Oceanside Get-A-Way

A few weeks ago I was talking to my sister Melissa, who is living in San Diego about how Ryan was coming down to Long Beach for a few days. She also said how her husband was going to be out of town those same few days. So I was trying to convince her to come to Utah, when I thought of the genius plan for me to go to California! Since I was pregnant all summer, we did not go anywhere. No vacations, no days off, and we were exhausted from the craziness of the last few months with a new baby and moving. So I used our companion ticket through Delta Skymiles to fly into Long Beach. My Aunt Yvonne let us stay in her beyond beautiful condo right on the beach in Oceanside. It was perfect.

Olivia was an amazing little traveler. I bought a sit-n-stand stroller so I could maneuver her carseat, the baby, our bags and her through the airport. She was a such a trooper. Livy was perfect on the plane. She played with the iPad almost the entire time. Penny was an angel as well, she just slept and hardly made a peep. 

I then had to stand in line for the rental car for at least 30 minutes or so. When I got up there they were out of the full size sedan I had reserved, so she walked me out to a minivan for the same prince instead. She opened the door for me and set the keys on the front seat. I then put in both car seats, both girls, all of the bags and stroller, and when I went to start the car it wouldn't start! It was so hot, and both the girls were crying, so I ran to see why it wasn't starting and to the lady's surprise she had put me in the wrong van. So I then had to move everything over to the van next to us. Grr! So frustrating. But we survived. We hit the rode and both girls slept soundly on the road.  

 We met up with Melissa, Lucy and Liam at the condo. We grabbed some lunch and Melissa had to go teach some piano students and a class at the gym. So Livy, Penny and I took a little nap. Then I met up with my bestie Brittany and Callen at the outlets in Carlsbad. We were there for a while, shopped a bit, snacked a bit, and played a bit. Then Britt got to take me to her beautiful new condo. Livy and Callen played, watched Ariel, and I loved just hanging out with Brittany like old times. Tristan came home and got us some delicious Mexican burritos from a local favorite. It was such a fun afternoon. 

That night the girls took a bath and played together for a couple of hours. They were so excited to tell each other things, play princesses, and tease each other a bit too. I can't get over how funny this picture is of Livy. She really really loves her cousin Lucy. 

The next morning we got up and ready to go to Bates Nut Farm. It was a huge pumpkin patch, and the girls and Liam got to go for a pony ride and play in the petting zoo. They were both a little tired, so we had to fight a few battles, but it was fun! And of course the sweet baby Pen was just as perfect as ever. 

After some lunch and naps, we decided to get some nice warm beach air. So we walked down the to beach, and played on a playground right on the beach. The girls were obsessed with the swings. They kept wanting to get higher and higher. And I loved having some one on one time with this amazing sister of mine. 

 

 

Livy also wanted to, and actually played in the sand and water! We went to Maui in April and she absolutely wanted nothing to do with it the whole time we were there. So I was so happy to see her run around and have fun with Lucy at the beach. She called it the "Beach with waves". 

Brittany and Tristan came up to the condo that night and hung out for a little while, and both of our husbands came home as well. So we got some good rest to gear up for the next day at Disneyland!! Livy was so excited. And we were so excited to take her!

I think one of my favorite memories was when we saw Minnie Mouse right at the entrance. After waiting for our turn, which to Livy seemed like an extremely long time, she ran up to her and gave her the biggest hug. It was the cutest thing. This was definitely a favorite picture of the day. 

Livy couldn't stop talking about Minni and her red dress with white polka dots, her bow and her yellow shoes. She even talked about how she was holding her dress up with one hand. So cute. 

First on the priority list was the see the princesses. So we went to the little house right by the castle, waited in line for about 20 minutes and we were able to have one on one time with Aurora, Ariel and Cinderella. The girls were in absolute heaven. Livy screamed and cried when we walked out and she realized the princesses weren't there anymore. She wanted to go back so badly. She didn't understand why she had to leave, and why she couldn't go back in. 

Then we went to the Dumbo ride, and of course Livy had to get a pink one. Once again she screamed and cried when she realized we had to get off the ride and leave, she just wanted to fun to last forever!! We went and saw Rapunzel, once again in heaven, then went to get some lunch.  Baby Penny was grateful to get out of her car seat for a bit, get fed, and be held for a little while. 

