A Much Needed Family Vacation

So, our family of 4 went on our first vacation together.  We went to Santa Barbara which was a perfect get-away since it was only 1 1/2 hours away.  And not to mention it is beautiful there and there are some fun places to eat (the eating is VERY important if you know my husband...:) ).  We had such a relaxing time together.  Our hotel room was nice because it had a large bathroom with a nitch where the iron board went - just the perfect size for a pack n play.  Yay!  So, Julia was able to sleep much better than our last vacation since there was a wall that separated her from us.  She still had a little trouble falling asleep at night and we had to turn off all the lights and lay quietly for awhile until we heard her breathing deeply.  Nevertheless, we were able to watch t.v. once she was asleep - which is a big treat for us since we don't have t.v. at home.  :)  Caleb did well because he's still at the point where he can sleep well even with lights or noise.  So, we didn't come back exhausted.  Instead, we came back refreshed and with fun memories of our time together.

We went to the Santa Barbara Zoo.  It was the first time Julia has been to the zoo, so it was fun to experience that with her. 

Julia looking at the "el-phants"

 

We thought Julia would be too scared to feed the giraffes, but here she is with "salad" (that's what she calls it - it was lettuce) in her hand feeding the giraffe!

Way to go, Julia!

 

The four of us

 

Our boy slept through much of the zoo.

 

 

One time when I was feeding Caleb, Ethan walked with Julia over to the beach.  Evidently, Julia didn't like how loud the water was.  For the next few days she kept talking about it saying that the water was loud. Tonight at dinner we asked her about it and I wrote down her response - "Muh beach (she says "muh" before many words...).  Muh sand.  Muh waves.  Muh water crashing.  Muh loud.  Bye Bye water crashing.  Muh bye bye beach.  Muh bye bye sand.  Muh bye bye birds." 

 

I love my girl!

 

He's so loveable!

 

Love him.

 

My favorite breakfast place

 

Another awesome breakfast place - and Julia got to sit in a big chair instead of a high chair which I think she really enjoyed because she felt like a "big girl."

 

Our two kiddos in the pjs

 

Awwww

 

Julia loves holding her little brother... but as you can see, the feeling is not always mutual.

 

The shirt says it correctly - "World's best little Brother."

 

Daddy and his two kids

 

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My friend (from college and church) Erica and her family recently bought a house in our neighborhood down the street - literally walking distance from our house!  It is so cool to have them as our neighbors, especially because she has a daughter Julia's age and a son who's 1 and another on the way.  We try to get together often and our girls love each other.  It's so cute to see the girls together because they act pretty silly together.

 

Kenzie and Julia eating fish crackers at the park - I love their faces!  (I tried to get a good picture but it was impossible to get them to both smile or even both look at the camera at the same time.)

 

Baby James - he just turned one.  Such a sweet guy!

 

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Our little guys is 12 weeks!

 

He has surprised us with how strong his legs are (I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I felt his strong legs kicking constantly in the womb, and oh boy, did he kick me hard!).  The other day I left him downstairs on the carpet under a mobile while I went upstairs to put Julia down for her nap.  I heard him crying, but left him thinking he was just upset because he wanted to be held.  Well, he had inched himself over 6 feet across the room and into a corner where his head was up against the wall!  No wonder he was crying.  Yikes!  I didn't know 2 month old babies could actually move like that...  He pushes himself across the room using his legs.  So, I've learned my lesson and I now leave him in a safe place such as a swing or in his pack n play if I have to go upstairs without him...  Today I left him in his pack n play with the mobile.  He was pretty quiet while I was upstairs putting Julia down for her nap.  Well, I came down and this picture below is what I saw - he had fallen asleep.  So cute.  :)

 

 

 

Yesterday I swaddled him for his nap and put him in the pack n play. After a few minutes I noticed his cry was a little muffled so I went to check on him to see if his blanket had gone up over his face. Well, he had actually flipped himself over onto his tummy!  This guy is strong...   

 

and he is so sweet!



always sticking out his tongue

 

 

and always sucking on his fist

and we're constantly giving him kisses (who could blame us?)

Julia gives him plently of kisses, too!

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And our girl is growing up so fast, too.  She is 22 months, almost 23.  She talks so much now.  For the most part we can understand her but sometimes she rambles in jibberish that only she understands.  :) 

 

 

She loves her teddy bear and carries it with her around the house.  She often will swaddle it and put it in the pack n play, or put it face down on the carpet for "tummy time" or put him in the swing.  Super cute.

 

 

Again, she loves her teddy bear and here she is holding it along with a cute elephant someone gave her in Santa Barbara.  She walks around the house saying, "Julia carry bofe (both)."