Green Smoothies

I bought a blender on amazon and it arrived in ONE day! Pretty amazing right? We somehow live in a world where we can go online, find a product in our price range, and read reviews on it so we know we'll be getting something descent... And then without more than a few finger taps... It's on your doorstep in less than 48 hrs. Woa!

I've been wanting a Vitamix blender for a couple of years, but Matt has talked some sense into me as I own EVERY other appliance that a Vitamix can replace (each one a gift), other than a blender... So I ordered a blender... That doesn't cost $600, but 1/10th that :)

... Now, that was only AFTER I tried to use our quisinart mixer/chopper as if it were a blender and somehow sprayed smoothie on the counters, ceiling, and yes... Violet (in my defense, she was standing awfully close) :) 

As soon as we got home tonight and saw the box on our doorstep, I opened it, washed it, and made our first smoothie! 

I should back up a bit and explain why I ordered a blender in the first place. I've been wanting to make smoothies for a while for both Violet and I. A way to increase our superfood intake in a yummy way :) Smoothies full of goodness like kale, coconut milk, super fruits, spinach, etc. 

So I made Violets first 'green smoothie' and it was a hit (for both of us)! Fresh kale, a frozen banana, a fresh nectarine, raspberry yogurt, and coconut milk :) Yuuuummmm!!! I must admit, as much as Violet loved it, she's still our water drinker :) After about 5 sips, she kept reaching for the cabinet saying 'wawa! Wawa! Peeaassee!' Love this girl ❤

Ps - this baby loves seaweed, too!

 
 
 

A Big Bear Weekend Adventure

Last weekend was FULL of adventure! We stayed up in Big Bear Lake Friday through Sunday in a little cabin with both Odie and Violet in tow :) Let me tell you though... It was HOT! I had this picture in my mind of it being a cool lake town... Not quite! 95 degrees during the day with NO AC in that little cabin made things interesting... Especially since it dropped down to the 50's in the early morning. We went to bed tossing and turning with sweat and woke up freezing! Even though we're a little wussy about hot weather now that we live in Long Beach, it was worth it to be in such a beautiful place!

Here are some pictures of our memorable moments!

Testing out Violets new car! What a fantastic hand-me-down from her cousins! Thank you Elliott's!

Violet can never stop hugging our Odie ❤ Neither can we! Even in the horribly dry heat! His hugs make everything better!

About to go on our first hike up to Castle Rock! ~2 miles of beautiful scenery and exercise! One of the best and most amazing hikes we've been on!

Taking a little break ;)

Once we got to the top I tried to hike around to find a good view, but my big belly was getting in the way of my bouldering so I had to climb back down! We took some pictures... Violet doesn't look too pleased! After an hour in the backpack, she just wanted to get down and walk around... But it wasn't so safe with all the boulders and cliff/edges!

Thank you Asian man for taking this photo!

No one can stay angry bears when you have super cool daddy sunglasses on!

Someone did NOT want to sit still!

Thank you again Asian man for this family photo! Poor Odie had to miss out since we had to climb to this spot and he couldn't come with us safely :(

Such a beautiful view from Castle Rock!

After our morning hike on Saturday, Matt's family came up for the afternoon to hang out :) It was a blast to see all the kiddos hang out together and go with the flow ❤ We love our family!

Odie LOVES bubbles more than children do... No seriously. He does.

Grandpa is such a trooper! We ended up on a family walk which turned into a hike and he let Violet hike :)

Go Sarah go!

 A few of us got a little behind (remember... Violet got to hike) so the cousins ahead made arrows for us so we wouldn't get lost ;)

 This just made my heart so happy ❤

Daddy let Violet hike, too :) Twinsies!

Family photo op!

That night Violet was dead asleep by 7 pm after missing her afternoon nap... But then woke up at 5 am crying. We thought she might be cold so I went in and covered her with a towel we found in the cabin... Which she shucked off of course. At 5:30 am I went in to get her to sleep on my chest while I sang to her in a chair... Which worked for a hot second. By 6 am I knew she was UP and we wanted to let Matt sleep so she and I took Odie on a walk to the lake ❤ It was beautiful, calm, and relaxing :) The 3 of us had a blast AND daddy got to sleep an extra 1.5 hrs :)

No makeup mommy... Boggie nosed baby :)

Breath taking ❤

 On our way down the mountain we stopped in Redlands to see grandpa and grandma and take a little car ride break... And give Matt a haircut :) On our way to Long Beach Odie was BEAT! Violet threw down her blanket which landed on his head... This was taken about 10 minutes later. He didn't even try to take it off ❤

What an amazing weekend! Once home, we EVEN had time to get Odie a new dog tag!