We went over to Adventureland and went on both the Jungle Cruise and the Pirates ride. The girls loved them both, and it was a nice easy ride the baby could come on too so we could all be together. 

We went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, and once again it was a huge hit with both of the girls. Then using the fast passes we grabbed earlier, we switched with Mel and Ryan so we could both go on Space Mountain. It is such a fun ride, it always seems to be closed when we go, so I was so grateful it was open! 

We had talked to Livy about the magical tea cups, and we were all looking forward to them, but then we got there and they are under construction. So we found this pink one our front, and told the girls this was the ride. They both seemed a little disappointed, but still seemed to enjoy it a little bit.  Then we went over and took turns on Splash Mountain. We decided to save this for the end of the day in case we got drenched, but all of us came out okay! It was nice to do a few fun rides and get some adult fun out of it!

It was then time to feed Penny again, the kids were all tired since none of them really had had a nap, so we decided to start heading to the exit. We weren't going to stay for the parade, but we found a spot right at the exit of the park, which was also the beginning of the parade. It worked out perfectly. We were able to see ALL of the princesses in the parade. The girls eyes were so wide, and they were so happy. That's probably what Livy has talked about the most since, was seeing all of the princesses in the parade. 

 

As exhausted as we all were, we were also starving. So we went to the Cheesecake Factory across the street, got seated immediately, and enjoyed sitting down and eating some delicious food. It only took Livy 10 minutes to fall asleep in the car, and slept the whole way home. We must have worn out Penny too because she slept 8 hours that night!! It was so heavenly. We were all so tired, and that full nights sleep was heaven sent. 

 

The next morning, we took it easy for awhile, then the Ryan's went for a run, then Mel and I went for a run. It was my first real run since the baby and it felt amazing. We got dressed and headed down to the beach. Livy, once again loved playing in the water and sand. She had so much fun playing with Ryan. We were there for almost 2 hours, and by then Livy was ready for her nap. We got lucky with perfect weather that morning because it was cloudy all afternoon. 

 

 

That night we went to the outlets again for a little shopping, Ryan was sad he missed out the first time, then we met up with the Perdues at a restaurant called El Torito. It was so yummy. Their chips and salsa were delicious and everyone pretty much cleared their plates. We were kind of in the corner of the restaurant, so we let the kids go wild, and everyone enjoyed themselves. We all went back to the condo to do some caramel apples. I think they all turned out pretty awesome. Thanks to Brittany and Tristan for getting the supplies we were able to carry on the tradition of doing apples every year! 

We had a super early flight, so we had to wake up at 4:30 am, drive an hour to the airport and head home. The girls were pretty good on the airplane, but this time I was so grateful to have Ryan with me! It made everything a whole lot easier. We had the perfect last minute get-a-way. I want to make sure we can do things like this as often as possible so we can strengthen our relationship as a family, create memories and have fun together. It was such a great week. 

2 Months

Our sweet little Penny is already 2 months old. She really has been the best baby. For a couple of weeks now she only wakes up once a night, she eats great, and has the sweetest little smile. She usually sleeps most of the day still, and is almost always fussy between 8 and 11 pm. She loves to be held, and is a huge snuggler. But we are grateful we are finally reaching a most content phase of infancy. She can sit in her bouncer, or swing, or sometimes just laying on a blanket, and can lay there for a while and be happy. It's been so nice to not have to hold her as often, or not have her cry as much. 

At her 2 month appointment she was 10 lbs. 7 oz. and 23 inches long. She is finally starting to get a few more rolls and fill out a bit. I may need to start bringing out the 3-6 month clothes because she is getting too tall for a lot of the onesies. 

Livy has also been the best big sister. She will randomly ask to hold her, or give her a little kiss. And she is such a good helper too when I need her to get something for the baby. Penny is so lucky to have such a great sister. I can't wait for her to get a little older so they can play together. 

