Kickin' off Summer!

Summer is officially here for our family and we are sooo ready! One of the best things about both Josh and myself being teachers is that we BOTH get 2 1/2 months off! We are so excited to have days at home with Hannah, sleep in, get our boat out on the lake, travel, camp in our new mansion of a tent :), start up "Tuesday games in the park" with friends again, take part in all the fun activities that will lead up to Nicole and Shaun's wedding and so on.... This summer is going to be so much fun with Hannah. Last summer she was this tiny, mellow little baby, who was so easy to travel and camp with & take on the boat. This summer is going to be a whole new adventure! I'm so happy that she's at the walking stage because having a crawler while camping does not sound like my cup of tea! She is so fascinated by everything right now, she loves nature and being in water. She is definitely going to keep us on our toes this summer, however it will be so worth it as we watch her enjoy so many things that she was oblivious to last summer. 

Summer has kicked off to a great start. We had our bi-annual "Girls Dance Party" at the end of May to celebrate the end of school and summer being just around the corner. As usual, all us of girls enjoyed delicious food, tasty drinks and gettin' down on the dance floor! This by far was our coldest dance party yet, however we didn't let that stop us....Ramona just brought out her scarf collection and we kept on dancing. :)

The following weekend we headed to our first A's game of the season with a group of friends. The A's played the Giants and swept them in the series!!! Last year Hannah went to a few games and basically slept through most of every game. This year we weren't quite sure what to expect with her when it came to tailgating before the game and then having to sit through a 3 hour game. I am excited to say that she did really well. Once we got there she played for a bit in the area where we were tailgating and then I was able to put her in her car seat (without driving around) and she fell asleep there while just watching us through the window.  During the game she did really well with sitting on our laps while eating her lunch, clapping when her team did well and surprisingly from time to time was kind of interested in watching the game.

Her excitement during the game was so cute

enjoying some carrots with mom

We traveled to see Josh's dad, Donna,Cassie, AJ and Camryn for the day. It was so fun seeing Hannah and Camryn play together. They are about a year apart and this was the first time that they really seemed close to the same age. Hannah had so much fun coloring with her cousin. They enjoyed tea parties together and playing hide-and-go-seek. We had such a great time catching up and wish

we lived closer!

Kisses from Nana

Motherhood

Being a mom is the most incredible thing. Hannah brings more joy to my life than I ever imagined she possibly could. She constantly amazes me. Her smile lights up a room and her laugh is contagious. My baby girl is growing up so quickly and sometimes I just wish I could hit PAUSE. I love watching her on the monitor as she wakes up. The way she talks to her stuffed animals and hugs her baby doll after giving it kisses, just melts my heart. I love her squeals of excitement when we come in her room to get her up and the way she hugs us so tightly and then immediately starts jabbering, telling us about everything in her room as she points to it. It's moments like these that I want to last forever...I try and cherish each one of them because I know it won't be long before the jabbering turns into actual words and the crib becomes a "big girl" bed.

Mother's Day weekend this year was wonderful. We traveled up to Humboldt to celebrate my sister's birthday and have our traditional Mother's Day at Benbow Inn. Hannah got to spend Saturday with her mom and Auntie. We enjoyed a delicious Mexican lunch at Chapala's, took Hannah to the Discovery Museum and did some shopping in Old Town Eureka and at Target. Josh and Shaun  played Frisbee golf at 4 locations over the course of the day, traveling to Mad River, Humboldt State, Manilla and College of the Redwoods.  Nonne and Nonnie spent their day at home resting to recover from colds. :( That evening we went out to dinner for Nicole's birthday and then met up with some friends in Eureka for a few drinks.

When I went to get Hannah up Mother's Day morning I found a thoughtful card and gift that she had placed just outside her pack n' play for me to find. :) Her card brought tears to my eyes (I have the world's best husband). Along with the card, she got me an ITunes gift card (so I could "get more dancing tunes for her and I", as she put it) an Old Navy gift card (because she and I love to shop) and a new stainless steel water bottle (much needed!). I'm such a lucky mommy. :)

The afternoon at Benbow Inn was so nice and relaxing. We lucked out and got our own private alcove, which was perfect for Hannah to play around in before and after eating. After brunch we walked down to the garden and had fun watching Hannah run around in the grass, giggling with delight. I am so happy we have held on to the tradition of going to Benbow Inn after all these years. The first year my family started going was when my mom was pregnant with me (31 years ago!) I look forward to the many Mother's Days to come.

Discovery Museum with Auntie

My little Pianist

Happy Birthday Sis!

Gorgeous Benbow Inn

Thought she was pretty cute with the flower behind her ear :)

Enjoying relaxing days before our life gets crazy busy

We've really enjoyed the low key, relaxing weekends that  have followed Hannah's first birthday. We've had some gorgeous weather (with a few showers in between). Hannah had her 1 year doctor's appointment the week following her first birthday. She weighed in at 23 lb 11oz and got a healthy report from Dr. Silver. We stopped giving her the bottle just a few days before her first birthday and switched to milk in a sippy cup just at meals. She is doing great without the bottle, didn't seem to phase her much or affect her sleeping habits, however she is very uninterested in milk from a sippy cup at this point. She loves drinking water and chugs it all day long, we're not doing juice yet since she is so content with water. The baby sign language is starting to pay off, she now does "all done, more, eat" and just today did "please" for the first time. :) Sign language has made meal time communication so much better. She can point to what she wants and sign "more" or sign "all done" when she is finished.She continues to be quite the chatterbox and loves jibber-jabbering all day long. She is walking everywhere now and is pretty steady on her feet. She continues to take two 1 1/2-2 hr. naps a day and sleeps 11-12 hrs. a night. Yeah for sleep!!

A few weeks ago Hannah went to the Discovery Museum in Sausalito for the first time with her BFF Kenzie. The girls had such a great time! The museum is so awesome and is wonderful for all ages. I highly recommend it! They had a designated area for under 3, which was perfect for the girls. Everything was just their size and so interactive. I can't wait to take her there again.

This was the best I could do when trying to get a pic of the girls together on the bench :)

(Note their matching BFF shirts)

 Hannah loved climbing on and off the little bench

           Tired girls!

(the weather was sooo beautiful, I love that the Golden Gate is the backdrop of the museum)

Fun afternoon at the park

She thought Nonne was soooo funny with her hat on his head :)

 Was so happy to have a surprise visit from Auntie Cole

                                                                  love my sweet pea

Bowling with mom and her friends....hmmmm which ball should I choose??

I have really tried to enjoy every relaxing moment we've had in April because once May comes our life is crazy busy til mid August! May includes a wedding, a couple weekends out of town, the 4th annual "Girls Dance Party", Michael's 1st birthday party, A's games and Josh traveling to DC with the 8th graders. June is filled with 2 more weddings!, a trip to North Carolina for Matt and Elizabeth's graduations, A's vs. Giants game, camping at Pillsbury, Nicole's bridal shower/Humboldt Bachelorette and a trip to Andrea and Devin's cabin near Lake Almanor. July brings VEGAS!!! for Nicole's bachelorette and boys camping trip for Shaun's bachelor party, shower for baby boy Myers, and family camping trip to Union Valley. In August my sister Nicole and her fiance Shaun get married (we are sooo excited for them!) and Josh and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Phew!....I hope the next 4 months go by sooo slowly.