Pictures from SF!

Here they are photos from our adventure in SF...

Our new family portrait and it's at In-in-Out, how fitting! :)

Waiting for the open top bus with E asleep in her carrier

Gma, me and E after we rode the cable car to the end of the line

Gpa, E and I outside China town waiting for the open top bus

After our Dim Sum Chinese food they had this big drum in the lobby and we had to play it for Adam

On the Oakland Temple grounds

Locked up at Alcatraz, as we should be :)

In the open top bus, up top, in the open :P

SF Capital Building from the open top bus

This is a black sand beach that is on the north point and was pretty cold but believe it or not their were still surfers out.

E was sleeping in the car so we just jumped out for a quick photo of the 3 of us while she slept on.

Enjoying the Sea Lions antics.

I think everybody has to have a picture with the fisherman's wharf sign

Walking down Lombard Street, we did not stop to take too many pictures walking since we were too busy catching our breath.

Yeah, we made it to the bottom alive, it was hauling all 16.75 lbs of E up that was hard, plus me and my extra baby weight too! 

Gpa taking E and Gma carefully to the cliffs edge to see the beautiful black sand beaches below.

Gpa, E, and I on that same black sand beach as before.

...and I think this one speaks for itself...

Adventures in SF

Last weekend, 2/11 through 2/15, E and I went to San Francisco (or SF as the locals call it) with Gma and Gpa Miller.  We had a blast and E had a lot of fun taking in all of the sights, sounds and fun of SF. 

Saturday we drove up from LA taking the scenic route along CA-1 or the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH).  I did get us lost and we missed a section and took a long route through the mountains but we had fun looking for those "happy California cows" and the county cows game started.  I am not sure who won in the end but Gpa and I had great fun counting cows to see who could count to 100 cows on their side of the car first.  We got to SF in the early evening and had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack because we thought it would be quick, it was not, and E was fit to be tied by the time we got back to the hotel.  She slept great that night and actually slept through the night, which was also great for me.

Sunday was our driving day.  We drove up and over the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB) and then took a scenic route through the hills behind the GGB that provided some beautiful views of the bridge and the old forts that were built to protect the SF harbor and we got to walk out on a black sand beach.  Then we drove up and over the top of the SF bay and down into Oakland to see the Oakland Temple.  It is a beautiful temple and we also got to see the visitors center.  Then we headed back into downtown SF for dinner.  E had been in the car again a lot so Gma and Gpa walked out and bought us soup and sour dough bread bowls and we at at the hotel and E got to roll around on the fully bed, playing with her toys, and stretching her legs.

Monday was our trip to Alcatraz.  It was overcast and rainy but we had a great time anyway.  We took a boat ride out the island, hiked up the island to the main cell block, took the audio tour which was very interesting, and then walked around a little bit but since it was so wet and windy we tried to stay indoors as much as possible.  Many people do not know but families, women, and children lived on the island and didn't even lock their doors at night.  They were the families of the prison workers and lived on the island rent free as part of their compensation for working at the prison.  The children road the ferry into SF every day for school and then back to the island at the end of the day.  They said they never even saw the prisoners because they were always back inside by the time they came home from school.  There is a whole little community on the island and they brought flowers and vegetation from all over the world. We were pretty tired when we got back from Alcatraz so we went back to the hotel.  We rode a vintage trolly back to the hotel and I tried to get E to sleep for a nap but she wanted to play and stretch out so we played and Gma and Gpa fell asleep and then when E fell asleep Gma and Gpa woke up.  LOL, so it wasn't until late that we were out on the town again.  We went to Ghirardelli Chocolate place and had dinner a at nice little pub and had Ghiradrdelli ice cream and then back to the hotel.

