Avila Beach

We went to Avila Beach recently.  We stayed 2 nights in a hotel that had a separate bedroom.  SCORE!  It was awesome for us to be able to let the kids nap or to put them down at night, close the door, and then RELAX!  In the past, we would have to put the kids down, turn off all the lights, and lay on our beds completely still and silent until they fell asleep.  Then, we would try to turn on the tv but then the light or sound from the tv would often wake up one of them... Not very relaxing.  So, this was fun for Ethan and me and we're convinced it's the only way to travel now.  :)

On our way!

 



 Our hotel was across from the beach so everytime we stepped out we could hear the ocean. 

 

 

 

 This time Julia was so brave. She was willing to play in the sand and even let daddy carry her close to the "crashing waves" (which she was very scared of last time we went to Santa Barbara). 

Caleb sat on the blanket for a little while.  But it wasn't long before his curiosity got the better of him and he crawled over to the sand to check it out.

 

 

Yummy!

 



 Yup.  My son was eating sand.  I know this is probably pretty common, but it did take some self-control not to stop him because it sure grossed me out.  :)  I had to tell myself, "Let him be a boy!" 

 

 

And this is a comparison shot of me as a baby/Caleb.  Pretty funny!

  

I love this girl.

 

As you know, our vacations always revolve around fun places to eat.  This was an Italian restaurant we went to on our first night.

 

This was Caleb's first time in a restaurant high chair.  He did a great job!

 

 

Yummy ice cream.

 

Caleb would fall asleep almost instantly in the car.

 

Caleb is starting to pull up on things.

 

Yup, he loves climbing!

 

My girl, waiting patiently and watching t.v. as we got ready to head out for another food adventure.

 

Caleb and me across the street from our hotel

 

Julia and me

 

 At the ice cream shop again.  The picture captures the hyperness of our daughter as she got her sugar buzz!  :)

 

 

Another great breakfast place

On our last day, someone recommended a place to us called, "Avila Valley Barn."  This was the highlight of our trip.  Julia had so much fun.

Julia, checking out the horses off near the fields.

 

 

Julia was so excited about petting all the animals.  This was one of the goats.
 

Julia also enjoyed feeding the animals.  This was a llama.

 

Julia feeding another goat.  She also fed the pigs, emus, and sheep.

 

Caleb just chilled and sucked on his toes.  :)

 

There was a free hay ride so we enjoyed that as a family.

 

Julia, exhausted and sleeping on the way back home (peace and quiet for mommy and daddy, ha!)

Easter is Around the Corner

I took some pictures of my kids in their Easter outfits. 

 

Caleb was so distracted by the bow on his sister's shoes.  :)

 

 

Every girl has to twirl around in a dress...

 

We bought this dress at Target.  There was a pink one and blue one.  I asked her which color she liked better and she said, "blue" and then went on to say that it was like a "Cinderella dress."

My handsome little guy

Again, it was hard to get this guy to look at the camera.  Grass is much more interesting!  :)

Gimmee Food!

Here's Caleb trying solids for the first time.  He was very eager.  :)

Since then, he's had oatmeal several more times and loves it.

 Caleb is officially sitting up all by himself now and can do so for a minute or longer!  He still needs to get a little stronger as he topples over and face plants sometimes.  But, he's getting so much stronger.

 EVERYTHING goes in mouth...

 He really likes the exersaucer and here he is standing in it (he just figured out how to stand in it and twist himself around to play with the different toys).

I get to be home with these two kids, every day.  I AM SO BLESSED!

6 Months Old

Our little guy is already 6 months old!  I didn't do a 4 month or 5 month post for Caleb, so here's some pictures of him over the past 2 months. 

15 weeks:

 Ready for church

 We swaddled Caleb for sleeping until he was 4 months old.  But when he started rolling to his tummy to fall asleep, we stopped swaddling him... but realized he would need to wear thicker pajamas - which we didn't have.  So I dug into Julia's tub of clothes and found these pink pajamas.  :)  Even in pink, he still looks 100% boy.  :) 

16 weeks:

 Since then I have bought him more "masculine" pajamas.

17 weeks:

 His hair went through an awkward stage where most of it was falling out except for a clump on top.  It looked like a mohawk.  :)

 He loves sleeping on his tummy with the head in the corner of the pack-n-play.

 Julia loves her little brother... and he LOVES her!  She can make him laugh so hard where I often have to work so hard just to get him to laugh a little.  So cute.  :)

 Caleb chillin' in his stroller at the park

18 weeks:

 Sucking his thumb in his sleep.  He rarely does this (by 3 months Julia already was a thumbsucker). 

19 weeks:

 This was his "4 month" photo shoot that I never got around to posting.  Notice the #4 on the block.

 He loves watching his sister play

 Julia putting a ladybug headband on Caleb

 Julia loves kissing Caleb

I thought this a really cute sleeping position!  Hands folded and legs up.  Usually he sleeps on his tummy.

 His first Thanksgiving!

Caleb wore the same Thanksgiving bodysuit that Julia wore the year before (size 9 months) - only she was 12 months old.  She shirt was a little big on him but it was on her, too!  Ha.  I thought it would be fun to do a comparison picture.  They definitely look like siblings.

20 weeks:

 Someone from our Bible Study gave us this beautiful quilt for Caleb!

 Kristina visited and enjoyed holding Caleb

 This used to happen more often - where I would go upstairs to put Julia down for her nap and come down to find him asleep in the swing.  I thought this time was particularly cute with him holding the toy in his hand.

21 weeks:

 Grandpa holding Caleb

22 weeks:

23 weeks:

 It's almost impossible to keep socks on him!  :)

24 weeks:

Christmas Day

25 weeks:

 

Caleb chillin' in the stroller while Mommy, Daddy, and Julia enjoy a bite to eat/coffee at one of our favorite local coffee shops

 Caleb just graduated to the "Ducky Tub."  This tub he can sit up in all by himself!  It makes bath time easier than his infant bathtub that was so slippery and awkward to fill up.

 I just pulled out the exersaucer from the garage.  He likes it since he prefers to be upright now (he doesn't really like his bouncy seat anymore because he wants to sit up rather than laying back...)

 Caleb can sit up all by himself for short periods of time.  This was the longest time he sat up by himself.  He sat long enough for me to run upstairs and grab the camera in time to take the picture!  Such a big boy!

26 weeks:

 Caleb rolls around the playroom.  He started doing that about 2 weeks ago.  He uses rolling as a form of transportation which I think is super cute because Julia never did this (she would try to inch herself forward and get frustrated).  Today I caught him rolling around the room and then reaching into the toy baskets and pulling out toys.  This was a first for him.  I have never seen him pull toys out the toy baskets.  This is just the beginning of his exploration!  :)

I love this boy so much!!!  Happy 6 months to my sweet little guy.