Pismo Day 3

Day 3, Friday, we planned on leaving by noon. We had to check out of our hotel anyway, and neither of us love driving in the dark (and also wanted to avoid LA Friday rush hour traffic). So around 10:30am we went over to my parent's hotel room to start saying goodbye and of course Miss Mila fell asleep for her morning nap (she loves her morning naps...her afternoon naps are a different story). We gently put her in her stroller inside the room and went to hang outside with everyone. My dad asked how long she'd sleep for and we said hopefully an hour. My parents knew we wanted to grab clam chowder (in a bread bowl of course) at Splash Cafe before hitting the road, so they offered to watch her while we went. We were so excited! Even though it was only 11am, there was already a line around the corner. Splash is a Pismo must! The line went quick, we found a teeny high-top table at the back of the restaurant, and when we took our first bite, we were so happy. Greg gave it a 9 out of 10; said it was probably the best clam chowder he's ever had. I agreed. We'd both had it before, but maybe it was the freedom of being on a date...or scraping the insides of the bread bowl...or being nice and hungry...or the anticipation leading up to it....Who knows but we were in heaven.

After returning from our 11am clam chowder date, we were so pleased and so surprised to see Mila still asleep in her stroller! So we joined the crowd outside; some of the family was watching from atop the cliff as my cousins Gregory & Samantha surfed down below!

Goodbye Pismo! Goodbye Kon Tiki! Goodbye loving family!!

On our way home we stopped just before Carpinteria, at 'Santa Claus Lane' to grab cookies and juice at a little cafe. We found a beach entrance and figured, since our feet didn't even touch the sand in Pismo (lame, I know) we should take Mila to the ocean. Well, she wasn't really feeling it. Oh well. Next year she'll be all over it!

And now, back to reality......

Our first vacation as a family was a big success. I'm glad we got out of town, but didn't travel too far. I'm very glad we got some quality time in with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma. I'm grateful that Mila slept so well in our hotel room. The cool ocean air felt so good. The happy hours were so fun. It's going to be hard to wait an entire year to do it again.

Pismo Day 2

"Good morning Dad, whatcha doin?"

The view from the pier, mid-morning visit to town

My mom & aunt Jeanne admiring Mila inside our fave Pancho's surf shop

Afternoon nap back at the hotel

Me & my sweetie pie! On our balcony. The sparkling water couldn't have been prettier....A rare moment of sunshine

These two take some pretty cute photos together

The highlight of our trip: wine tasting! On Thursday afternoon, my aunt Jeanne joined Greg and I on an excursion to the Edna Valley, and my mom and cousin Faith followed suit (and watched Mila outside while we sampled inside).

We tasted five delicious wines at Baileyana; a converted school house. It was super cute! Greg and I were reminded of our honeymoon which was full of wine-tasting all along the coast. A favorite past-time! ;) I have to limit myself because I'm nursing (and have a little one to take care of!) but I still thoroughly enjoyed the entire outing.

Perhaps she doesn't know how she feels about grass yet...

We stopped at a 2nd winery; Edna Valley. This was a 'demonstration' section, where you got to pull grapes off the vine and try them. Fun! I didn't try any wine at this stop, but it was so beautiful!!

We returned to Pismo just in time for 'Happy Hour.' Aunt Jeanne and Greg treated the crowd to some bottles they had purchased. This is my new fave photo of my dad & Mila.

Here's my cousin Sam holding a sleepy Mila. Can you believe it was cold enough to have her in pjs, socks, and a fleece sleep sack?? I so want to be back there right now!!

Lastly, my beautiful Grandma Peggy and I!!

Pismo Day 1

On Weds, 8/1, Mila went on her first vacay.

My mom's side of the family reunites in Pismo Beach every year. Everyone stays in the same hotel and enjoys day-trips, or afternoons spent by the pool, and then all come together around 'happy hour' for drinks and munchies at a particular hotel room. Chairs gather 'round the lawn area which drops to a cliff that descends to the sand, where the ocean awaits. While enjoying happy hour, we get to watch the surfers, dolphins, whales, and sun bathers. It's always a fun, relaxing time.

We broke the (3.5 hour) drive up by meeting my parents in Buellton for lunch. My parents are always not only excited to see the little lady, but also very eager to help us by offering to hold or entertain her so we can have a little break. There's my dad doing so .

This photo cracks me up. She looks so tiny!

After lunch there was only a 45 minute drive to our hotel. The minute you turn the bend and reach Pismo off the 101, you're engulfed in fog and a chilly breeze. (Sounds so nice as I type this from work in 95+ heat).

Above is a photo of the view from our hotel room. We paid a little extra to have the ocean view. We weren't able to get a room at the Kon Tiki (where everyone else stays) so we were a couple blocks away. Similar hotel set-up; manicured lawns that reach the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean. So fun to leave our sliding balcony door cracked at night and hear the waves! I swear they helped Mila sleep!

Another shot from our balcony. You can see the tip of the pier on the left.

Miss Mila arrived in appropriate attire. (a shirt that my mom bought for us last year, when I was a couple months pregnant)

Play-time with daddy.

Too, too cute!