She also knows her mama. She will be crying and fussy and it is unusual for some one else to calm her down and get her to stop crying. Ryan, my mom, and sister have all tried, and if she is fussy, she just wants mom. She'll even stop crying within seconds of me holding her, she must know my scent or something. She's such a goof. She doesn't really like the binky, but I use it occasionally at night when she is most fussy and thinks she's hungry. We've had a few episodes or major spit ups. She'll finish eating, and then throw it all up. The doctor just says that it must just be air bubbles because she doesn't seem to be in pain. Penny also has very ridged gums. The pediatrician doesn't know why, but says we'll just have to wait and see what happens!? I have people ask me all of the time if they're teeth. No, come on people, she's two months old. But I sure love those super long eye lashes. Her eyes also are so blue, I am really hoping they stay blue, but they may turn brown like Livy's did. I am so grateful and feel so blessed to have this sweet little baby to call mine. 

Livy's 3rd Birthday

Livy loves birthdays. She loves singing to people, she loves blowing out candles, and she loves opening presents. We have been talking about this birthday for quite a few months now. She said she wanted a "Pink" party. Ryan's parents were returning from Europe, and my mom was in Texas with my sister, so on her actual birthday we just had a little party with our own little family. I was excited to try a rosette frosted cake that I had seen. It was truly so easy! I just bought the 1M tip, and just did a swirl, the tip did all the work. I loved how it turned out, and it was delicious too!

We love this little 3 year old. She is so funny, has so much personality, is always making us laugh, and often making us frustrated, loves pink, loves princesses, loves coloring with her crayons, loves watching princess shows, loves snacking, and is such a curious and smart little girl. She is doing great with preschool, and always looks forward to it. This morning on our way there, I told her she had to be a good girl at preschool, and she said, "Mom, I am always good at preschool", in a very exaggerated tone. 

I wasn't quite sure what to do for a birthday party with her friends, since she wanted a "pink" party and we had just moved down to Provo, away from all of her friends. So I planned a last minute get together. We had everyone come down to Provo to the Jacksons house and we played down in the gym. It was perfect. We let the kids run around, ate some pizza and cupcakes and opened presents. It was the perfect little party. I was sad I didn't get a full group shot! We had the best neighbors and friends. 

That weekend we had Jane Anne and Colby, as well as Rob and Julie and their family in town, so it was perfect for a big family party. So I had a very pink party. I let her pick out some pink flowers. Then we had some Shirley's raspberry rolls, strawberry and raspberry skewers with a marshmallow dip, pink popcorn, pink candy, pink snickerdoodle muffins, pink yogurt and raspberries, pink chocolate dipped strawberries and some pink raspberry water. 

It was a nice relaxing family brunch. We had a great time with all of our family in town. It was the perfect pink party. 

1 Month

This little peanut is already one month old! She is affectionately known as Baby Pen. She went through a phase of eating every 2 hours around the clock. Since this meant I wasn't sleeping any longer than 1 1/2 hours at a time, I decided to take it into my own hands. At the two hour time she would scream and want to eat, but that's when the little bink came in hand and I just held her off for 30 minutes to an hour. After two days, she's on a much better 2 1/2 - 3 hour schedule. She's even had a couple of 4 hour stretches the last few nights!!

Penny has reminded me so much of Olivia. There are several moments when I feel complete deja vu. She has much bigger lips, not quite as much hair, a little cleft in her chin, but has those same big eyes and big cheeks. Pen has the longest fingers, toes, arms and legs. She is so long and thin. But she's slowly getting a little more chunky.

She loves to sleep with her mouth open. She also almost always will turn her head and sleep on her left side. We love this little girl and are so excited to have her in our family.

Livy has been a great big sister. She has been very patient, and she will grab things for me when I need them. The other day we were leaving in the car, and Ryan told Livy, "Be a good girl for mom because Baby pen is probably going to cry a little bit." Then Livy turned to him and said, "Dad...no. She is going to cry a lot!". It was the funniest thing. When the baby does cry, she'll try and give her her binky, or turn off the tv or any music playing because "Baby Pen doesn't like it". I'm so grateful these two girls have each other.

Preschool

Livy started Preschool this year! She is actually a year younger than everyone, because you're supposed to be 3 at the beginning of the school year and she turns 3 in October, but we know the teacher and she knows what a smarty pants Livy is so she let her come early. She has been so excited. She already had her pink Minnie Mouse backpack, but she loved going to the store to buy all of her supplies. She goes twice a week for 2 1/2 hours. She went her first day and didn't even look back. It's been so nice for me too to have a few hours to run errands with only one child! I love watching this little girl grow and learn. We love our little smarty pants.