CA Trip - Muir Woods & Sausalito

On our first official day in San Francisco, we actually didn't spend it in San Francisco, haha.  Steve walked to a car rental (like 15 min walk) and picked up a car for us.  He then drove it back to our apartment and got lucky with a spot right out front!  I loaded the car seat into the car (So I forgot to mention that we brought a car seat with us but didn't use it on the plane.  We knew we would need it for rental cars a couple days like while in Oakland and that we would need to take a taxi back to the airport on our last day.) while Steve loaded up the other items we'd need for the day - backpack, jackets, stroller, etc- and also paid the toll for the Golden Gate Bridge online.  Once the car was loaded up, we got in and headed towards the Golden Gate bridge!

(Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge)

We crossed over the bridge and headed to Muir Woods.  It is a national park that has old Redwood trees in it.  It was neat to learn the history of the trees and see how gigantic they are.  It's crazy to think of how old they are and how the whole area used to be surrounded by those tall trees.  After walking around the trees for awhile, we loaded back up in the car and headed over to Sausalito for lunch.

(Redwood trees in Muir Woods)

(First vacation family selfie. It was cold in the forest since there was no sunshine.  We kept Bean warm with her hood and attempted to keep her socks on her  She loved pulling them off and chewing on them, so we finally gave up on the socks.)

(Right after we took the first picture, Steve's phone wigged out and we weren't sure we got it.  So attempt #2 on my phone.  I thought Bean's face was too good not to share.)

(Photo-op in a Redwood)

(We tired so hard to get a picture of Bean in a Redwood stump.  She can't really sit up without support, so we tried to use the backpack to help her.  Then we had issues with the sun.  This is the best we got, haha.)

(Momma and Bean in the woods.  The park's path was made up of a wood boardwalk, so we were able to push the stroller around with no problems!)

Steve had done all the research in advance and took us to a little hole in the wall restaurant.  We sat outside, even though it was a little cold (Steve went back to the car a few times to get us proper jackets and such) and ate some delicious french toast.  Steve's french toast was deep fried and more of the consistency of a funnel cake.  He also got some bacon known as millionaire's bacon which has different spices and almost the consistency of jerky. My french toast was typical thick bread with a lemon citrus flavor. Yum-o!

(Eating at Fred's Place in Sausalito - sooo yummy!  Look at Steve's fried french toast and millionaire's bacon.)

After lunch, we drove through Sausalito to go hike to Point Bonita Lighthouse.  We relied a lot on google maps/gps and took us a couple of guesses as to which path to choose, but we finally saw signs and made it to the lighthouse.  We had to walk along the rocky coast edge, through a man-made cave, across a suspension bridge, and finally around the lighthouse.  On our way back from the lighthouse, we saw some seals swimming in the ocean and laying down on a little sandy patch which was neat.

(About to walk through the man-made cave to get to the lighthouse.  I hate caves, and I hate heights, and I'm not the biggest fan of the ocean.  I got to experience all three of these hates on this one simple walk.)

(Inside the cave.  Bean is unsure of what is going on. It was also pretty windy and cool along the coast, so we were all bundled up.  Bean hates the wind, so I think she was enjoying being out of it in the cave.)

(There's the lighthouse and the suspension bridge!)

(I may or may not have been freaking out to cross the bridge.  There were park rangers on both ends and would only allow so many people on at a time.  There was a group of young kids behind us, so I just wanted to be on one side or the other before the kids got on!  As you walked, you could feel the bridge bounce and sway.)

(Point Bonita Lighthouse -- area from the Pacific Ocean into San Francisco Bay is full of unseen rocks and hazards so many ships wrecked in the area.  The lighthouse would help guide the ships through fog and try to help steer them into the bay properly.)

We drove around Sausalito a little more, stopped and took some golden gate photo ops, and enjoyed the ocean views.  We had plans to stay in Sausalito for dinner, but we were getting tired and decided to call it a day.  We hit up a grocery store on our way back to the apartment and got a few things like milk, cereal, bread, etc for the week.  After getting the apartment and unpacking the car, Steve took the rental car back while Bean took a nap and I watched tv- ha!

