Knotts and Disneyland!

Last week, we took the kids to Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland. I had never been to the berry farm and I was very excited. Also was excited about getting in free for law enforcement day - yay! We did all kinds of kiddie rides but none of the crazy roller coasters. It's just not enticing to ride something like that alone and we were really there for Cal anyway. Lolo couldn't go on anything but we did see a Charlie Brown little show which she enjoyed.

My favorite part was on the way out, stopping at the berry market and buying some Knotts biscuit mix and plum jam. Woot! I was really overly excited about this, which really was warranted becuz I have since made the aforementioned biscuits and paired them with the jam. Pretty much Uh-mazing. !!

Since we didn't end up spending the whole day at Knotts, we went and checked into our hotel which was conveniently located directly across the street from Disneyland. It was still early and the park was open for a few more hours, so we took advantage and walked over. In 2.5 hours, we knocked out more rides than in an entire day on our previous trip. So fewer people there in January, which was awesome, plus the kids were really well behaved. It was seriously a stupid good trip and so much fun.

The first nite, both kids slept poorly and Curtis and I ended up one of the crappiest nites of sleep in a long while but the rest of the trip, they made up for it and slept soundly through the nite. Thank you, heavens, cuz we sure needed the rest.

Curtis and I each took Cal on the new Star Tours, which he absolutely LOVED. So much so that I was coerced into buying him Star Wars Gogurts today instead of the healthier version with no SW characters on them. We also did the Toy Story ride in Disney CA, all the Bugs Land rides over there, and pretty much everything he could go on in regular Disney. Small World was closed, as was Matterhorn, so that was mildly sad but really nothing was tainting my trip for me.

We got to see my lovely friend Katie and her adorable children, who were kind enough to come and meet us for an evening of rides and mayhem. Oh and whoops cuz we did lose Cal for a tiny minute after Dumbo. I always freak out and he'll be on the other side of Curtis or something, this time I thought he was on the other side of the stroller and realized, nope he sure wasn't. I was panic at the disco for a second - awful feeling - and he was within eyeshot the whole time, just had stayed back at Dumbo. He was crying horribly cuz he couldn't see us and I felt bad for leaving him but thank goodness he was fine and crisis averted. That poor child is afraid someone will take him so thankfully Gpa Robert watches over him and Lo.

So yeah, fun times at Disney! We do so love our Disneyland. Something about the place is just absolutely magical. And not to mention the Disney curse, where you walk into a store and suddenly think that $40 is a reasonable price to pay for a shirt. It's like you enter in and all your common sense is washed away. Gotta love that!

We stopped on the way home to visit with Aunt Mary, which was awesome. What a great lady. We are so fortunate to have her in our lives and in our kids lives. Lolo, who does NOT like strangers, was all gummy grins for Aunt Mary. Freaking cute.

Safe and successful trip! I'm so glad we were able to take this trip and have such an amazing time. I just feel like our kids are little such a tiny window and we want to maximize our time with them until they either move away or hate us and refuse family trips. We love having our little family and being able to take trips is basically awesome.

It's been a bit of a rough road, these past 3 months with our new baby. Laurel herself is overall a great baby. She sleeps pretty well, amazingly actually, in comparison to Cal, but a newborn is a newborn and she has lots of little needs. Cal was a lot for us to handle and a newborn is a lot to handle, so together, it has been tough. Curtis and I are both folk who need an awful lot of sleep and an awful lot of alone time - both of which are hard to come by with little ones. So we are really happy with our two. :)

Laurel is smiling a lot, has slept through the nite several times to my absolute delight, and is honestly just as cute and sweet as she can be.


Cal really loves her which is cute and sweet and all, but the kid cannot.stay.off.her. He is constantly running over to touch her face or kiss her and the poor girl wants none of it. She has had to put out a chubby arm to fend him off many times, and sometimes has to press a tiny arm against his throat to get him off her. Already like a momma. :)

This is typical Cal - Sis is trying to rest and he is all up in her business.


I've been home with them this whole time which has been great and really necessary. I have a hard time recovering from babies so I need the time. Plus Curtis was able to take 3 weeks off of work and has had 2 more weeks after the fact of vacation. I love having him home, not only for his company but for his help. :) It is so much easier with 2 parents and I am super grateful for my kick ass partner.

