Spring Break

The first night back from our vacation to Yosemite and Orange County to see Mike’s family we all slept like babies.  It was so nice to be back in my own bed, as much fun as we had the last 10 days, there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed.  

We spent our first four days in Yosemite; I’d never been, so it was on the top of my “to-do list” before leaving California.  It was absolutely amazing!  It’s called the “Land of a Thousand Falls,” and with good reason.  In total, we hiked about 30 miles.  Noah was such a trooper, and I carried Amelia on my back.  Our favorite hike was to upper Yosemite Falls . . . we got so close you could feel the mist from the water on you.  In order to get Amelia to nap in the carrier on my back, we would sing -- by the second day she started to clap along.

The front view from our tent cabin was North Dome, to the side was Half Dome and in the back was Glacier Point.  When they call it a tent cabin, they mean tent cabin!  It was a wood frame with canvas walls; we had two single beds (cots, if you ask me) and a double.  After three nights of sleeping on the “beds” (me with Amelia and Mike and Noah on the singles), I was thankful for a mattress when we got to Mike’s parents’ house. 

Highlights:

 Yosemite Falls

Mirror Lake

Mist Trail and Vernal Falls

El Capitan - See if you can find Noah and I

 

We spent the rest of the week at Mike’s parents’ house and had a great time!  We got to see most all of his extended family, and Noah got to play with three of his cousins.  Mike’s dad, Ray, was able to be home the whole time we were there, which Noah especially enjoyed and Grandpa took him for a ride in his Ford Ranchero that he restored.   

 

 

Noah and Amelia had fun playing in the spa!  Noah would dive for coins and Amelia would splash while lounging in her baby pool floater.  We ended the trip with a wonderful Easter meal with all his family!

Amelia got a baby doll for Easter and was very excited about it!

"More"

I started doing baby sign language with Amelia when she was about six months old, the same time we introduced solid foods.  I mainly do a few signs that involve her daily routines like eating, bath time and bedtime.  Well, tonight after she had eaten her meal but was still in her high chair, we gave her a few puffs (tiny crackers that dissolve easily), and she did the sign for “more” after she finished the ones on her tray.  It seems like a really little thing, but it was so cool to see her communicate with us in this way!
 

This past weekend we went on a beautiful hike up on the ridge behind our apartment.   From the top, you can see both the Pacifica Ocean and the whole bay.  It was a perfect day for a hike, no clouds and a cool breeze.  We leave for Yosemite this weekend for a few days, so we wanted to get our hiking boots broken in again since we hadn’t gone for a while.  I carried Amelia on my back and, according to Mike, she was all smiles for the whole two hours.   I have to say that one thing I am really going to miss about living here is all the amazing hiking.   After our hike, Mike went and bought a new grill from Home Depot, we didn't think we could make it three-months with out grilling out.  He compensated for our two-hour hike with a gigantic hamburger stuffed with Gorgonzola, it was delicious!

A few weeks ago Amelia started to really get into peek-a-boo. She started putting her blanket over her face when she was in her stroller on a walk and would pull it down once we would say “Where’s Amelia?” Now that’s her favorite game to play in the car with Noah.

Noah is really enjoying T ball and I am so proud of him for hustling and trying his hardest.  It's been fun watching and cheering for him and his team!

Monterey

Mike had another conference this past weekend and this time we were able to tag along.  We stayed at the Hyatt in Monterey since that was where the conference was.  Noah really enjoyed it because they had a pool and an outdoor ping-pong table.  They also had an over-sized chess set which Noah especially loved since there was one in the first Harry Potter movie we just watched.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I had to take all my pictures using my phone…so that’s why the quality isn’t as good.  Amelia is so close to walking, and I was afraid she would take her first steps when I didn’t have my camera to catch it on video. 

Mike was able to spend the first day with us, so we explored Monterey a little then played and laid by the pool.  It was Amelia’s first time in the pool and she LOVED it!  She splashed so hard she kept getting water in her face but didn’t seem to mind.  A friend loaned me her water bjorn and it was so nice to use it because it freed my hand for her to hold.  Noah is just like his Nana (my mom); he can makes friends with ANYONE!  Whether it is a fellow six-year-old, a group of guys on a bachelor party or a 50-year-old woman, he always had a playmate at the pool.

My snuggle bugs!

The next two days it was just the kids and me, but we had lots of fun!  There was a park right next to the hotel called The Dennis the Menace Park and it was AWESOME!  Noah and I agreed it was the coolest park we’ve ever been to!  Surrounding the park was a lake with bridges where you could rent bicycle boats.  We did a lot walking along the coastal trails both in Monterey and Carmel.  Thanks to yelp.com (reviews from customers), every meal we had was awesome!

 

Go Yankees!