(One of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge.)

(I think it was at this point Steve was wanting to read more about the bridge and the area we were in, but Bean was asleep in the car and this crew of crazy Europeans were parked next to us and huddled around our car and theirs.  Then one of the guys put on a clown nose and they were all passing around booze.  I gave up on Steve's view plight and sat in the car. Ha)

We took it easy the rest of the day and just scrounged up some dinner from the groceries we got.  I think we were in bed by 9 that night! We were tired!

CA Trip - Apartment

This trip marked our 7th airbnb apartment and the first one in the US!  As weird as it is to think we're living in someone else's apartment for the week, it is so much better than being cooped up in a hotel room!  It's so nice to have access to a furnished kitchen, separate bedroom, and big living space! Only downside this trip was that apartment wasn't super kid friendly.  Safety wise, it was a lot like our house, wood floor and not too much on "baby-level".  Only downside was there wasn't much ability to "contain" Bean or have a good setup for her to sleep.  But we made do!

Our apartment was located really close to Coit tower (which is landmark in San Fran).  Our apartment was at the top of a hill (which all of San Fran is covered in hills, ha!).  Each day, we had to walk down the hill to catch a bus to our day's destination.  And at the end of the day, when we were really tired, we had to walk back up that hill.

(Outside our apartment -- look at that slope!)

(The living room -- we ended up rolling that rug up and letting Bean play on the floor there.  There was only a broom and a little dust buster in the closet.  We wish we had a vacuum so that we could have cleaned the floor better for her to play on.)

(When we needed her contained, we would put her in a drawer to play.  She really didn't seem to mind, but she definitely perferred being on the floor.  She got the hang of arm crawling while in California.)

(We also used the stroller a lot to keep her contained. We feed her in it as well as put her in it as we got ready in the mornings and evenings.  She didn't seem to mind and actually enjoyed watching us from it.)

(We set up a little bed for her in a drawer on the floor next to our bed.  We took the cushions from the dining chairs and put them under a towel.  I didn't think to add the cushions for the first night or two.  I thought the towel was thick enough, but she definitely slept better with the addition of the cushions.  She still didn't sleep the best, as she couldn't spread out or turn over.  She would get up every 3-4 hours.  I would just feed her and put her back down, or sometimes let her sleep in bed with us in the morning.  Feeding her in the night comforted her, but definitely screwed her all up. She would wake up at like 5 or 6 in the morning and be wide awake for a couple hours.  It was very tiring on me!)

(Too cute not to share!)

(Kitchen - we didn't use the stove, but did use the fridge, microwave, dishes, and sink quite a bit.  I also gave Bean her nightly baths in the sink.)

(Bathroom-- The bathroom had great storage.  There is another medicine cabinet and shelves on the other side that we were able to put our toiletries on.  I thought the shower was nice, except the shower head seemed to be really low for me.  Steve said he left like it was normal, but I know he had to duck a lot!)

(Bedroom -- again, lots of storage available which was great! We got to hang up a lot of our clothes in the closet and had the dressers to put other clothes in/on.  There's a dresser hiding behind the door on the left.  That's the dresser that we took the drawers out for Bean to sleep/play in.  We got lucky that we had access to that!)

(Bed with Bean's little drawer)

CA Trip - Berkeley

 A couple Saturday's ago, we loaded up the car with all our luggage and drove up to Detroit to catch our flight to San Francisco.  This trip marked a lot of firsts for Bean, including the one I was worried about the most -- her first plane ride!

Steve has really bad ears and is prone to infections from flying.  He found a solution to his flying woes - earplanes (you can buy them at pharmacies, but basically it's an earplug that is designed to help keep your ear pressure equal throughout takeoff and landing).  But Bean is too young for them, so I was a little stressed out.  I knew that if baby drinks during takeoff and landing, it'll help keep their ears popping properly.  So that added to the stress - making the times work for her to eat when I needed her to.