My sweet wonderful mother has been a ton of help to us as well. She came out and stayed with us for a few weeks which was awesome in lots of ways. She is obviously a pro w/babies, since she had 59 but she is fun to have around. I just adore my mother. Hence, naming my baby after her. Woot!

We are still learning the ropes of how to deal with two kids. It is no joke so we are kinda just fumbling along. At the end of the day, if they are fed and clothed and safe and warm, that's pretty much a success at this point. As challenging as having 2 kiddies is though, I am stupid grateful that I have my family. I wouldn't trade this life for anything in the world. I may love my little breaks from them, but I can't imagine my life without these 3 people in it.

Just a few of our family pics before Laurel was born.

Our baby is here!

The wait is over - our baby arrived early! I went into labor on the 28th, had awful contractions all day long that were kicking my can. Unfortch, they were not regular so I couldn't justify going into the hospital when there wasn't really a reason. So I just suffered through them. And boy were they awful - like a 8 or 9 on a pain scale of 10. Blah.

They finally got about 5 or 6 minutes apart at about 11 that nite so my brother came over to watch Cal since he was in bed already. My mom met Curtis and I at the hospital where they checked me out and monitored me for about 45 cool minutes. I was only at a 2 - a 2! after all day of horrible contractions, what is that crap!? - and since they said my contrax were not super regular, they were releasing me.

My mom and Curtis were both extra annoyed. I was just butt tired and either needed to have the baby already or have those dreadful contractions stop so I could get some rest. They gave me some sleeping pills which only made me hallucinate. Less than 5 minutes after they gave me the stupid thing, I thought I was Alice in Wonderland. This is one of the reasons why I never use drugs. I couldn't really sleep and at home, just was very confused and my contractions only got worse. I kept jumping up and thrashing about like a wild animal and felt super loopy. No sleeping pills for my body ever again!

At around 5:30 a.m, Curtis was sick of seeing me in misery so he called the hosp to tell them he was bringing me back in. New crew had come on duty - thank you, cuz the 2 ladies I saw were not a picnic nor sweet - and they told him to bring me in right away. Hello! Thank you!

I don't remember riding to the hospital the 2nd time really, just remember being in a room in that special nightgown that opens in the back. The nurse came in and was great, I could tell from the start. Seriously, thank you Jesus cuz that is the difference between a good hospital experience and a bad one are those dang nurses.

Denise, bless her sweet heart, was great and checked me. I was at a freaking 7! My concern was that I wouldn't be able to get my epidural. Heaven knew I needed that puppy and the anesthesioligist has just gone into surgery for 40 minutes. And, there was a screamer across the hall so I was 3rd in line it appeared. Thank goodness I only got to an 8 in that time frame and the blessed man came in and gave me that sweet sweet nectar of an epidural. What a relief.

I was at a 10 not too long after that and just needed to wrap my mind around the pushing part so I waited a bit. The nurse had me push through like 2 contractions and apparently I was so amazing at it (ha!) that she had me stop so she could quickly summon the doc. He showed up right that second and I pushed through like 2 more contrax and that was that. Whew.

Doctor held up the baby so Curtis could announce what we had. He looked very wide eyed but was able to get out the "It's a girl!" We had a baby girl!

Laurel was born at 12:09 PM on the 29th, weighing in at 7 lbs 4 oz with a ton of dark hair. Cute as she can be and we are just love love loving on her. We came home the next day and my sweet mother has been staying here to help out. It has been a godsend having her here.

Cal is doing great as a new big brother. When he met her, he must've said very reverently, "She's so cute!" and to her he said, "I've missed you baby sister. I always wanted you." He is very careful to be gentle with her and always wants to kiss on her and love her. I am sure that will change as she gets bigger but for now, it is super sweet and cute and I'm hoping he continues liking her!

My thought with this whole experience has been reminiscent of one of my favorite bookmarks. Random, yes, but this bookmark very much states "One joy scatters a hundred griefs." This has been so true for us on this journey. Last year when we knew we wanted another baby and lost 2 pregnancies, after our previous 2 losses before Cal, it weighed very heavily that we might not be able to have another baby after all. It was very hard to go through those experiences and now, having this sweet precious little girl, it is truly worth it and we are that much more grateful for her in our lives.

