Hiking!

Yes... you read that right. We went for a little hike this morning. It wasn't too difficult, a level 3 moderate trail. There were some rocks that I thought I might hurt myself severely on, but we made it out with no injuries! We did have to take some precautions however due to the apparently dangerous area we were hiking! First there was the Mountain Lion sign...

Then came the Rattlesnake warning...

And finally, if you happen to stumble across any missiles, DONT PICK THEM UP!

Chris was sure that the stroller would work on the trail. I told him he was out of his mind, so he used the Ergo to wear Charlotte.

She loved being outside and looking around at all the new sights!

Under a cool big tree!

All that activity sure makes you tired! She made it about 20 minutes before passing out!

Yay for Fridays!

This morning Charlotte went to Stroller Strides again. The other day it started out overcast and got sunny shortly after we arrived, so Charlotte was kind of hot, so today I dressed her in layers. Complete with a sun hat. It was not needed. It sprinkled all morning. By sprinkled, I mean a slight mist on and off... no big deal. There were about 26 Mom's this morning... it was crazy! A lot of new moms came too, so there were babies around Charlotte's age and a couple a little younger! 

Chris got home from work early today, as he does most Fridays, and we had Lisa and Joe over for dinner. Charlotte was laughing at Lisa. 
Joli liked playing with Charlotte and her toys, (while watching a movie!) and Charlotte was fascinated by her!
We got ready for bed and Charlotte boycotted bedtime. She would much rather smile at Lisa. 

Yay, I'm up past my bedtime!

Stroller Strides!

This morning we got ready to go to Stroller Strides! It was our second time going! It is nice because it is a great workout and Charlotte and I can do it together! In addition to walking or jogging, there are stops along the way where we do all different exercises! Charlotte was excited to go!

Here she is in her stroller. I took this after because I was doing my best to keep up with the group and stopping to take picture would have made me look really pathetic!
The mom's stay after the class (which is an hour) and go to the coffee shop and get coffee, then sit on the grass and let the kids play while they chat! Charlotte enjoyed this! She is the youngest baby! Hopefully more will join so she can have some friends her age!

Everyone was commenting on her olive colored skin... wondering where it comes from! In addition to Chris, I have to remind everyone that I do have LOTS of Italian in my blood! 

We were gone for 3 hours this morning! Charlotte is pooped and is now napping and I am nursing my poor quads! 

Bubble Bath!

Charlotte had her first bubble bath tonight! She really likes taking a bath when someone is in the tub with her and her whole body is submerged! Ever since we got home we have stuck to a schedule with her, and now she is asleep by 8pm every night! Its like clockwork! So before bed we take a bath, because she is usually crabby and she likes the tub!

"Hey Dad! Look at me!"
This is usually when we know it is time for bed! 

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! Charlotte is obviously not big enough to understand the meaning of Memorial Day, but we dressed her in festive colors to show her love for all the soldiers who have given their lives. This morning we went to breakfast at our favorite spot! Our friends Kim and Dan are in town and they joined us! 
Charlotte with her Daddy. We are both very sad that he goes back to work tomorrow! I guess we can't complain, he has pretty much been off for almost 3 months!
Posing for the camera again!
Yesterday Kim and Dan came over to meet Charlotte! She had just woken up from a nice morning nap and was in a great mood! 

Since they had never been, we took them to Coronado for lunch. We then walked around Hotel Del. 

The boys and the baby!

A new chapter

We said goodbye to our coffee table this morning. It is packed up and stored in the shed. There was just not enough room for Charlotte to play on the floor in the living room without it getting crowded. We are now in the parenting/child stage of our lives! Here is the new living room layout, complete with a swing, bounce seat, bumbo and basket of toys! 

We swore when we started thinking about having kids that our house would never turn into a toy zone, that we wouldn't have swings, and bouncy seats etc. Yup, we were wrong! I think its time to take down the "Welcome Home Charlotte" sign!
Charlotte entertained herself for quite a while this morning with her toy gym thing. She has figured out how to grab on to the ball and put it in her mouth! Yay! 

We have been trying to get reorganized and tidy up the house since we got home. Chris starts real work again on Tuesday. Charlotte went to the pediatrician on Friday and she weighs 11 lbs 6oz! She is taking after Rosie, she is in the 50th percentile for her weight and 95th for her head!!!! 

Charlotte has been sleeping in her Kanoe Hammock since we have been back and there was nothing for her to look at like in her swing, so yesterday I made her a Mobile out of red, white and black ribbons! 

Home again home again.....

