Southern California .part two.

.day three.

Cam was insistent that we drive to the beach and for some reason I really wasn't looking forward to it. It turned out to be our most favorite part of the trip!

We drove to Newport Beach and wound up at Newport Pier. It was perfect! Just a small pier and boardwalk and very few tourists around. We brought Colbie's swimsuit (just in case) and the cold water didn't even phase her!

After the beach we went back to the hotel for more swimming. This girl is fearless in the water.

For dinner we went to Slater's 50/50. It's a restaurant where the burgers are half ground beef, half ground bacon. They were both really yummy and we stuffed ourselves, but our server was awesome and pretty much forced us to order a milkshake. We got a S'mores milkshake and it was the b e s t milkshake we've ever had. Seriously, star of the night. The marshmallows were toasted and delicious. Cam was almost in tears.

 .day four.

Our plan was to fly out of LAX that night so we just kicked it in Santa Monica most of the day. We weren't super impressed with the Santa Monica Pier... after the awesomeness of Newport Pier, the Santa Monica Pier had way too many tourists.

I didn't take any pictures that day because a) Coco didn't want to get out of her stroller for pictures and b) we stayed in an outdoor mall all afternoon (it was cool- similar to City Creek but with more high end stores).

All Colbie wanted at Disneyland was a balloon, and she loved playing with it at the hotel. On our last morning I realized that we weren't going to be able to take it back to Utah with us, so we grabbed a picture of her with it to remember their fast and furious friendship.

At the airport. She fell asleep seconds after take-off and stayed asleep until we got off the plane.

It was a fantastic trip and we're already planning our next adventure (when there will be FOUR of us)!

Southern California .part one.

{days one and two}

This was our first family trip, just the three of us, and we had such a great time!

We've been planning this trip since last April and didn't tell Colbie that she was going until her birthday. She was so excited!

.day one.

We flew into LA Sunday morning (my birthday). We headed to The Grove and enjoyed brunch at The Cheesecake Factory and spent most of the day walking around there. Then we hit up some outlets and didn't stick around long because the crowds were crazy!

After checking into our hotel, we grabbed some dinner, enjoyed some Sprinkles cupcakes, and then we were all in bed by 8:30. We were exhausted and had Disneyland the next day...

This little girl did so well on the airplane! A little nervous before take-off, but decided that it was fun.

Pardon the "3 hours of sleep then got on an airplane" bags under my eyes...

Dylan's Candy Bar
We told her that she could pick any treat and it came down to the lollipop and a package of Smarties.

Taking a little break to watch the fishies.

.day two.

Disneyland! I'll let the pictures to do the talking, but for our 3-year-old, the day was more about meeting all of her favorite characters than going on rides (which this 6-months pregnant mama wasn't complaining too much about).

I almost cried every time she met a princess... she was so excited and gave them all hugs.
I couldn't get over how every time the princess would get down and take Colbie by the hands and talk to her.

We got to meet Mickey and Minnie, too, but the pictures aren't too great.

Lunchtime! Disneyland's really stepped up their game with healthy food... turkey dog, apple slices,
carrot sticks, and a choice of orange juice or milk.

We did go on some rides... the rocket ship was her favorite!

We were dragging our feet about sticking around for the parade, but we were so glad we did!
Colbie was totally mesmerized and was so excited every time a character waved at her.

She fell asleep on the walk back to our hotel and had a kung fu death grip on that balloon.

.part two. coming soon!

Pregnancy 2.0

Disclaimer: This is a l o n g post. Just wanted to jot down a few thoughts and musings about this pregnancy so far... 

Ah, pregnancy.

I don't think with Colbie I kept it very secret that I didn't enjoy the experience (very little of it, actually). It's hard to enjoy when you're sick all the time and don't take very good care of yourself. 

I'm happy to say that I've had a much better attitude this go around.

My miscarriage in December definitely gave me a greater appreciation for a healthy pregnancy and obvious side effects from the first trimester. I was grateful for morning sickness.  I was grateful for a belly that poked out at 6 weeks. 

The fact that I didn't get pregnant again right away after my miscarriage (like I was expecting to) helped me develop more patience. I was able to really take stock and figure out what I needed to take from that whole experience.

I was able to dive into a calling that required a lot of work and energy I wouldn't have had otherwise. Somehow, I knew that our family would be blessed with another baby after I had finished my service as Primary President (I found out I was pregnant 6 weeks before I was released).

I was, understandably, very nervous the first 13 weeks of this pregnancy, even after we saw a heartbeat at 8 weeks. Cam gave me a beautiful priesthood blessing that encouraged me to have faith, rather that fear, and trust that everything was in the Lord's hands. It was so hard to grow and work on my faith and patience (and something that I am still working on), but I'm grateful that now I get to do it while Little Man is with us and growing strong.

This pregnancy has been pretty much identical to Colbie's in terms of the glorious nausea, vomiting, and food aversions. But having gone through it before and knowing that it will end has made it so much easier to deal with everyday.

18.5 weeks

I also have a sweet little buddy who has made it her job to take care of me and Little Man when Cam goes to school and work.

When I need to take a 20 minute power nap, she makes sure I have a blanket. I almost always wake up to her giving me a kiss on the cheek.

Cam is understanding and so helpful as always. He just picks up my slack after his own long day without saying a word. He's pretty awesome.

20 weeks

We had always thought, for some reason, that we would end up with a family full of little girls. Then the first couple months after my miscarriage, I felt so strongly that a little boy was waiting to join our family. Somehow I forgot about that when I got pregnant again and began entertaining the thought of two little girls. I was so surprised for the first couple of days after we found out about this Little Man! I felt a little ill-equipped to raise a boy, but while I was praying to know how to raise a boy, I felt the sweetest impression that I would be given the tools needed.

22.5 weeks

I'll hit 24 weeks on Saturday and I know the rest of this pregnancy will fly by and he'll be here before we know it! Everyday I am so happy to feel this Little Man wiggle and kick around! He is such a blessing and we can't wait to have him here.