California Adventure, Part 2

The beach house we stayed at was just 2 blocks from the beach and it had an amazing upper deck with an ocean view-- not a shabby way to spend a week! We loved our daily morning walks on the beach and around the neighborhood; and once we even got to participate in Dad's famed early morning beach yoga session (but he wouldn't let us take pictures or video-- boo!).



We spent way too much time playing Bang!, but it was totally worth it! And who can forget the beach? It was wonderful to walk down and back to the house whenever we felt like it. Ruby loved playing in the sand, but got frustrated when the tide would come in and claim her beach toys. Once when the tide came in she gathered up her toys and relocated to Daddy's lap. Once it came in again she'd had enough, picked up all the toys, put them in the basket, and walked back to the towels. Too funny!





Towards the end of the week the whole family went to Sea World together. Ruby had a great time in the kid's area (which is Sesame Street themed).



As expected, our daredevil loved all of the rides and requested "more" as soon as we got off. On Elmo's Flying Fish ride (which is like the Dumbo ride at Disneyland) she insisted on holding my hand-- which, of course, melted my heart.



On our way out of the play area we caught a little bit of the Sesame Street Live Show. For the rest of the trip she wouldn't stop saying "Elmo." I guess she's a fan. While we were there we also squeezed in some animal shows.



Rooster liked the shows, but loved the animal exhibits-- especially the penguins and sharks. Most of all, I think she loved petting the star fish. It was a great day-- lots of good memories were made.



Other fun things we did while at the beach house... kayak through the caves in La Jolla (We really only got to kayak through one cave since the others have been closed because of falling rock related to recent aftershocks from their Easter earthquake, but it was still fun. The best part ended up being all the sea life we saw anyway. We kayaked right past a huge group of sea lions and stood in the waves while 6 foot long leopard sharks swam past us.),


Little Roo Bear trying to sneak out with us on date night.

date night (We finally saw Toy Story 3. Yes, it made me cry like a baby; especially since the little girl looked so much like Ruby. And then we shared an oreo shake and frings at Ruby's on the pier.),



girl's night out (My best friend Lura lives close by so she played with us at the beach and then she and I had a yummy dinner at The Fish House. Later she ended up coming back to the house because she forgot her swim suit and stayed late to play a few rounds of Bang! with the family. I'm glad she forgot her suit, because the party is always more fun with her around.),


Ruby got to spend some extra time bonding with the fam so we could go to the temple. She really loves Uncle Chris!

and on the last day we were there Brandon and I were able to attend a session at the San Diego Temple where we were married nearly 6 years ago.

California Adventure, Part 1

We just got back from a crazy 10 day trip to California. We spent half of the time with my Dad, who recently moved from Orange County to Corona, and the rest of the time at a beach house in San Diego with my in-laws. It was the best vacation we've had in a long time! Every day when Ruby woke up she had a buddy to play with... cousin, grandparent, aunt, or uncle. I think adjusting to just Mom and Dad in Houston is going to be rough.



While we were at my dad's place we went on several wagon rides-- even one to the park and grocery store. After her first ride she was in love with it. One day when I was in the kitchen preparing something and I turned around and couldn't find her. Apparently, I had forgotten to lock the door to the garage and I found her out there sitting in the wagon waiting for a ride.



Too cute! We also played in the blow up pool in the yard (once on purpose, once because Ruby decided to go in fully clothed and then we just went with it).





Grandpa's favorite outings were probably split between Chuck E Cheese and Irvine Park. He and Ruby had a ball playing together at Chuck E Cheese and Ruby devoured the pizza (good thing some one liked it). At the end of the night we cashed in our tickets for a little Chuck E Cheese tin lunch box that is now one of her favorite toys. I thought about leaving it at Grandpa's house, but since she was so attached to it I decided to bring it home.







At Irvine Park we took Roo Bear on the train ride, played at the petting zoo, and Grandpa paid for her to ride the ponies 3 times-- softie! Ruby loved EVERY minute of it! The petting zoo was too much fun.





They have a goat encounter section were the kids can brush all different kinds of miniature goats. Ruby was especially attached to one goat and kept giving it hugs (one resembled a wrestling hold more than a hug, but don't worry, we saved the goat). Whenever anyone came near the goat she'd say, "no" and make them go away-- adults and children included! Good thing a sibling is on the way to teach her how to share...

18 month stats

Ruby is growing so quickly. Here are the stats from her 18 month exam:
Weight-23 pounds (30%)
Length- 31 3/4 inches (50%)
Head- 46.5 centimeters (80%)
At 2 years you can double the height and that is a pretty good estimate of how tall she'll be as an adult. Brandon pointed out that she's already on track to surpass her mama, which is okay with me. I don't mind being a shorty, but if she gets the Linford long and lean genes she should consider herself lucky.
In other news, she's just as mischievous as ever. Yesterday she found the linen closet and decided to clear all of the towels off the shelf. This morning she accidentally locked herself in the hall closet after she removed the vacuum and pushed it down the hall. She's also decided that she likes showers. This morning I turned it on to warm up the water and then undressed in my closet. When I came out of the closet she was standing right in the middle of the shower-- fully clothed-- having a great time! I ended up letting her shower with me. When it was all over I heard, "more" quite a bit! She's one adorable little stinker-- and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Set the date...Feb 18, 2011!

We have some exciting news to share-- I'm 12 weeks pregnant. That's right, number 2 is on the way! Since it took so long to get pregnant with Ruby we anticipated that it would take at least 6 months to get pregnant a second time. Boy, were we wrong! The first month we tried we succeeded, so the kids will be 2 years apart (almost to the day). Everything about this pregnancy has been so different than it was last time that everyone in the family is speculating it's a boy. I honestly have no premonitions; whereas with Ruby I was sure it was a girl almost from the moment I found out I was expecting. Luckily, I've only gotten physically sick two or three times since I found out the news. Weeks 6 thru 8 (which also happened to coincide with our trip to Utah) I felt terrible-- really nauseated, dizzy, cranky, and bloated. Now I feel great-- still a little bloated-- but great overall. I've been able to keep up with my gym routine, eat normally, and the strong sense of smell has mostly dissipated (which is probably one of the worst parts of early pregnancy). The only thing that I'm a little concerned about this time around is weight gain. By the time I was 12 weeks pregnant with Ruby I had lost 12 pounds. This time I've already gained 5 pounds (which is within the normal range of first trimester weight gain, but nonetheless I worry). Next Thursday I have my second appointment. I'm really looking forward to hearing the little heartbeat again. When we first heard it a few weeks ago I couldn't hold back the tears (and I'm not a really emotional person). Each little life is a miracle and a blessing and we're excited for this little one to join our family early next year.