Noah had his first T ball game last night; it was so fun to watch the kids play.  When he got dressed in his uniform, I told him how adorable he looked and he said, “ADORABLE!  What do you MEAN adorable!?”  I instantly put on a tough voice and said I meant he looked like a real baseball player.

Unfortunately, Mike had to be out of town, but I was texting him throughout the game to let him know what was happening.  In one text I wrote him that Noah scored a point, to which Mike replied, “A run.”  I guess I have as much to learn as the six-year-olds on Noah’s team!

Even though Mike was away at a conference and we missed him, Noah, Amelia and I had a great time together!  I recently finished reading the first Harry Potter book to Noah, so we had a movie night and watched the movie.  Much of the weekend was spent reading the second book.  I was so happy when Noah said that the book was better than the movie . . . maybe he will love to read books as much as his mom does.  At the end of the night, he told me that his day was better than going to Disneyland!

Amelia went to story time at the library for the first time and had such a blast.  She loved the singing and clapping but most of all wanted to go and socialize with the other babies.  Last week she started standing on her own -- she’s up to about 30 seconds before she gets too excited and falls on her bottom.  I daresay, walking isn’t too far away…

Next week Amelia starts a water-babies class, hopefully she'll enjoy that as much as bath time!

Wine Country

My parents flew into town to visit and we all went up to Napa for the weekend.  Even though it rained most of the time, we had so much fun!

My good friend Megan and her fiancé, Carlo, were in Napa as well and they offered to watch the kids so that Mike and I and my parents could go wine tasting.  It was such an enjoyable experience – I can’t imagine doing that with a baby and a six-year-old.  In total, we visited Napa, Sonoma and five wineries spread along the countryside and tasted some really great wines.  I think our favorite winery was Sebastiani in Sonoma. 

On Friday before leaving for Napa, my mom, Amelia and I went up to San Francisco for a “girls’ day”! We ate breakfast at my new favorite breakfast restaurant called “Mama’s” and had some successful shopping in the huge mall in Union Square.  My best find was an adorable swimsuit for Amelia on sale from Janie and Jack.

Noah started T ball this past week but, due to all the rain, two practices and the opening ceremony have been postponed . . . they were able to have at least one practice, which was a very good thing, because most of the boys hadn’t ran bases before (Noah included). 

I can now check off one of the items on my list of things to do before leaving the bay area and it was nice to experience it with my parents!

All for One and One for All

It’s never fun being sick, especially when both parents are sick at the same time, as well as both kiddos.  Luckily, Noah started feeling better and was able to go back to school,  but Mike and I stayed in bed with Amelia for a couple days.  I am happy to say we are now all feeling well again!

Noah left these on my nightstand for me since I was sick.

Once Noah started feeling better,  he would sing to Amelia in the morning so that she would be happy in her crib longer to let us sleep a little more.  They played/sang for over an hour two mornings in a row . . .  he was my hero!

Amelia is entering yet another stage.  We came into her room after naptime and found her STANDING in her crib holding on to the rail and smiling at us!  That little one doesn’t like to stay one place for too long!  To keep her occupied while I cook dinner, I’ve found that she loves to suck on carrots.

Noah had to dress up as one of his favorite characters from a book for school.  He chose Jack from the Magic Tree House series.  For those of you who are familiar with the books, I thought he really did resemble Jack!  Noah’s favorite thing continues to be building with Legos – this past week he made slippers out of Legos that he could actually walk around in.

Brotherly Love

Is this what it means when the older child can revert back to acting younger than their age when there’s a new baby?  In all seriousness, this was a pretty funny sight…which Noah had planned, knowing it would get a good reaction.  He constantly impresses me with what a great a brother he is to Amelia.  Lately, he’s taken to reading to her each afternoon.  He says he likes it because she laughs at all his jokes!

Mike’s parents came up for a quick visit last week.  It’s always great to see them!  Nancy made amazing homemade lasagna . . . and I always love getting a night off from cooking.  They brought up a high chair that one of their neighbors had given us over Thanksgiving that we couldn’t squeeze in our car at the time.  It is so nice to feed Amelia in the high chair rather than in her pink bumbo, which her legs are getting too chubby!

Amelia’s two bottom teeth have FINALLY appeared!  Since the beginning of the week, she’s been making all sorts of interesting faces . . . but there’s one in particular that she makes a lot and is especially ridiculous!

I recently gave her sweet potato puffs for the first time.  She tries to grab them all in her hands at once and then tries to get at least one in her mouth -- but because she doesn’t yet know how to open her fists, she just ends up sucking on her fists.  She’s gotten a lot more coordinated in the last week and getting at least some of them in her mouth.  It’s amazing to observe that if you give babies room to explore and figure it out on their own, how quickly they can learn and how much it pleases them.