We're back in San Diego! Grandma was very very sad to see us go. 

The night before Grandma made dinner for us, her special fried chicken and potatoes, and homemade blue cheese dressing for the salad! Yum! We were sad to leave everyone.
We were especially sad to leave Baylie, since I wont be able to fly with her alone in the summer, she is staying with Grandma and Grandpa! Baylie loves it there because Grandma gives her a treat every morning, toast, half a bagel, cookies...
Mom bought a weighted hula hoop for exercise. Neither her or Chris were very good at it. I was great! Chris was practicing though!

Mom and Chris worked on making a waterfall for her pond over the weekend. Charlotte and I wanted to be outside with them, but Charlotte was very tired... so she slept!
Nothing better than a quiet, sleeping baby!
Kobi and Lucie wanted to play, so I threw the frisbee for them. They like to carry it back together, and then they ended up like this. 
Kobi kept dropping his ball in the pond, then trying to get it out... that was when I decided to get out the frisbee to play.

The finished waterfall! Chris had to help mom move all the big heavy rocks! Doesn't it look pretty!

The first night of goodbyes

Today was Jim's birthday! We went over for dinner to celebrate! Amy got her girls matching dresses, and got Charlotte one too! Poor Molly was not happy about the bows on the dress, but was such a good sport about wearing it for a picture! Of course with a toddler and two babies it was very hard to get everyone to look and smile at the same time! Here is the best shot! Clearly as much as Charlotte may want to fit in to the crazy family, she will have to lighten up her skin tone a bit and get some blonde hair before we can pull it off!

Charlotte was kind of crabby and slept in her Moby wrap most of dinner, but decided to make an appearance for desert. Molly scooped her up and Charlotte was thrilled!
Jim started to burp Charlotte and she spit up all over him! Happy Birthday!
We hung out for a while and chatted, Amy didn't want us to leave, and it almost became impossible for us to leave when we couldn't find what Amy did with Charlotte's car seat! I swear she was plotting to have us stay! Charlotte was sound asleep all sprawled out in Amy's lap!
We came home and this is what happens when I get over tired!
Tomorrow we say goodbye to the Great Grandmas... it will be a sad day! Luckily Charlotte and I will be back this summer!

The Great Camping Adventure

Chris, Jim and Rory went camping last night. They set off in the afternoon to go up to Lake George. There is a group of islands that are state owned, and you can camp on them! Most require a 3 night minimum stay, but if you go the day you want to stay, sometimes you can get a campsite just for the night. So they did just that. The islands are accessable by boat only, obviously. This required them to rent a canoe! When they got to the canoe rental place, they told the lady they wished to rent a canoe, to which she replied, "Sure, for when?". They told her they wanted it immediately to canoe to the islands, which is about a 3 mile canoe trip. She told them they were crazy and asked if they had seen the weather forecast (thunderstorms and rain). They told her they would be fine and after persuading Rory to get in the canoe (the bag of Fritos helped I'm sure!) they set off for the island. 

First they had to find the main island to check in. There were only about 5 other groups of campers so they got their pick of islands. Here it is! They had the whole island to themselves!

Amy was so nice and bought the boys tons of junk food for the trip. This included a bottle of grape soda, which Jim and Chris challenged Rory to consume. They went fishing and caught 3 fish but decided to stick to eating their hot dogs for dinner! 

When they went to return the canoe today, the lady confessed to them that she was so worried that she sent her son to follow them in his boat to make sure they got to the island before the storm hit. Her son reported back that they had just made it to the island when he started to see 4 foot swells. They had lots of fun despite the weather! I don't think Rory will forget his first camping trip!

Girl time!

Today Chris left to go camping overnight with Jim and Rory. We were suppose to get thunderstorms and rain today/this evening so we were all a little worried for them. In the meantime, I took Molly to go see Hannah Montana, then we picked up pizza and went back up to Amy's for dinner. Mom picked up Charlotte from Great Gram's and brought her up too. Molly loved holding her. 
Partway through dinner the phone rang and it was Jim calling to give an update. Part of the fun of the camping trip was that they were going to rent a canoe and canoe to an island to camp. They made it, even though it took some convincing to get Rory in the canoe!  The poor guys were bombarded with questions as soon as they called. They have their own island to themselves. It started pouring tonight, but they still had a fire going. Chris sent a picture with his phone!

Molly is great with babies... she has three younger siblings! She held Charlotte and sang to her and she went right to sleep! They also share a birthday! 

And just for the record... Grandma, you put on Charlotte's pants backwards!