'Hoppy' Easter!

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!!

Since we were headed to Bakersfield for the break, Suri received her Easter basket early, so that she could watch her special movie, 'Hop', on the ride up. Her Easter basket was nothing extravagant, but we wanted to make it special, so it included: stickers, coloring books, a bath book, a board book, bath crayons (which she's in love with!), a Cabbage Patch kids lamb doll, the movie 'Hop', and a felt rose (the dollar section @ Target is great for little gifts)! 

Suri also received lots of special Easter gifts in the mail from her Great Auntie Pat, Gramma Denise & Grampa Rich and Grandma Anne & Grandpa Kevin. Auntie Pat sent her an adorable Peter Rabbit feeding set, matching Peter Rabbit cupcake decorating kit, pretty new shoes, a bunny headband and two adorable Easter inspired outfits! Gramma Denise & Grampa Rich sent a box filled with pretty headbands, adorable plaid shorts with a t-shirt that read, 'Pugs n Kisses', and some real cute sunglasses! Then a few days ago, she received her Easter gift from Grandma Anne and Grandpa Kevin, which is a huge toy chest to hold all her toys! It's so much nicer to have than all the toys scattered across the living room floor :) So thank you to everyone for helping Suri have a special 

Easter!

In Bakersfield, on Friday evening, we had a special family dinner and then the kids got to have an Easter egg hunt! It was Suri's very first, so she was a bit unsure of what to do, but she seemed to have fun & liked to open the eggs to see what was inside! Nana & Papa bought her a cute little Easter bucket to hold all her candy! She had such a fun time playing with her cousins, the dogs and all her Aunts and Uncles! The whole family gathered outside to watch the kids play together and also engage in some games of corn-hole! 

 

Saturday, we attended an evening Easter service with Mom & Dad and sister, Ashley. Suri got all dressed up in her pretty Easter outfit, and we left her in the nursery for the first time ever! It was such an awkward feeling, but good for all of us to experience, and the people said she did pretty good. After the service, we went to dinner at BJ's, where Suri had lots of fun bouncing on everyone's lap cause the girl just can't sit still for a second! lol.  

  

Then on Sunday, we went to brunch with Mom & Dad, Adam, Helen & baby Meredith.We ate at Don Perico's, where they make super delicious omelets that are smothered in butter! From there, we headed back to the 'rents house, so Suri could take a nap. After a loooong 2 hour nap, we headed out for one last stop to see Gma B and Seth's cousins, before our looong drive back home to SD. Suri had lots of fun seeing her friends Grace and Reese, and really wanted to get into the pool. It was really great to spend some time with Gma, but we had to get on our way before it got too late. We arrived back home around 7 pm, put Suri to bed and then had the next day to spend some time relaxing at home for Seth's last day of break. 

Seth has the rest of this week & all of next week, then his finals the following week - the weekend off, and then it starts all over again immediately with Summer session. Oh joy. It's going to be quite an interesting summer!

**blogger changed their format so it's difficult to organize at the moment until I get used to things. sorry for the jumble of pictures w/o captions**

Baby Bump!

Baby Bump - Sofia!!

january 27 to february 18 (20 weeks in bathing suit)

february 25 - march 9 (23 weeks)

march 16 - march 30 (26 weeks!)

So here are the only pictures that I have of my bump...they are from my cell phone, so I'm not sure how good the quality will be! And ignore any pics with cellulite or where I look like a BUM! lol. Otherwise, today especially I'm feeling HUGE, at 26 weeks 2 days - only 96 days to go!!! CRAZY! Having some lower back pain :( But my hubby was sweet & let me have a whole day to myself yesterday...which lead to me going shopping & finding a cute new diaper bag :) .... among other things... and having some Starbucks (which wasn't all that great since I was craving a smoothie, oh well!)

