free, but no dice. Here Darienne flaunts that while her hubby may lose his jewelry in the sea, she can keep track of not one, but two rings.

One of Darienne's many fine qualities is that she is a Red Sox fan. She even taught Calvin to lead the crowd in chants of "Let's Go Red Sox" which goes over surprisingly well in the Coliseum. We get to as many Sox games as we can, usually when they Play in Oakland or SF.

I get this look alot. I think of it as a look of amused concern. "You think we should invest in soybean futures?!" "You're going to Las Vegas for your bachelor party?" "You're looking at houses on Craigslist again?" I really enjoy this expression, and so make stuff up so I can see it. Like this: "Honey, what do you think about moving to Texas?" Good times.

From Disneyland. One thing you might not know about Darienne is that she likes to shoot things, at least in video games. Area 51 is her favorite video game, and she's made noises in the past about going to a firing range. Between guns and barbeque, I think she COULD like Texas.

Isn't she great? Merry Christmas, Baby! I love you, Doug