Family, Travel & Fun

We’ve had a whirlwind two weeks!  I’ll start with the most exciting news: Mike got a job offer from McKinsey & Co. as a management consultant!  The office he’ll be based out of is in Dallas, Texas, so next summer we’re moving to Texas.  In addition to finding out that he got the job, they told him that the coming weekend they we’re having a “meet & greet,” and it would be great if he could come and meet everyone at the office.   We were all supposed to fly to Portland that same weekend for a job interview at Intel but had to change plans since Mike wanted to go to the meet & greet as well.  Mike still flew to Portland and interviewed but took the red-eye to Dallas, so he could enjoy the fun-filled weekend that McKinsey had arranged for their offerees.  My original flight to Portland had a layover in Salt Lake City, so I just changed my ticket so the kids and I could go see my parents in Park City while Mike was in Dallas.

It ended up being a great decision for a lot of reasons, one being that I got a 24-hour stomach bug; thankfully my parents were able to watch Noah and Amelia.  I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been by myself in Menlo Park while being that sick.  Noah had a great time because his cousin, Kai (my brother Jared’s son), who is almost 4 got to come over to spend the night.  It snowed 12 inches overnight, so Noah had a blast playing in the snow!

We flew back from Utah on Sunday and met Mike at the airport; we weren’t home a full 24 hours before we repacked up and headed to Orange County to be with Mike’s family for Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful time, since we finally got a chance to celebrate the job offer together and spend some great quality time with his parents and grandma.

Here are the pictures from the last two weeks:

Noah making us desert

Finished product, it was delicious!

View from my parent's back deck.

The kids with Grandma Sandy.

Noah got to ride in Grandpa Ray's 32 Ford Hot Rod and go to a car show.

We went to our friend David Gill's wedding.

Noah at Pretend City in Irvine, CA.

Week of Highs

 Amelia rolled from her back to her tummy!  She has been working at this for the last two weeks and was very excited when she finally made it all the way over.  However, in the process she had temporarily forgotten how to go from her tummy to back… which she wasn’t so thrilled about.  But as of today she was rolling her way around her play area.

Noah had a dream come true this last weekend: he had his first ride in a friends Ferrari.  Mike and I went to his parent teacher conferences and were happy to hear how well he is doing in school!  We got to look at his journal he writes in every Monday about one thing he did over the weekend and his latest journal had a bright red Ferrari with Noah behind the wheel.

Mike also sat in his dream car, a Ferrari F40.  He had a model of this car next to his bed growing up... too bad the battery was dead!

 Some cute photos to share:

Warning: Nudity!

I love Mike for many reasons but one thing I am especially grateful for is his love of cooking.  For those of you who know me well know that the time I enjoy spending in my kitchen is when I bake.  A love of sweets runs deep among the women in my family, and I have inherited some recipes that aren’t only yummy but bring back wonderful memories of my childhood.  However, cooking a big elaborate dinner is Mike’s territory; it’s his stress relief.  

This past weekend, our good friend Chris Hughes came over for a night and Mike made a delicious garlic chicken recipe.  We all agreed that the chicken didn’t “fall” of the bone, it “jumped” off!  We had a fun night that included Chris, Mike and Noah playing the Wii, Mike’s great meal and a fun new card game Chris taught us (a passion for card games also runs deep in the women of my family).

Amelia has enjoyed bath time since her first time in her tub around two weeks old - but today was a whole new experience!  I would fill up a cup of water and would hold it about a foot above her tummy and slowly let the water out.  Boy, did she give a great reaction; she would splash her arms and legs wildly while squealing in delight!  Noah, who often likes to help at her bath time wanted to take a video of her (below).  The three of us had such a fun time, her bath lasted a LOT longer than usual, close to 30 minutes.  It was pure “Mommy Heaven”!

The older she gets the more she “studies” him and wants to interact.  It’s been so special for me to watch the two of them.  Honestly, there is no better feeling as a mother than seeing the two of them smile!

Halloween-by-the-Sea

We spent the weekend in Carmel; my mom was able to fly in and join us, making it even more fun!  The weather ended up being BEAUTIFUL, which was a surprise since rain had been in the forecast.  On Saturday, we were able to be a part of their Halloween parade, which Noah thoroughly enjoyed!  For those of you who’ve been to Carmel, you probably know how much the town loves dogs – we got to see a lot of great dog costumes!  Unfortunately, I forgot Lucy’s costume, but Mike joked that her face is scary enough that she doesn’t need one.
 

 My mom offered to watch the kids one night so Mike and I could go out on a date - two dates in two weeks… unbelievable!  Another thing Carmel is known for is all their great romantic restaurants, so boy was it hard to choose!  

We headed back home Sunday around noon so we could take the kids trick or treating in our neighborhood.  Noah was Boba Fett, a bounty hunter from Star Wars, Amelia was a banana, and Mike and I were monkeys.
 

