We've Gone Mobile!

I hope each of you are enjoying your summer so far. I have a feeling that Jason and I are going to spend a lot of our summer chasing after this sweet little girl. It's been just a week since those first wobbly moves, and she is crawling all over the place today! Now if she wants to get to something or someone, she just goes for it!

E's First Easter

I realize that Easter was in April so this post may seem irrelevant, but I wanted to include it because we made some great memories as a family.

View From Our Trailer

Some of you may know that we do an annual trip to the desert with our friends A and P for Easter every year. Last year I was pregnant and baby J was only a few months old. Our third annual trip included a few more families and BABY E! It is really fun to see this trip evolve each year. I wonder what this trip will look like in five years.

Happy Little Camper!

We didn't have the greatest weather for this trip, but you never know what you're gonna get when it comes to camping in the desert. A and I had been checking and rechecking the weather forecast throughout the week and were pretty excited to see temperatures of 85 degrees and up in our future. Here I am packing tank tops and shorts to work on my tan, and it ends up being the windiest trip we have taken. All of the wind killed any chance of enjoying the weather. E and I ended up camping out in the trailer for most of the weekend.

All in all, it was a great trip. I was able to spend some time with great friends and get to know some new friends. The guys went on some great rides, and as always, we devoured some amazing food. I mean, what's camping without the food, right?

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Wow Mama! The Easter Bunny Found Us in the Desert?!

Digging Into Her First Easter Basket

Jumpy Jumper

Sadie Doing What She Does Best

Jersey on Her Perch

H and I at Camp

Eight is Gonna Be Great!

Today, June 11th,  my sweet, sweet girl is eight months old! I am so excited because I know this summer is going to bring a ton of fun changes for her - crawling, talking and walking! We might be doomed with all this mobility, but we are going to have fun while we're at it!

E has been really busy this month:

She took her first face-first dive in the bathtub, but wasn't the least bit upset.

She rolled from her back to her belly.

She spent her first night in a hotel in Sacramento the night before Aunt S graduated from college.

She attended (and behaved) at college graduation ceremonies for Aunt S and Uncle T.

She ate dinner in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time.

She fits into six month clothes.

She started rolling onto her stomach and side while sleeping.

She took her first family vacation to the Colorado River, outside of Laughlin, Nev.

She took her first boat ride, I think she liked it, but she definitely HATED the life jacket.

She cut her first tooth.

You love being held, but are also very comfortable playing independently.

Most miraculous of all, she took her first wobbly crawling 'steps' on Skype with Nana and Grandpa. I still can't get over the fact that they witnessed such a thrilling moment with us! It was second best to having them in the living room with us.

We are loving E more and more everyday. J commented the other day how much he loves seeing her personality develop. She is still the happiest baby on the planet, smiling all the time. But she is developing a sense of humor and a profound sense of curiosity, which means we have to be one step ahead as she becomes more mobile.

Holy Seven Months!!

I can hardly believe that E is already seven months old! When I talk to other parents, each of them says 'Oh that was my favorite age!' for just about every month that E goes through. I can honestly say that I have loved every stage so far. Of course there have been hard days, but a single sweet smile makes you forget all the gas, teething, waking up, carrot bubbles at the dinner table and super poops.

Baby E, at 7 months you:

Are eating all of your solid food meals in a highchair and get very excited when we buckle you in because you know food is on its way!

You started eating breakfast every day.

You have been on your first camping trip to the desert in Ridgecrest, Calif. for Easter with four other families.

You can sit up on your own for extended periods of time and have started to play on your own.

You are practicing your pincer grip and are able to feed yourself some foods.

You moved from your sweet little baby tub to the regular bathtub. I think you kind of love it! Even when you face plant in the water trying to grab the drain because little girls love sparkly things.

You started taking naps in a crib at daycare after a two month stint in a swing.

You have moved up to wearing 3-6 month clothes. It was a little sad packing up all your 3 month clothes, but I know there will be plenty more cute ensembles to come.

You took your first trip to the zoo on Mother's Day.

First Dinner at the Table

Another highlight this month was her first dip in the hot tub. Here is a video that confirms that my daughter is developing into a fish.

I am looking forward to what this next month will bring. I see mobility in E's near future am hoping to capture some great moments on film.

My Very First Mother's Day Weekend

I am pretty sure that our Mother's Day celebration lasted the entire weekend, and for that I am one lucky Mama!

