Wednesday, February 27, 2019

LA Trip 2019

Nate & I wanted to go somewhere to give us a little break from the cold winter here, so we planned a long weekend trip out to California.  Nate's cousin, Alex, and his wife, Lisa, and their 2 year old son, Henry let us stay with them in Long Beach and it was so much fun!


We picked up Coby from preschool on Wednesday and headed straight to Chicago. 



Real life. Please stop wrestling on the airport floor 😝


We got checked in and had lots of time to kill...and the 2 big kids went crazy in the airport and I'm pretty sure no one on our flight was excited to be on the same flight as us. HAHA.

The flight was a little over 4 hours but the kids did great.  Kendry was a little squirmy, but thankfully there was an open middle seat next to me, so we had a little room to stretch out. 


We go into LA, got our car and headed to Alex & Lisa's... but of course stopped at In-n-Out for a late night snack at 10:30pm. We got there, chatted a little and then crashed around midnight (3am Indiana time).  


The next morning we took it easy around the house and then hit up a park to let the kids play. 






In the afternoon we went to the aquarium. They have a big shark exhibit that Jacoby was really looking forward to.

After the aquarium we hit up dinner and then after the kids went to bed, we had a little adult time just catching up with Alex & Lisa.  We tried to turn in early since we had a full day of Disney ahead on Friday.



Friday we woke up, got ready and were out the door by 8am. We spent all day at Disneyland...and I mean 13 hours, so really alllll day.


We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride which was probably the boys' favorite ride...they still talk about how they beat Zurg by shooting their lasers at him 😊






We also went on It's A Small World, the Jungle ride (I think it's supposed to be linked with Tarzan?) and killed time in lines by giving lots of hugs, wrestling 😰, and playing "Three on a Tree" haha.







We hit up Carsland (where Lightning McQueen and Mater drive on the road where you walk!) with a couple rides, walked Pixar Pier where we saw Buzz Lightyear and Mr. Potato Head, and ate lots of delicious food.



We got pictures with Donald Duck and Buzz Lightyear.  We saw Goofy earlier in the day around lunch time and I asked Jacoby if he wanted a picture with him and his reply? "I don't want a picture.  I don't even want to look at him.".... well OK then haha. 


We heard that the light and water show (horrible picture!) at Disneyland Park Adventure was really cool so we opted for that over the firework show at Disneyland, although we could still see some in the distance.  The light and water show was really unique and pretty impressive, but we didn't stay long because it started at 10pm (all 4 kids were asleep in the strollers), it was COLD, and we were so tired!  



After a full day of Disney on Friday, we decided to take is slow on Saturday.  We hung out and let the kids take longggg naps and then hit up another park, grabbed some coffee, met up with another one of Nate's cousins, Ariana, and then walked down to the beach. 


 It was evening and chilly but the kids ran around for a little bit and we got this gem of a picture. We loooove Alex, Lisa, & Henry and beg for them to move to Indiana often 😉


Sunday we got up, packed and headed to the airport to go home.  Maddox woke up with a cold and slept the ENTIRE flight, Jacoby watched a show and was so well behaved....and then Kendry, who is usually the easy one was a complete mess on the plane ride home.  This picture is before the plane took off.  It was rough, we survived, and I had 3 different people tell us "You guys are doing a great job, you do a great job parenting them, your kids are so sweet, etc".  It felt good to know people see our efforts...even if it feels like chaos! A little PSA...if you're traveling and see parents (especially if their baby is crying), don't be afraid to give words of encouragement.  Not criticism or "helpful tips", but just a "you're doing a great job" can really make the parents' feel better.

We got home at 11pm on Sunday night, dropped the kids in bed, got stuff ready for the Monday preschool hustle and crashed hard.


A whirlwind of a long weekend but it was perfect timing for a little first family of 5 getaway.

xox,

Naomi

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

9 Month Update {Kendry}

9 MONTHS


I'm not sure how we got here but yet here we are.  Another month down, another reminder that my last little baby is growing up.  I still feel like I can't soak in enough "baby-ness".

Stats:
Height: 27 3/4 (18%)
Weight: 15 lbs. 12 oz. (2%)
Head: 43 1/2 cm. (1%)

Favorites: being held or talked to, army crawling everywhere, eating, sleeping in your crib, baths, your car seat when you're tired or in the car, your paci, and you loooove our family: mama, daddy, Jacoby, and Maddox (Benny too!)

Not-so-favorites: Being alone or being set down when you're tired.

EAT



You love to eat.  You'll eat just about anything...including mac & cheese, chicken, peas, carrots, applesauce, raspberries, banana, PB toast, sweet potatoes, spaghetti, granola bars, veggie straws, the list goes on!  You basically always have veggie straws or a granola bar for a snack while waiting and then you usually eat some of what we do!

You are still breastfed but this past week you've bitten mommy a lot.  I'm hoping it was just a few days and it's not going to happen again.  It hurts :( I'm not ready to stop nursing you but I also don't want it to continue...so if it does, I'll probably buy formula and transition you out, knowing that maybe that's what you want...even if it's not really what I want!

SLEEP



You're a good sleeper.  You take a morning nap that's about 45 minutes, sometimes in your crib at home, sometimes in the car, sometimes in my arms if we are somewhere that I'm holding you.

You take a good afternoon nap that is usually around 2 hours and is almost always in your crib.

You go to sleep for the night around 8 and have been waking up around 1am to eat and then go back to bed.  I'm positive you don't NEED that feeding, but I also don't feel like fighting you.  I know my nights of waking up to feed a baby are very close to being over, so I just come get you, rock you, and know that these times are fleeting.

PLAY



Oh Kendry, you are busy little bee!  You play in your jumper some, but you really prefer to be on the ground army crawling and rolling all over the place.  You love to have a ball and push it around, chasing it all over the house.  You also love to play with doors (I just know you're going to pinch your finger some day), pushing them open and shut.

You think your brothers are hilarious and put up with wayyyy more than I would ever expect you to.  haha.
You're so tough and let them do the craziest things with you.  The other day I caught them dragging you by your feet (with your tummy on the floor) across the tile floor.  When I asked them what they were doing they told me that you were by something that was dangerous so they moved you.


So in case you're wondering-- they love you and care about you!


You are super ticklish and I loooove it.  Your giggles are some of my favorite.  Jacoby is really good at getting you to laugh in the car (Maddox is directly behind you so you can't see him but you face Jacoby).  He'll spit, make silly faces, play peek a boo and you have the best time watching him.

You big enough now to ride in the cart at stores and you plaster a big smile across your face as I push the cart.  You're so proud of yourself and think the world is fascinating 😊

You now have your two bottom front teeth!  It makes you look like such a big boy.  Even though you feel like a big boy, you're a peanut in size (2%) and lots of people guess you around 6 months! haha.

Daddy is your very favorite person to give kisses to.  I'm not sure if it's his enthusiastic reaction or if it's his beard that you love more, but you love to pull him in for lots of sweet kisses.












  



Kendry,

There's just not a better word to describe you than sweet.  You have a sweet smile, a sweet giggle and the sweetest personality.  You are tough as you need to be, but also gentle.  You roll with the crazy family you were born into and you couldn't fit more perfectly.  I love your big, beautiful eyes that are always changing color, I love the way you smile at me and the feeling that I feel knowing that I'm your comfort.  I love that you always give kisses, that you think I'm hilarious, and that you are always willing to be handed to someone if needed. You're outgoing, full of joy (and yet can look so somber if you're not in the mood...), sweet to the core, and hands down my favorite 9 month old.  I love you so much!

xox,

Mama