"Mom, I could get used to this"

Visiting with family around the jacuzzi. She got to dip her feet in. Large glass panels circle the pool area to keep the ocean breeze in check.

Days 2 & 3 to follow!

5 months!!

This bear seemed so big to me when I started the photo series at month 1! Our baby is getting so big....

Our 5 month old little lady

Mila's best friend is Sophie the Giraffe. She loves chewing on her snout, head, and feet. Sophie squeaks and is nice and chewey for future teething episodes. Mila also loves her Bumbo. I set her in it while I cook or do chores. It's also become a centerpiece on our dining room table; while Greg and I eat dinner, Mila sits right there with us. She likes being able to sit up and look around and feel like she's a part of the action (instead of laying nearby on her activity mat)

Speaking of her activity mat (which used to be Olivia's!) Mila has spent many many moments laying on it and grabbing at the toys that hang down, or more recently, rolling over on it. Recently, Greg had her on it and went to do something in another room and by the time he returned, she had rolled off of it and was halfway under the couch! Silly gir.

Here's a photo of Mila as a sleepy girl, patiently leaning on me while I ate my pizza. Wanting to be right by my side.

Mila has become a thumb-sucker since she was about 4 months old. It's not too frequent, and is mostly when she's tired. I love that yellow onesie on her.

Here's Mila in her crib (she's been sleeping in it every night with great success since June 30th!!!) and I was able to get her to sit up, for a moment. The 'tripod' sit, as I call it, as she had all her weight on her hands. This keeps her from falling forward...but she inevitably does fall to her side! We'll continue to practice.

Mila loves to visit her dad at work. Sometimes he takes her around and lets all his coworkers oogle over her. Other times he's busy, or I ask to leave her put since clearly I end up burying her between all the food. Here's her 'get me out of here!!' photo. I look forward to her being big enough to sit in the designated kid spot up top. Until then, I'll likely continue to try and do the shopping when Greg can stay home with her. It's simply easier for everyone.

And lastly here's a photo of Greg and Mila visiting me at work! She was a bit too distracted for the camera, but certainly looked cute in her polka-dot pants.

Girl, Interuppted

Mila has 3 boyfriends. Don't tell Greg. 

Beau is the oldest. He'll be 1 year old in August, which is soooo hard to believe(!) He loves to reach out for her, grab her hand, and poke her face. She shared her Sophie giraffe with him on the 4th of July. Caroline and I can't wait until they're a bit older and their age difference won't mean a thing. 

Then today, Lucian and Elliot came over to play. I met their moms at prenatal yoga in South Pasadena last Fall. Cassandra and I stayed in touch; Amy stopped going to the class. In March, I started going to the breastfeeding support group at Huntington Hospital. Surprise, Amy & Elliot were there! So happy to see them. I told Cassandra about the class and she started going with Lucian. All 3 of us stopped eventually, and instead Cassandra and I started mommy & me yoga. Surprise again, Amy & Elliot were there! So it seems meant to be that the three of us moms maintain our friendship, especially because our babes are only weeks apart. Mila is the oldest, Elliot is 10ish days younger, followed by Lucian with another 10ish days. They were all born in February! It's been a lot of fun staying in touch. Cassandra and I have bonded over mastitis woes, and today Amy and I bonded over moving our babes to cribs and dealing with suddenly frequent night-wakings. The three of them were very cute on the activity mat. Lucian didn't last long because it was time for his bottle, but Mila and Elliot shared play rings for quite awhile. 

happy baby, sleepy mommy

Here are some recent happy baby photos. The top two are from the 4th of July; a bbq at Ericka's house. I didn't own anything red for Mila or myself to add to our blue and white. 

This last photo was taken today. Last night, Greg put the pink fitted sheet on her crib. I've decided it's finally time to move her to her own room. We'll see if it works out tonight; she's currently sleeping on our bed so I'll need to move her while not waking her. 

I figure it's about time, and there are multiple reasons. First is safety. She can now spin around on her back, so for example she'll start off with her head in one spot and after awhile her head will be where her feet were. No rolling over yet, but tons of turning onto her side. I can't share our bed with her anymore because she'd easily fall off. Next, I figure it's only going to get harder (for her and me) the longer I wait, so I need to bite the bullet and move her now.  Her room is so close yet is going to feel so far!! I told Greg that I'm going to need a sleeping bag for in her room. 

I'm probably trying to do too much at once (I've decided to stop swaddling her, I've let her 'cry it out' a couple times-only for 10 minutes-and I'm trying to soothe her without nursing her (by singing to her and patting her back). This is all in the same week that she's suddenly waking up more often at night, and taking shorter naps. So she's clearly going through a phase (of insomnia if you will) at the same time that I'm trying to perfect everything. They say that at 4 months, their level of alertness has skyrocketed so their ability to sleep suffers; plus they say that as milestones occur, such as rolling over, it affects their sleep too. 

That said, if she ends up in her bassinet tonight instead of her crib, at least I can say that I tried. (Especially because as I'm typing this the cats are playing in her closet and making a ton of noise; how I'm going to deal with that door open at night and her in there asleep while they explore is beyond me)