We were able to successfully get her to eat during takeoff.  She did absolutely great and was more interested in the small space and touching everything (she just sat on our laps the whole 4.5 hour flight).  She was overtired and got a little cranky and was fighting going to sleep, but she finally gave up her plight and gave us an hour reprieve. When she was awake, she was touching everything - magazines in pouch, window shade, wall.  You name it.  But at least she was quiet!  She never really cried out and we got tons of comments about how cute and well behaved she was - sweet!

(Steve was uncooperative in trying to get a photo on the plane.  This is what he gets for his uncooperative-ness!)

(Yay!  She's finally asleep.  I knew this wouldn't last long as she likes to roll around and stretch out while she sleeps.  Sorry little girl.)

We met Steve's dad at the airport, got our luggage and went to get the rental car.  After confusion on which car was ours, we figured it out and were headed out of San Francisco in into Oakland for the weekend.  We met up with the rest of the family (Steve's mom, sister, brother-in-law, brother, and grandparents) at the hotel and set the plan.  We put our stuff up in our room (which there was a mess up in the reservation and luckily there was still a room available), changed, and headed in search of dinner.  After searching a good 10-15 min for a parking spot, we got the cars parked and got into P.F. Changs for dinner - yum (even though I got the wrong meal, and earlier that day I got the wrong drink on the plane.  Maybe Bean is too cute and distracting people?).

We lost three hours with the time change, so even though it was going on 10 by the time we were in our room and getting into bed, it actually felt like 1am.  Poor Bean was all screwed up and hadn't slept much during the day.  I had hoped for her to sleep great that night, but instead, she was up mulltiple times.  We had a king size bed at the hotel and just sandwiched her in between us.  It was convenient for me to be able to lay next to her and take care of her when she was awake, but neither of us (as in Bean & I, Steve slept "fine" on the other side of the bed) slept the best next to each other.

We had to be up and ready early the next day to make it to the big event -- Ian's (Steve's brother) graduation at Berkeley!  There was a little fiasco in parking and meeting up with the group and getting Nanny & Poppy up the hill to the ceremony.  The family ended up split up - half of us up in the bleachers, the others in folding chairs down near the graduates (handicap seating).  They were able to see Ian up closer, as he sat just a few rows in front of them.  The speaking portion of the ceremony went quick, but the calling of all the graduates took awhile.  Bean slept through that part and didn't even wake up when her daddy yelled out "Yeah Ian!!!".  Ha

(Sitting up in the bleachers waiting on the shin-dig to start!  It was cooler in the morning until the sun came out. Then it got a little warm, especially holding her while she slept.  But at least she slept??)

(Uncle Scott did a great job keeping Bean entertained!  I meant to bring her a hat to wear, but I forgot.  Good thing her sweaters have hoods on them!)

(Congratulations Ian!!)

After the ceremony, we walked on campus a little, took pictures, and went to an engineering reception.  After hanging out there a little bit (and snacking on food), Steve, his grandparents, and Bean & I headed back to the hotel while we waited for the others to get back to their hotel, get their stuff and meet at our hotel.  From there, we headed to lunch and hung out at food market/court for the afternoon.  Then it was time to return Nanny & Poppy to the hotel, say our goodbyes, and head to San Francisco!  Scott & Ashley were able to take us to our apartment for the week, which helped us out a ton!

7 Months!

I had great intentions of writing this post over a week ago, but my time got spent packing and then I was never able to sit and blog while on vacation.  However, I did take the photo before the trip, so I should get a half credit, right??

This girl still constantly amazes me at how quick she is learning and growing.  Even though she hasn't really changed much from the last update, she's still had a pretty big month.  She got to experience her first Easter (complete with egg hunt at Ahm & Abo's house), she was dedicated to the Lord, and she spoiled me on mother's day (okay, maybe daddy did more of the spoiling, but she did have a really good day that Sunday!).  

This month also marked a big milestone - her first tooth!  Seeing that little sliver of white pop up was such a validating sight! Bean had been quite the grouch and very clingy.  I was fearing her temperament was changing, but when I saw that little tooth, I realized it is just a phase and she is teething!  So nice to finally have something to show for all the fussiness!

