Cali Trip Part 5

San Francisco!
We ended our tour of California in San Francisco.
First stop: Alcatraz!
It was a little chilly but we were ready. (I swear Luke is there, can you find him?)



Josh has always had a fascination with Alcatraz so he was happy to take the tour. I walked around with Brad in the baby bjorn and got quite a work out. I didn't realized there'd be that much walking!





What great views the prisoners would have had if they hadn't been locked up.









Jayce and Luke in a cell



We also did a double decker bus tour of the city including a trip over the Golden Gate bridge. It was incredibly windy and cold, so Josh and I took the boys downstairs on the way back over the bridge. No pictures since I was focused on keeping Brad warm! We also did a Duck Boat tour. That was fun! I think I was holding a sleeping Brad when we did that so the only picture I have is the one we took before we got on the boat. Luke loved the duck bill quacker.

Duck Boat group shot


Finally, what is a trip to San Francisco without a visit to Pier 39?
Ed in front of the Hard Rock Cafe



Um, where are all the seals I was promised?



And that concludes our California adventure. What a whirlwind. Glad we survived and had a great time!

Cali trip Part 4

Yosemite!

Our next stop was to visit the wonders of Yosemite. I'm not a fan of winding rounds bordering steep drop offs and let's just say that is what you'll find in Yosemite. So I kept a tight grip on the door and tried to look straight ahead, but there was so much beauty to take in. It almost made me forget about the potential for falling to my death. ALMOST.

We stopped along the side of the road to take some pictures of the the main falls.



Jayce and Luke



Josh, Brad, and I



Next we did the short hike to the bottom of the main falls (the lower falls in the first picture). I was wearing Brad in the the Baby Bjorn so I got my workout in!

A little rock sculpture garden along the hike



Our family shot, would have been a neat Christmas picture if it had been a good picture. (Luke was finicky about his pictures this whole vacation)



Matt and Jayce



Luke and Josh



A view of the falls at the end of the hike



Luke actually posing for a picture



We stayed at a hotel in the national park that was right next to the rapids. It was really cool. Inexplicably, I have no pictures of that. I'll have to ask for some.

Next, and final stop, San Francisco.

Cali trip part 3

On to Monterey!
First stop, out to the boardwalk for some fine dining!



Me and Josh by the bay



The next morning we visited the aquarium.



Normally Luke loves the aquarium but he was not in a great mood this day. He was a real grump the whole time.

Brad, on the other hand appeared to be drunk with happiness



Some penguins 'cause I love 'em.

Cali trip

So let's just move passed the fact that I haven't updated this little blog for 3 months. That is if anyone still reads this thing :)
Right back where I left off, we were in California in June. After leaving San Diego we headed up the state to Cambria where we stayed the night. Josh, Matt, Jayce, and I had a nice Italian dinner out in the little town square while the boys stayed with Grammy and Papa at our hotel (which was more like little cottages than a hotel). The next day we toured Hearst Castle. It was incredible, it is set atop a mountain so high that even though it was cold and rainy/cloudy at the bottom where the tourist center was, it was clear/sunny and warm up at the castle. There are several houses at the top, not just one big castle. It was very beautiful and the history behind it was so interesting. Definitely worth checking out if you are out that way. Now, the tour is not really made for small children but I happy to report Luke did not get scolded for crossing the ropes or leaving the carpet trail like some other kid did :)
Since my arms were full with Brad and Josh had his hands full keeping Luke in check, I didn't take any pictures with my camera. Jayce was kind enough to take some for me so when I get those I can post them. Look it up online though in the meantime if you are interested.

After the tour we continued on our way to Monterey. We stopped alongside the highway to see the elephant seals.

California Vacation Part 1- San Diego

In June Josh's parents took the whole family on a California vacation for a week to celebrate Robin's retirement.
We all flew out together from Atlanta and our first stop was in San Diego. San Diego is a great city, and if it weren't so expensive we might consider relocating...
We got checked into our hotel, since we had the two boys with us our family was lucky enough to get the big suite and it was a very nice room! We were there for 2 nights.
We had a quick bite to eat when we arrived at the hotel
Brad with Uncle Matt and Aunt Jayce
Sitting in the high chair was a newly acquired skill, tested out once before the trip!



The next morning we headed out for the San Diego Zoo. It is world famous for a reason, it was incredible. We even skipped nap time so we could stay longer and Luke did great! Brad took a couple of snoozes in the stroller.

Ready to go



GQ Josh wondering why I am taking his picture. But I did capture the tour buses behind him, which was the first thing we did. The zoo is so large we took the tour first so we could get a general idea of everything we wanted to go back and see up close.



Grammy and the boys



Something scared Brad on the tour bus, not sure what but his face was priceless!



Some of the animals we saw

Polar Bears



Elephants







Rhinos



Koalas





Meerkats (this guy was that lookout)



A dog and a cheetah. Yes you read that right. The zoo has a program that pairs up a 3 month old dog with a 3 month old cheetah so they become buddies. The trainers are inside with them.



And then take them for a walk around the zoo! I trusted them but still was thinking little Brad may look like food and we should get moving.



Brad, seemingly not sure what to think.



My good friend and bridesmaid Beth and her boyfriend Ben who live in Los Angeles drove down to meet us at the zoo. Here they are with Brad



Luke, who is usually shy around people took about 30 seconds to warm up to Ben. Then he was his new best friend for the rest of the day, I don't think he would have noticed if me and Josh left. He still asks about Ben!



We went to see the gorillas close up and one walked right up to the glass where Luke was sitting. Luke didn't see him approach and when he turned and saw the gorilla right there he was quite startled! I was right there with him so I didn't get a picture of that with my camera.

The view from our hotel which was right on the marina





We loved San Diego! Next stop, Cambria and the Hearst Castle, of which I have no pictures :(

8th month comparison

8 months old!!
When Luke was this age, I started this blog.

At 8 months old, Luke weighed 18.5 lbs and was 26.5 inches long. He was still a champion sleeper and ate well. He started feeding himself food at this age too. He loved to say da-da-da and playing peek-a-boo. He was very interested in trying to use a spoon himself. His hemangioma was really bad this month and we were in the midst of trying to get a surgery scheduled for him to have it removed. I remember being stressed!



At 8 months old Brad weighed 19 pounds and was 28.25 inches long. He was pretty good about sleeping through the night this month and his eating schedule was really regular. He really ate anything at this time and ate a lot!
He loves to clap, say da-da, na-na and he loves to laugh! He likes being sung to and wants to get into everything. Anything big brother Luke is doing is the best in his opinion. He is rolling all over the place and starting to work on crawling at this age.