Tuesday, Valentines Day, we took the Open Top Bus tour and went all around The City, we even got to go over the GGB again but this time on the top of the open top bus.  It was very windy but lots and lots of fun.  We had lunch in China Town and ate Dim Sum, it was good , but I decided I like my Americanized Chinese food better, can't beat Crab Rangoons!  Then we rode the cable cars the entire length of the line and then jumped back on an Open Top bus to get back to Fisherman's Wharf.  We went to a little Italian place at the end of Pier 39 and ate a pizza for dinner and then went back to the hotel for some Coldstone and warmth.  We watched a little TV, ate our ice cream, and then once E was in bed we decided we should all have an early night since we had to wake up early to drive back to LA on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning E woke up at 3:30a and then Gma and Gpa got up at 4a.  We hit the road back to LA around 5am and took the fast route down interstate 5.  E was really fussy for most of the trip but Gma did a good job in the back playing with her and helping her sleep while Gpa and I took turns driving.  We made it to LAX just in time for Gma and Gpa to check in and check their bag.  While we were waiting I noticed that E had a top tooth cute through, no wonder she was so fussy in the car and had a sleepless night that night!  I think she is getting a couple of her top teeth in now.  It looks like two are cutting through.  We said good bye to Gma and Gpa and made sure they were all checked in and at security and then E and I went home.  E was happy to see her Daddy and I had to rush to unpack the car, shower, and then get into work.

Life is now back to normal, or as normal as it gets with a 7 month, 3 week old baby.  :)

Here are a few pictures I took from our adventure and I'll post more when I get them from Gma.  She took most of the pictures. :)

E playing a big drum with Gpa in China Town, she loved it!

The GGB from Pier 39

E looking at the Sea Lions at Pier 39

Gma using her new Camera

I liked this photo of Gma and Gpa at Pier 39 and Alcatraz in the background

E eating "something", how bad is that, I am not even sure what this is! :)

E with her apple slices at Wendy's

Yummy apple slices!

E stretching out on the bed after a long time in the car

She's crawling all over now!

Happy to be out of the car

Hello Camera, can I chew on you?



7 Months Already... Time has flown by!

E has reached the ripe old age of 7 months today.  I cannot believe how much our life has changed in the last 7 months, all for the better.  She is growing by leaps and bounds every day.  Here is a summary of the last month and her accomplishments:

1. We have been doing 50% purees and 50% BLW (Baby Lead Weaning, here is a link to a FAQ for anybody interested).  http://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blwleaflet.pdf    It has been the best decision.  She loves her finger foods and eating with Mommy and Daddy.  We usually give her apples and bananas to eat in the morning for breakfast with us and then she gets finger foods of whatever we are eating for dinner.  In the afternoon Adam gives her purees with rice cereal mixed in.  Adam also likes to give her finger snacks like Puffs and Ritz crackers.
2. She is still up on her own much better and has started sitting in her high chair for breakfast and dinner and has even sat in a high chair at Chili's.
3. She is now eating 8oz of formula.  Not quite in one sitting but within an hour period.  She has been drinking a lot more formula in the last month.  Between 32-36oz a day but I am figuring that she is making up for lost time when she was sick and wasn't drinking a lot at all.
4. Her newest talent is sticking out her tongue.  She learned how to do it last night and has been doing it ever since.  That was the first thing she did this morning when I came to pick her up out of her bed was to smile really big and then stick her tongue out.
5. E has also started swinging like a big girl on a swing set in the park all by herself.  We have started walking to a little park down the street that has swings with baby buckets.  She loves it and had a blast yesterday when we walked down with Adam and she was able to swing right along side Adam.

Up a head this week we are extra excited because Grandma and Grandpa are coming to visit.  They arrive on Thursday night, Friday we are going to see Adam's show, then Saturday morning we are driving up to San Francisco and will be up there visiting until early Wednesday morning.  E and I can't wait!

Here are some fun pictures from the last month:

Yummy Ritz Crackers!

Look at that mess... Adam had fun cleaning that one up!  :)

Her first time in a swinging all alone!

First time in a high chair, I wish I had taken a photo of her demolishing the cucumber from my salad but alas, I was busy eating!  :)

Last night sticking out her tongue at Mommy...  I wonder where she picked up that habit from???