She hit another milestone -- even though, technically it happened while on vacation after she turned 7 months, she was so close, we'll give it to her this month -- crawling!  She does a sort of army crawl involving an elbow, or sometimes it's more of a pull with her hands, but she has finally figured out she can go from point A to point B with a purpose!  And somehow, she's always wanting to go where she's not supposed to, which has entered a new phase for Momma & Daddy -- disciplining :(.  We've done a few hand slaps (not hard at all) and has upset her, yet she still does what she isn't supposed to.  She'll learn eventually!

Bean is still very active and a very happy baby.  She makes instant friends with nearly everyone she meets.  She has figured out when people are talking about her, and instantly turns into a ham.  What a goofball!  I've recently noticed that she's always keeping her hands in motion.  She loves to hold things out and shake them, or pat things, or just suck on her fingers.  And another new thing (again, technically it happened this past week, but who's keeping track?) -- she waves!  I can't get her to do it on command, but when she's really excited and someone waves to her, she'll wave back.

Along with the waving back, I've noticed she's really into mimicking.  If you blow raspberries to her, she'll do it back.  If you say "da-da-da" to her, she'll start saying it.  If you pat at the table, she'll pat at it.  This is such a fun phase to watch her learn new things and experience the world around her.

So what about sleeping??  We're in the same position if not worse than last month.  She still gets up at least once every night, and oftentimes 2x.  I had started a sleep campaign, but new vacation was coming up and it was unrealistic to keep with it.  So I got lacks and now we are both sleeping horribly.  I'm giving her through this week to recoup from being in a different environment, and then we're buckling down on a serious sleep campaign.

Bean is still trying new foods and we are starting to notice some favorites - peas, sweet potatoes, avocado, bananas, and prunes.  Tolerable foods - green beans, squash and carrots (only when the carrots are hidden in another vegetable).  She tried pears, but ended up having a reaction from them (rashy bottom and bloody diapers -  Poor little girl!).  Just because she had this reaction doesn't mean she is allergic.  Most likely the pears are too acidic for her system and we will try to introduce them again in a few months.  I also started to give her some little dried yogurt bites.  She has to suck on them and moisten them, which always makes me nervous, but she does a good job.  Only downside is the yogurt really makes her stinky (if you know what I mean!).

(I'm not sure if Daddy was showing Bean something, or if she was showing Daddy.  Either way, I love how these two interact!)

(Showing off her cupcake dress for Sara!  We were at a cookout and it was freezing!)

(Bean's Mother's Day gift to her grandparents, aunts, etc. . .)

(Chewing on them fingers and modeling her new summer outfit!)

(If you look really closely, you can see her tooth poking up - her bottom left front tooth!)

(And another big milestone - Bean has been upgraded in carseats.  She had to change seats to make it easier for us on vacation.  Even though she meets the requirements, I still like how she is more snug in the other seat.  I think we'll go back to using the carrier version, but just leaving it in the car like this new one functions.)

"Work" Trip

After 15 years of hard work, one of my sisters finally earned her college degree!  Congratulations Sara :)!! Bean and I went to Indiana to celebrate Sara's tremendous accomplishment.  Little did we know what we were getting involved in. . . 

2 weeks prior to graduation, my parents decided to remodel their house, which involved tearing up tile, laying a new Pergo floor in most of the main areas, and painting.  Oh, and to top it off, this time frame also included my grandpa moving in with my parents for a couple weeks while visiting from CA.  When Bean and I showed up Monday afternoon (24 hours prior to party time), you could barely walk through the kitchen, the living room was still tarped/torn apart from painting, and my dad was working on the floor in the foyer.  I quickly got to work helping out and didn't stop until we left Wednesday morning.  

Sara's graduation was supposed to be outside Tuesday morning, but due to weather, it was delayed until Tuesday afternoon.  Her graduation started 30 minutes prior to her party starting.  So when the party started, it was just me, my aunt, and grandpa at the house.  People started showing up and I was still finishing up cleaning/decorating and hadn't even started to set out all the food.  I had a frenzy of stress during the beginning, but people jumped in and helped and it all worked out.  Oh, and Bean took an awesome 2 hr nap during all the frenzy which allowed me to focus on hosting.  And when she did wake up, she was a trooper as she was passed around to people she doesn't know.  Sara had a great turnout and loved her luau themed party.  Of course, I got no pictures :-/.