To honor my very first Mother' Day, J started the celebration early. Anyone that knows Jason probably knows that he has trouble keeping happy secrets. As soon as I walked in the door on Friday afternoon, J took E's carrier out of my arms. I thought he was just going to release her from 'favorite' five-point seating restraint, but they reappeared with a little white box tucked into the carrier with her. J and E were so thoughtful to get me an iPad 2! We have been waiting for the right time to buy one, but I am so glad that we were able to get it before a couple of the long drives we are planning to do in the near future.

After feeding our girl her first breakfast in her highchair, I spent the early part of Saturday taking care of some errands with my little sweetie while her Daddy did some house projects. After all of the running around, J gave me a break so that I could spend the evening with a lovely group of girls celebrating the bridal shower of a great friend. Some of us Mamas may have stayed later that the rest of the guests to avoid interrupting Daddy's bedtime routine (or hearing the line, 'You do such a better job').

Watching the penguins swim and jump!

We woke up to a beautiful day on Sunday, so we headed up to Santa Barbara. After eating a quick breakfast at home to avoid the crazy crowds that were surely infiltrating all of the local breakfast joints, we hopped in the car to start one of my all-time favorite drives: Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara. For anyone that hasn't experienced this pleasurable ride, it is 90 percent oceanfront and absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed a great day at the zoo. It was fascinating to watch E check out all of the animals, sounds and smells at the zoo. I know that trips to the zoo will be more and more fun as she grows and her level of comprehension expands.

As the daughter of a fierce and resilient mother, I have had every reason to celebrate Mother's Day. But this year different. I have a beautiful daughter that allows me be part of this celebrated day. I love being a mom more than I could have imagined, and not just because I have the cutest girl in the world, but because I get to nurture that little life and have an amazing partner in J. We try not to take ourselves too seriously, laugh at the mistakes and remember that we can only try to do our best by E every day. Plus at this age she won't remember if we screw up anyway.

Happy Half-Birthday Little E!

Today, April 11th, my sweet baby girl is six months old! I can hardly believe how quickly this time has gone by and all of the things she has accomplished during this phase! I can't wait to see what the next six months will hold. I would be lying if I said I haven't already started brainstorming birthday party themes!

Baby E at six months you:

You weigh in at 12 lbs. 11 oz. - 24th percentile for your age.
You are 26 inches long - 60th percentile for 6 months old.

Continue to be a chatterbox, your sweet voice can be heard throughout the house and you are becoming more vocal with people besides your Mama and Daddy.

You sleep 10-12 hours each night when teething doesn't get in the way.

You STILL fit into 3 month-size clothes, except for pajamas.
You are purposefully blowing bubbles, sometimes even with food in your mouth.
You started sitting up frog-style, and can now sit for a short time unsupported normally.
You had your first non-family babysitter so Mama and Daddy could go on a dinner date.
You have finally graduated to Size 2 diapers
You love playing in your jumperoo and have recently figured out the effects of stomping your feet on the ground.
You ate your first meal in your highchair at the table with Mama and Daddy, you were very pleased with yourself.

Fun with Avocado

We love watching E grow. She is constantly interested in the world around her. I love the sweet moments when she gently lays her hand on my face. And her Daddy longs for a moment of calm in her very alert state, when she snuggles him or is content laying on his chest.

We have a very busy month ahead and are looking forward to exploring with our sweet six-month old beauty.

Very Sleepy After a Long Day

Underwood Family Farms

In an effort to keep Family Fun Day going, we took E to Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark after running some errands last Saturday.

If you are in the area and have kids, it is a great place to take them. UFF operates a pumpkin patch in the fall, but have great activities year-round. There are lots of farm animals for the kids to see and feed. They have a small petting zoo where kids can help groom the animals and an animal show a few times a day during the weekends. They offer wagon rides around the agricultural fields, where you can actually pick your own produce. Admission is $5 per adult, $3 for kids over 2, and free for kids under 2.

I think E enjoyed seeing all of the animals. I especially like the little baby goats that were smaller than our dogs.

One sheep in particular made loud noises when we approached her pen. E wasn't sure at first, but seemed very interested once she realized the sheep was not going to harm her.

Each pen has PVC pipe attached that is a vehicle for feeding the animals carrots or feed. Some of the animals understand the system so well that as soon as you approach, they begin banging their hooves on the pipe. It's funny and sad at the same time.

I am glad that the sun came out for a couple so we could enjoy this experience with Little E. We will definitely  be heading back to Underwood Family Farms as E gets older, if for nothing else than the delicious strawberries we picked up at the produce stand.