Beach Day and More

Finally having a weekend to stay home has given me time to share a few more things that have been going on this summer.  I have a few things from before her 7 month birthday that I never got around to.  

As she has become way more interested in her surroundings, the cats in both our house and my parents house have become her favorite friends.  She gets so excited every time she sees one or hears one.  At my parents house, Charlie is super friendly and very good with babies.  He will take her pulling his ears and tail, and will just walk away if he has had enough.  He loves to just be around the baby as well.  If you are holding her on the couch, he will usually lay on your lap as close to the baby as you will allow.  

Here is Kalea trying to get at Charlie a few weekends ago.

 In case you didn't know, we have a busy couple of months ahead of us.  This is due to both my brother and sister getting married within 3 months of each other.  My brother's wedding is first, and his future mother and sister-in-law joined with my mom, sister, and I to throw the bridal shower.  Her sister, Ashley came over for a planning session with her then 2 month old, Joshua.

Kalea, at almost 7 months old, loves looking at babies now.  Here is a great shot of them together.

 His hands are as big as hers!  She was investigating while we were comparing the size of the fingers.

 The last free weekend we had before this one, we took advantage and finally took Kalea to the beach.  We headed over to Carlsbad and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon for a few hours.

Kalea and I

 Touching the ocean for the first time.  It was pretty cold.

 Kalea and Daddy

 A tiring couple hours for our baby, so she took a pretty good nap under our beach umbrella.

 I wanted to throw this picture in here to show what happens if we start story time too late at night.  She was very comfortable in Daddy's arms and went right to sleep.  I think Pat only got through 1 or 2 pages at this point.

 And one more sleeping picture.  This time 3 generations napping together on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Happy weekend every one!

7th month, the many faces of Kalea

Kalea's 7th month stats, done at home:

16.4 pounds

27 inches

She is growing like crazy, seeming to get bigger every day.  Her hair is coming in really quick and she is so close to having a tooth pop through on the bottom.  

Kalea loves our cats, sometimes squealing in delight when she catches a glimpse of one of them near her.  She has started to hold her own bottle part of the time when she is eating.  So far she has enjoyed all of the food we have introduced to her, and really enjoys eating it.  Her favorite seems to be sweet potatoes, but really everything she has enjoyed.

We keep watching her hang out on her belly as it seems like she is so close to crawling.  She gets up on her knees pretty well and can push herself up really well, but never at the same time.  She gets so mad sometimes when she is stuck on her belly since she hasn't quite mastered the concept of rolling from her  belly to her back, though she has done it a few times.

She is still going to work with me on a daily basis, but she now spends most of her time playing in an exercauser, hanging out in a bumbo seat, or napping.  She used to ride around with me a lot in a baby carrier, but that has gotten more difficult as she has gotten bigger and more wakeful.

We still have Kalea sleeping in her cradle in our room, more so because I am not ready yet to have her in another room.  Pretty soon she will be too long to sleep comfortably in it and will have to move to her crib.  She hasn't gotten so big in it that when ever she moves around her weight shifts and makes the cradle rock which wakes her up.  She gets tired sometime around 7:30 to 8:30 at night, and she definitely makes it known that she is ready for bed.  

As she becomes more and more interested in her surroundings, her personality shines through for everyone to enjoy.  It is so fun to watch as she enjoys taking in the world around her.  She especially loves to make it known that she has found her voice in the early morning hours.  She is a morning girl and usually wakes up very happy.

Looking through the pictures I took of her for her 7th month pics, I couldn't believe how many different looks I got out of her.  Please enjoy the wonderful blooming personality of our little love.

Family trip to Napa

The day after Father's Day in Napa, the boys went for a gold outing.  Us girls decided to do some wine tasting on our own.  Our first stop was the winery where my dad bought some special sparkling wine for our wedding toast.  Here is the front of the winery, Domaine Carneros.

My mom and Kalea waiting for us to walk up the stairs (they were dropped off before we parked.

Kalea wanted to gnaw on the glass as we were passing it around.  

A group shot of the girls

We had a wonderful picnic lunch later that day at Rutherford Hill Winery.  We had delicious salmon in addition to lots of other spreads for our lunch.  So delicious.

The view during our picnic.

The following day we went to a great winery where the owner shipped tons of authentic medieval stones from castles.  We went on a great tour and it was a nice change from the normal wine tastings.

Pat next to the "iron maiden" on the left.

Their wine cave that took almost 2 years to build!  

Pat and I during the tasting

After the castle, we went for our last picnic and I took a few pictures of Kalea.  I love this one.

Daddy and daughter taking it all in.

The last night we were in Napa, Pat and I went on a date to Santa Rosa.  Pat has been wanting to try a Guy Fieri restaurant for awhile now so we took the opportunity to try out "Tex Wasabi's."  We tried one of the "gringo sushi" appetizers which had pulled pork and french fries in it.  It was one of the weirdest things I have eaten in terms of taste expectations.  It was really good, but it completely messed with your head on what you were expecting it to taste like.

Pat in front of the restaurant when we were leaving.

We had a wonderful first family vacation.  Looking forward to many more!