(Bean finally got to meet her Great Grandpa Monkey!  He was supposed to visit sooner, but the trip kept getting delayed due to him having bad health and then the crazy winter weather.  Grandpa is doing great and we had great weather during his visit. Grandpa especially enjoyed watching Bean play!)

(My mom holding Savannah - an "add-on" grandchild & one of her good friends Diane holding Bean! Oh, and check out that brand new floor!)

(My niece Emily got to feed Bean for the first time while my sister Amber held her.  Bean enjoyed eating some avocado & bananas from Em - Yummy!!)

(Saying bye to Grandpa.  Until next time!)

Bean and I got home Wednesday afternoon and I had to buckle down and get us ready for vacation!  Our flight to California was that Saturday.  I didn't even start packing until Friday afternoon!

Zoo Day

Bean and I got the chance to meet up with Amber & Gabbie for a trip to the zoo earlier this week.  Gabbie had a preschool field trip to the Ft Wayne Zoo, which is just over an hour away.  We couldn't miss the opportunity to spend the day with them!

Bean and I got up, loaded up the car and headed north to the zoo.  Bean "talked" the whole way, even though she should have been sleeping.  Oh well.  She fell asleep for the last 15 min.  I tried to keep her asleep as I transferred her to her stroller, but she was too excited about what was going on.  It was quite cold and drizzling when we got to the zoo.  We feared a miserable cold day ahead of us, but halfway through the day, the sun came out and it warmed up!  Bean was quite warm and bundled in her stroller, but I was sure excited for the sun!

Even though it was a preschool field trip, we got to do whatever we wanted at the zoo.  We didn't have to stick with any group or do certain things.  We kept calling it "Gabbie Day", because she got to pick whatever we did.  The zoo is set up in "loops".  So we'd let her pick what animal she wanted to see, and we'd do the loop with it. 

We started with the sea lion show, then headed to the orangutans (rain forest loop).  After completing that loop, we were hungry and decided it was time for lunch.  However, we went ahead and let Gabbie "check" off her Pony ride.  She picked the biggest pony and held on as Amber walked her around the path.  But first, the pony was thirsty and stepped on Amber's foot to get to the water- ha!  Good thing it was just a pony and didn't put its full weight on her foot.  That wouldn't have made for a fun day!

After eating a cold lunch (it was windy and the sun was still hiding), we headed back to the animals.  Gabbie chose to go check out the bats and fish (Australia loop).  After completing the loop, we had just one more loop left - Africa.  Gabbie was begging to feed the giraffes, and could barely wait to get there.  When we got up to the feeding patio, it was closed.  Gabbie was crushed.  We sort of meandered around the giraffes (mainly because the male giraffe was getting frisky and Amber and I were like little kids watching what was going on).  Our curiosity worked out to Gabbie's advantage, because we noticed that people were on the patio feeding the giraffes!  Gabbie got to "check off" another item on her zoo list.  

The sun had come out and we decided it was time to take a little break and eat some ice cream.  We had to walk all the way across the zoo to find our snack.  After recharging our batteries, we went to the little petting zoo/farmyard.  Gabbie loved brushing the goats.  The barnyard area was the last area to walk through in the zoo.  It happened to be feeding time for Bean, so I fed her while Amber and Gabbie scoped out the gift shop (her last "check off").  We all finished up at the same time, and decided we just weren't ready to leave.  We decided to go check out the orangutans one last time before heading home.

So what about Bean??  Bean did great!  Amber held her a lot and would point out the animals to her.  She'd get excited, blow raspberries, smile big, and bounce up and down.  She took a nap after lunch in the stroller, but other than that, she was just watching everything going on.  I think her favorite part was playing on drums.  There was an area with drums in the Africa loop, that we let her play with, and she loved it! 