I know it is hard having a newborn - it hasn't changed since Cal! - but the good so much outweighs the bad and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful family. Curtis has been so great as a dad, always has been, and is fantastic with dealing with a nutty wife. While we definitely have our challenges like anyone else, I know I am so fortunate to be on this journey with the best man possible. I am super looking forward to our life as a family of four. I am sure I will have plenty of wigtown moments becuz I am me - :) - but just enjoying this new baby and my sweet little boy.

Luckiest girl ever

I love my family so much. I have the best husband ever and have one of the most interesting and funny tiny guys for a son. I couldn't imagine life without their handsome bodies in it. I am so excited to be adding another member to our family in a few weeks. This life of being a wife and mother is exactly what I always wanted and I am very fortunate.

Girls trip to wine country

Our girls trip this time was to Calistoga/Napa to stay at a spa and visit wineries. We stayed at the Roman Spa Hot Springs in Calistoga, which is awesome. Our rooms rocked and the mineral pool was fantastic. Spent many hours floating my big body on noodles and jibberjabbering with the girls.

Calistoga is so freaking cute - seriously looks like a Hallmark movie town. Which, hello, is amazing in and of itself. We spent part of our days mobbing around, eating at these cute little cafes and strolling into bookstores type of thing. Relaxing and blissful. So many cute shops and things to do.

We visited the Castillo de Amarosa or whatever it is called - a big old castle that looks like it belongs in Italy. SO cool. Marci and I had nothing wine but we did enjoy our grape juice, I will say. Since I am not a wine person even when not preggo, it probably would've been grape juice for me anyway. But it was still super cool to actually be at a winery/vineyard, whatever.

Just a great weekend overall with most of my sissies and my mom and auntie.

Preschool and San Diego

Cal started preschool a few weeks ago. We just have him in 2 half days a week to get him used to it (and get me used to it, too) and so far, he is loving it. Curtis and I took him his first day and of course had to take his little picture.

He does this awkward smile that is not really a smile and just looks like he is in pain. Lucky he is handsome.







I was super nervous leaving him on that first day but now I am okay with it. I am glad he is only there half days though as it would be hard on my preggo nerves to worry about him for more than that. We figured it would be good for him to be around other kids and have something that was just for him, especially with a new baby on the horizon.


Our family trip this year was to San Diego to see the Giants play the Padres. We were able to combo up that part of it with being able to see my sister and her family, since they live in Carlsbad. We stayed with their family one nite and then downtown the rest of the trip, so we could be closer to the stadium for my husband.

Opening day at Petco Park was just stupidly busy and I definitely would not have wanted to go had I known ahead of time it was indeed opening day. It was a tiny fact my husband left out for my anti-crowd body until we were already on our way to California. Clever bird I married.

We also went to the Scripps Aquarium at UCSD with my sister and her littlest. Cal had a great time - he loves all sea creatures and had just a blast. He got to pet a sea cucumber which he was thrilled about. He keeps talking about how he went to "SeaWorld." Thankfully, he got to see these underwater beings while we didn't have to spend nearly the amount of money we would've for the actual SeaWorld.

It was a fun trip but I am always glad to take my weary body home. The Giants won the 2nd game and it was a much less crowded day so I enjoyed it more.

Also it was super fun to stop in Hesperia on the way to CA and meet up w/Aunt Mary. She is so good to Cal and us and we just adore her. I don't know how I didn't get any pictures but we had a fab time visiting w/her at In N Out for lunch. She is a hoot. All in all a fun trip. Yay for family time.

The running man

Curtis did his first marathon today! Cal, my mommy and I went out to support him in his endeavor and I can honestly say I am glad it wasn't me running it! That shiz looked hard as hey diddle diddle.

The run was up at Red Rock, which was a ton of hills and strenuous nonsense but he finished and did a great job. I get all choked up when at running events, and it was no different watching him complete a crazy 26.2 miles. Especially when he came across the finish and Cal gave him his medal. I get a break becuz I'm preg but truthfully I get emotional anyway.

We are so freaking proud of him! I got a running marathon man. That is some crazy shiz.

My handsome racer









And one of the child for good measure. Cal was so excited waiting for daddy. He found this weird set of posts he played with for like 45 minutes, thank goodness.

My husband is a marathoner! Woot!