Anyway, more updates to come....especially after Easter! Suri has lots of cute new outfits to showcase ;) (thanks to auntie pat)

Love, SC xoxo

p.s. - I should mention the only reason I have so many pics is thanks to Auntie Lynne for always asking for a weekly bump pic! Thx! <3

Spring Break 2012

For Spring Break, Seth desperately wanted to go camping! We decided to go with our friends, Jared & Krystin and their two children, Chase & Chelsey...and their new puppy Callie!! We headed out to Julian, CA (famous for their apple pies!) and set up camp. Seth bought a new 9-person tent for our family - it was quite spacious - and very cold that night! Neither of us got much sleep, but surprisingly, Suri slept pretty well - even though the poor girl had just been diagnosed with an ear infection. Yes, her first ear infection and it was not pleasant...but more on that in a sec. Our camping trip was nice, but short lived. We had hot dogs for dinner the night we arrived, and I chowed down on some Lays Limon potato chips! lol. Of course had some s'mores (cause what's the point of camping without these yummy treats?) Then we went to bed that night and froze our toes off! Had a space heater that did absolutely NOTHING! So by 5 am, Seth had had it and he ended up getting up and starting a fire. Suri and I slept til about 6:30, then decided to venture out of the tent and join Daddy to explore the snow, pinecones & surprisingly warm 70 degree weather that day! Our plans were to spend a couple nights camping - but after such terrible sleep & having a sick baby - we called it quits and were headed home that day! On our way out, we stopped by 'Mom's Pies,' where we experienced the deliciousness of apple pie & strawberry-rhubarb pie! YUM!

When we returned home, we all hit the sack & took a looooong afternoon nap. Unfortunately, when we woke up, Suri had a temperature of 107 & we had to quickly cool her down with a cold cold bath - (believe me, I got in too - the sacrifices we make for our babies!!) and cold compresses til her temp went down to 102. We kept her on a constant cycle of Tylenol and Ibuprofen for the next couple days to keep her temperature down - and finally after about 2 or 3 days, she was back to normal - then after 10 days she stopped her ear infection medication. It was definitely the scariest moment of our lives & we are so blessed that she pulled through that rough patch & is happy and healthy!

The rest of our Spring break was rather uneventful (thankfully!) and we took some time to just relax. We went to the park and had a picnic and then let Suri play on the swings! She loves to roam around & chase the birds and dogs & be outside! It was a lovely day :)

Seth really really wanted to camp again...so we set up tents in the living room! :)

Then came Sunday night, and Seth was dreading his return to school :( But only 2 more weeks and we will have a little break for Easter! Then only a few more weeks and he's done with the Spring semester (but unfortunately gets no break in-between before summer session starts).

Til next time...

What's been happening?

Well....seems I'm doing a pretty bum job of keeping up with this blog like I had promised. Sorry!

We've had a few things going on, so I'm sure you'd like an update!

Like, well, the fact that we're having another precious baby girl! Yes, indeed, Seth will be surrounded by girls! lol. Estimated due date: July 6th. Her name is: Sofia .... middle name being discussed (narrowed down to two possibilities, finally!). She's been quite active lately - kicking & punching & wiggling! Seth was able to feel her too around the 20 week mark. Right now, I'm 21 weeks 4 days! That means 129 more days to go! Woo-hoo! I'm feeling good though (except for not fitting into my clothes :/) And I've been having fun looking up ideas for decorating the girls' room since they'll be sharing! We'll still stick to browns and pinks, but we're going to attempt to put Suri in a big girl bed! So she'll need a new bedding set ;) I can't wait to get started on the decorating, but I have a little while before we need to start moving/adjusting things. For now, just creating idea boards :) (will have to load ultrasound pics later, printer/scanner is being dumb).

So what's been going on otherwise?

Well, in January, Gramma Denise stopped by for a visit. Suri loves when people come to stay & play with her! We, of course, went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant - Casa Guadalajara - in Old Town and had some yummy food! Mama D and I went to the Antique Mall on Newport Ave, and she found some inspirations for her store! We ventured out on a rainy day to Horton Plaza, where Gramma got lil Suri some cute bracelets of her very own! She's such a girlie girl when it comes to jewelry, but she can definitely rough house with her Daddy. She is definitely gonna be our tomboy! lol. Also, I got Mama D addicted to Pinterest! haha. It's seriously the most addicting thing EVER online!!! We had a great visit & can't wait to see her & the rest of the gang again...hopefully soon!