We had such a good time!  Bean was asleep before I even got out of the parking lot, I guess that means she had a lot of fun.  She slept almost the whole way home.  We just barely got home before Steve!  He noticed that her cheeks were pretty pink.  Not sure if it was from the wind or sun, but they stayed pretty pink through the next day.  I made sure to keep an ointment on it just in case ;-).

(Brrrr.  Bean had the best spot -- snuggled under blankets in her stroller.)

(Checking out the python.  Bean did a lot of bouncing watching the snake. eeeks!)

(Too excited to stay still!  Checking out the Komodo Dragon.  Gabbie loved the "dinosaur" so much, that she got its picture on a penny press.)

(Orangutan!  The male orangutan loves to put things on his head.  Today's "hat" was a grocery bag.  We even saw him move later, by swinging on the ropes to move to a different spot.  He held the bag in his hand as he did it, and once he sat back down, he swung it back up on his head.  So strange!)

(Bean sitting in an orangutan hand print.)

(Gabbie waiting for her pony ride.  This was before it veered off the trail, stepped on/over Amber, and got a drink of water - ha!)

(Playing the drum and having a good old time!)

(Look at those cute chicks hatching out of the eggs!)

(Bean petting a goat! We gave up on the sock fight by this point.  She got to just put her bare feet on the goat and thought that was funny.)

(Momma & Bean -- look I really was there!  Ahhhh, sunshine!)

(Gabbie said it was the best day ever.  She got to do everything she wanted, and didn't have to fight for turns.  By afternoon, the zoo was pretty cleared out.  These goats were loving all the attention.)

(And back at the orangutans - complete with gift shop Owl purchase.  While look at the orangutans, one of the females came up close and "sat next to Gabbie".)

(Look at those rosy cheeks!  Bean loved the zoo and can't wait to go again!)

My New Toy

After years of dreaming and ogling over mixers, I finally pulled the trigger and got "the cadillac". Haha.  I am now the owner of a 5 qt Artisan KitchenAid stand mixer in my favorite color - tangerine orange! Steve tried to convince me to pick out a more neutral color, but since it's my toy, I got what I wanted. Plus, it matches all the other orange items in the kitchen like utensils, pot handles, and dishes.  I finally pulled the trigger on it, because I got a FANTASTIC deal on it.  I got a refurbished model for just a little over $200.  The deal is running for a few more days from KitchenAid via Ebay.  I don't understand it, but I got my mixer for the best deal and I'm happy :).

In its inaugural use, I made cloverleaf rolls from scratch.  I've only attempted to use yeast one other time, and it didn't work the best.  This time, I followed the recipe verbatim, and was very successful!  I see much more bread and rolls in our house in the future.  Yum-o!

(I was on a time crunch and needing to get the dough rising.  Bean decided to be difficult and not lay down like she was supposed to.  So instead, I strapped on my other new toy - ergo baby carrier - and got to work with her hanging on.  I even let her "help" by holding onto a measuring cup.  Once I got the dough started, I gave up on my plight to make her nap and let her play instead.)

(Who needs to nap when you can just play?!)

(I had dreams of having fresh hot rolls when Steve got home; however, I was still in the proofing phase.  He walked in the house and immediately smelled the bread and saw the mayhem in the kitchen.  I had a stressful time trying to get the rolls going, make dinner, attempt to get Bean to nap, and clean up the mess in an hour.  I didn't make my time but in the end, everything got semi- accomplished.)

(I got fancy with the rolls and made "cloverleaves".  You take a ball of dough, cut it in half, cut those in half, and place the four pieces in a greased muffin tin.  I followed the recipe that came with the mixer.  I wanted to make sure if they turned out bad, it was because of me and not because of the recipe!)

(Steve wanted to document the mixer.)

(Yum-o!  The recipe made 24 rolls. I put a cap on how many rolls Steve was allowed to eat that evening- no more than 6!  That way, I was able to divide it into 3rds and freeze the remaining 16 rolls to be eaten at other times.  He laughed at my cap, saying that they were filling rolls and he wouldn't eat too many.  He ate 5. I guess that means they are good!)

Now. . . what to make next?!