 

There's a First for Everything

Let me start off by saying that Violet has NEVER slept with us. Not when she was 1 week old, not at 10 weeks old (when we moved her from her bassinet in our room into her own room), not at 6 months (when she started teething and cut her first tooth), not at 9 months (when she started crawling and waking herself up with this cool new skill), not at 11 months (when she started pulling to stand but couldn't get back down), not at 13 months (when she caught her first cold)... And then there was last night... Or should I say this morning... 15 1/2 months...

First, let me give you some background. Last night, after an amazingly fun 4th of July with his family, we stayed the night at Matt's folks house. Violet slept upstairs by herself in a pack n play in Matt's old room (now an office - she's done this for an entire weekend before while Matt and I were in SF celebrating our anniversary in May). Matt and I slept downstairs in the family room on a blowup bed while Odie roamed around, eventually sleeping at our feet on the floor. After a fun filled day and a bath, Violet fell asleep around 7-7:30 pm. Then at about 4:15 am she started to cry... And cry... And cry...

Now if we were home, we would have let her cry... But Matt's folks graciously took us in for the night and grandpa was supposed to wake up at 5 am to get ready for work. We REALLY didn't want Mark to wake up so I quickly ran up stairs to get her. She was standing up, clutching her blanket, and crying. As soon as I walked in and picked her up she said 'mama' and snuggled in. I thought, 'yay! This is going to be quick!' Well, she went back down ok... But when I turned to leave and close the squeaky door she started to cry. I did this 2 more times and then called Matt upstairs to make an attempt... To no avail... And then she appeared to be UP! What?!?! So Matt brought her downstairs to hang out with us in bed until grandpa was awake and gone to work. Walking down the stairs she immediately saw Odie and said 'Odie!' She somehow stayed quiet (yet awake) between us in bed and said 'bye' while waving to grandpa as he walked out the door at 5:30 am. Then about 15 minutes later she FINALLY fell asleep (after rolling around between us and thrashing about, effectively demoting me to the foot of the blowup bed as if I were a tiny lap dog, not a 25 1/2 week along pregnant lady who can't get comfortable). And that people, is why Violet has NEVER slept with us!

At 8:15 am when she woke up and smiled at me, I gave her a big hug and kiss... Even though my entire body was aching and stiff ❤

Are you comfy Violet?

 

A New App to Blog

So I did a little searching (almost 5 months after my last post in February) and have found an app that is allowing me to insert pictures into my blog again... reigniting my hopes to blog a little bit about our adventures :) And just in time for all our summer festivities! Hopefully this app will be better than the blogger app and won't drive me insane :)

Who couldn't love Odie?

 

4th of July ❤

Today has been an amazing day full of family and amazing firsts for Violet! I think her favorite was playing in the sprinkler (Mr. Wiggles) at grandmas house! This little one is NOT afraid of new experiences... Well, minus those involving the sounds of a lawn mower or leaf blower that is (she somehow things they'll have her down the sidewalk!). We're so blessed to have so much love that surrounds us and literally fun and adventure at every turn :) Today is just the beginning, too! We're off to Big Bear Lake tomorrow for a weekend at a cabin with Odie and Violet :) So of course... More to come!

Violets first 'big stick' with daddy... A daddy favorite!

Playing in the sand with grandma :)

I don't know how, but I somehow never got a picture of our sweet violet all dressed up in her $5 dress and crazy firecracker headband... I feel slightly like a mommy failure!

Odie almost melted!

It was beautiful enough to wear bathing suits all afternoon and play in the pool!

These girls are getting so big!!!

 

Valentines

Violet and I made her first set of valentines cards for her friends at daycare last night! They've got glittery tattoo finger rings and lollipops in them :) We wrote, "You're a great friend!" And "Thank you for being my friend!" in them❤

My favorite moments:

* When Violet or Odie takes a nap with me without being forced (because goodness knows I try... Frequently❤)
* Hearing my 2 babies playing with each other... usually playing tug of war with Odie's toys or 'keep away' (from Violet) which I think is Odie's favorite because he loves being chased❤
* That both V and Odie let me cradle them❤
* Coming home from work after a long, but usually good day and seeing both Violet and Odie ecstatic beyond belief to see me❤

ANd the best one? Getting to share all of this, everyday, with my best friend in life... Matt❤

A frosty run

Saturday morning, Odie, Violet and I went for a run in the park. There was frost everywhere! Violet was so toasty that the clear see through part if her stroller was all fogged up :)

Teething

When Violet is cutting a tooth, she really loves the food in packets because they're cold and super smooth ❤

Thanks Dana!

I love my coworkers :) They somehow know JUST what I like ❤

This tub was made with LOVE!

Violet LOVES bath time sooooo much! We fill her tub up almost to the top because she loves laying back and feeling the water all around her face and ears :) Then she proceeds to kick and splash around on her back and giggles hysterically ❤ Such a happy girl :) We are so blessed ❤

Ps- one of the pictures is blurry, but it was an awesome moment between Violet and Odie because she was cuddling him on the floor just like I do :) Monkey see, monkey do :)