Suri loved listening to the mariachi band! * deep in conversation * Suri's happy to have Gramma's phone :)

Suri also got to take her first trip to the park to play in the sand & swing on the swings! She LOVED the swings & having Daddy push her! She is quite the adventurer - wanting to climb up the monkey bars & run across the bridge & slide down the slides!

riding a seahorse * in her ice cream outfit * loves the swing!

In February, we were also visited by Nana and Papa C <3. We went out for some yummy grub at Phil's BBQ, Joe's Crab Shack and Lolita's - for some California burritos! Which, if you've never tried, THEY ARE DELICIOUS! Carne asada (or chicken) with FRENCH FRIES & salsa and cheese and sour cream. Besides vegging out, Seth and Papa went for a run, while Nana and I did some pilates at home. We also ventured out to the man store, REI - which, in reality is for everyone, but mainly men gravitate there for hours on end. It was great having Nana and Papa visit & Suri adored having them! Nana became her new best friend & was constantly running to her to be held. Not that I'm jealous or anything :/ haha. We love having them visit & will see them & the whole clan very soon! (Unfortunately, I have no pics from this visit...sorry)

For President's Day weekend, as per the new tradition (kidding!), we went to VEGAS! to see our friends Nick, Shay and Reagan. It was quite a loooooooooong 6/7 hour car ride - thanks to horrible traffic & a fussy baby - but once we arrived things mellowed & we had a great time! Suri was so excited to have another little friend to play with & she and Reag's had lots of fun at the pool! Shay is also prego - and we're about 8 weeks apart - they find out this coming month if it's a boy or girl! Can't wait to hear the news! We did some of the usual sightseeing - the Bellagio fountains were a must, and then we took the girls to the Aquarium at Ceasar's Palace and they loved to watch the fishies. The boys engaged in looong conversations most of the time...lol, but took time to relax as well, since that was the purpose of the vacation for all of us! We had a blast & it was so wonderful to see our besties! (Love you guys! Hopefully we'll see you later this Spring!)

Suri's itty bitty yellow polka dots * the girls * Reag's new suit & hat

the dad's & their girls * our family!

checking out the fish * the girls hanging @ the aquarium

Reag & Sarah * the rest of the crew (Seth, Suri, Nick & Shay)


the Hansen family * Suri watching the fountain show


Suri & Daddy * finale @ the Bellagio fountains

Suri & her buddy Reagan <3

This past weekend, my wonderful hubby took me out to Babies R Us (oh, the things you get excited about when you're a mom/mom-to-be!) to check out some double strollers, car seats, etc. We found a nice double stroller that we want, after testing out some others that were rather ridiculous - 38 lbs w/o kids inside, no thank you! We ran into our friends, Jared & Krystin, who were picking up a jogger & decided to have lunch together the next day. We arrived at their new place & Suri got to play with their little girl, Chelsey & older son, Chase. They had lots of fun in the backyard climbing, kicking balls, and finding macadamia nuts! Which Seth & Jared decided to take on as a new hobby - roasting macadamia nuts! lol. Men. Gotta love 'em. We enjoyed some pizza & watched Mrs. Doubtfire - such a classic. After hanging out for about 3.5 hours, Suri was beat & we headed home to get her fed & into bed.

Suri eating the stand * sword fight!

sweet Chelsey * the daddy's having fun

So things have been pretty good and we're so happy that Seth's spring break is coming up this week. We need another chance to get away! lol. Suri's been dealing with a never ending cold, which leads to not sleeping well - for her & I, which leads to me being tired, a pile of dirty clothes & a sink full of dishes! ha. Welcome to motherhood + pregnancy....