My mom arrived late Thursday so she was able to go with me to Noah’s kindergarten parade.  His Darth Vader costume still fit from last year, so that’s what he wore.  It was so cute to see how seriously he took his role, which included him alternating between breathing like Darth Vader and humming the music that plays during the movie when there are scenes with Darth Vader.  One of my favorite costumes of the parade was a little girl dressed up like Taylor Swift.  In the video below she’s a few kids behind Noah.

One thing I really love about when my mom visits is that not only does she love going out for breakfast as much as I do; we like the same things so we always order two meals and switch halfway through.  If you’ve never been to Carmel, I highly recommend planning a trip.  It’s so relaxing and there is so much to see in the surrounding area.

A Win-Win

We were thrilled to have Mike’s parents come up for a quick visit!  Not only did it give them a chance to see Noah and Amelia, but they offered to babysit so Mike and I could go on our first date since Amelia was born.  It was so nice to go out and enjoy some great food and wine at one of our favorite spots.  We had a great end to our evening when we went to the local sports bar after dinner to watch the 9^th inning of the Giants game.  It was fun to be somewhere with so much excitement about the Giants moving onto the World Series!

Grandpa Ray was excited because it seems Amelia is a baseball fan (watching the Giants game).

Since starting school, Noah has wanted to add the “Pledge of Allegiance” to his bedtime routine.  It‘s so cute how he enunciates each word; I had to post a video to share.

Last week, Mike had a meeting he couldn’t miss so Amelia got to go to the studio with me and help train her first client.  I couldn’t help myself, so I dressed her up in her own workout gear which included little pink sneakers.  She slept through most of the session but she got a little “core” work in during her tummy time the last ten minutes.

Modeling a cute dress her Nana bought her.

Bouncing Boy & Babbling Baby

We celebrated Noah’s 6^th birthday with his friends and classmates this week at a “bounce house.”  He had such a wonderful time, and I loved it because they took care of everything . . . all I had to do was bring the cake.  I tried to take some good pictures, but as you might imagine, it was hard to get Noah to slow down for more than two seconds.

Some other Noah news, he is SOOO close to losing his first tooth!  We were telling him that once it falls out, he’ll have to put it under his pillow so he can get money from the tooth fairy.  He then said, “I think I’ll need to sleep with my eyes open because I think you guys might take it and give me money.”  He’s growing up so fast!  Earlier this week, he came home from school and asked me if it would be alright if he called me “Mom” instead of “Mommy” at school, because his friends might think it’s silly if he calls me “Mommy.”  He saw that I was having a hard time not being able to hide a bit of a sad face, so he then says that it’s okay because he’ll still call me "Mommy" at home.  

Amelia has been babbling up a storm lately!  We love having “conversations” with her; she is so expressive, just like her brother.  Something tells me she might be as chatty as he is!  

 

Lucy and I have been having our battles lately…  This week she decided to relieve herself on the new foam mats I bought for Amelia’s play area.  Then she decided to open one of my oatmeal packets and munch on it all over our couches.  She’s also been having a very hard time distinguishing her things from Amelia’s things.  Below is a picture of her curled up in Amelia’s boppy (this is a daily occurrence).  It's a good thing we think she's so adorable!

 Last weekend we went to the Stanford vs. USC game.  It was the first Stanford game we’ve gone to and, man, was it a great game!  For those of you who don’t know, I’m happy to report that Stanford beat USC in a VERY close game!  We’re going to try to make it to a few more sporting events in the time Mike has left at Stanford.

  

Here are a few new Amelia photos I've taken over the last week.

Cause for Celebration!

Mike and I were all to go to Noah’s Kindergarten class when they celebrated his 6^th birthday.  It amazed us to see how shy he was when he was in front of all his classmates as they each gave him a birthday wish when he called on them.  He chose a book to have his teacher read to the class in celebration of his birthday.  He ended up choosing the one we brought in, “I am invited to a Party!”, which is a book in the Elephant & Piggie series by Mo Willems.  For those who haven’t read any of them, they’re adorable!

It was incredibly hot last weekend and our portable A/C can’t handle that much heat (neither can I), so we decided to go to Santa Cruz for a beach day.  It was so great to let Noah play in the water and sand while Mike, Amelia and I relaxed in our portable beach pop-up tent (best $60 I’ve ever spent on Amazon!).  While in the tent, Amelia was having her daily “tummy time” and she surprised us by rolling over!  We weren’t sure if it was because the surface under the tent was sand or if it was the real deal.  When we got home we decided to test it on our floors while having the camera rolling…  it was the real deal!  Now every time I put her on her tummy, she rolls right over and then once on her back she swing her legs side to side to try and get back to her tummy!

The highlight of this weekend was going to our favorite Mexican restaurant called Apatzingan with our friend Jahed, where you better know some Spanish if you want to order.  The food is AMAZING and also surprisingly affordable! Last night was the Stanford vs. Oregon game; it was so much fun to watch even though Stanford lost.  We all had on Stanford attire and Noah and I made signs to hold up while we cheered them on from our living room.  He loves when we all watch football games because that means he gets to stay up late.  One of my clients gave us tickets to the Stanford vs. USC game next week.  Believe it or not, it will be the first football game we have been to at Stanford, so needless to say we’re very excited!