San Francisco Zoo

My dad has been out visiting for a few days and every day was packed full of FUN!  All 4 of us drove into San Francisco to pick him up and on our way back home we stopped for a little while at the San Francisco zoo.  We had never been before and thought it was a great way to break up the car ride.  It was great and cannot wait to go back!  It was not crowded- maybe because the SF fog was crazy thick and it was a mere 53 degrees...

Getting ready to go pick up Papa!

Sweet Pierce all bundled up.

The boys took a ride on Little Puffer the steam train!

Pierce I'm sure was thinking, "well, what in the world are YOU?!?"  He would spot and just stare at every animal :)

Bare Bottoms

Just had to share a picture that I will love FOREVER!  Oh the sweet days of summertime :)

(... and no, that is not what you think under their feet- ha)

How Precious...

is THIS blog?!?

Jake's Clock

This clock has completely changed our life!

Jake has been notorious for waking up between 5:45 and 6:02 basically since he was born.  I mean, like up and wanting to play outside- not like let's go and just lay on the couch and watch tv.  When our child wakes up he WAKES UP and is ready to GO!  I just assumed that I had an early riser and that there was nothing we could do about it... until he became a teenager- ha!  I just couldn't wait to be able to teach him about the number 7 on a clock!

A couple months ago my friend Emily posted on her blog about this clock and how it "rocked their world."  I immediately went to the site and ordered this clock.  Without thinking twice. :)

So how it works is this... you set the "alarm" for when you want or when it is ok for your child to get out of bed.  When the bunny is sleeping you have to stay in your bed.  But when the bunny is awake and playing it's time to get up!  We gradually (a few minutes at a time) set the time for later and later.  And now, drumroll please......Jake successfully stays in his bed until 6:50!  

We seriously can't believe it has worked!  And we have just 10 minutes to go.  :)  

We hear Jake in his room go "bunny's awake! bunny's awake! mooooommmmmmyyyyyyy.  daaaaaaaddddddddddyyyyyyyyyy.  bunny's awake"

It's been a serious life changer!  Thank you Emily and One Step Ahead!

And an update on the sleeping habits of my youngest... Pierce is shaping up to be an excellent sleeper!  He is taking 2 naps (2+ hours in the am, 1+ hour in the pm)  Goes to bed around 7 and sleeps till between 7:30 and 8:30am!

Mark and I are loving our extra sleep lately!

4th of July

Fourth of July Fun!  (except for Pierce who had a 103 fever!)

(Mark was traveling last week and will be all this next week too, so I will probably be taking a break from my blog and trying to keep my head above water!  Don't be too sad- ha!)

Birthday Celebrating

I turned 32 years young on July 1.  I had a great few days celebrating with some fun friends and family.  The day before, I was "kidnapped" by 3 great friends for a day of fun in San Francisco.  The fun included makeovers, tons and tons and tons of shopping, including a very private shopping experience behind closed doors at Nordstrom (so fun!), and a great dinner!  I feel very blessed by each of those girls and am blessed tremendously by their friendship.

So, the next day, my birthday, I was greeted by my 2 year old storming through my room saying "happy birfday mommy, happy birfday momma.  sweet dweams momma.  nite nite."   My men let me sleep in just a little.  :) I headed to bible study and was greeted by the yummiest cupcakes made by my mother-in-law.  Afterwards we had a celebratory picnic at my friend Patty's winery, C Donatiello.  Everyone brought something to share and it was delicious!  We decided to lay low that night so Mark grilled some tri-tip.  It was a perfect evening at home with the men in my life.

The next day, we celebrated by having dinner with Mark's family.  Janis made a wonderful meal and even more wonderful dessert.  I am so blessed to have such a great relationship with my in-laws.  I couldn't ask for better ones :)

A few days later, I had such a fun day!!!  Several other "wine industry" friends and I went and celebrated 3 of our birthdays by doing some wine tasting... but it wasn't just wine... it was sparkling wine- aka champagne!  My absolute favorite!!!  My favorite stop... Roederer. www.roedererestate.com   Their bubbles are like heaven to my mouth :)  (Sorry, but that totally sounded so cheesy... but seriously, my favorite champagne!)

Anyways, I had a great several days celebrating with great friends and family!

Here are just a few random pictures :)

I'm definitely looking forward to what the Lord has planned for me this year!

Cheers :)

9 month comparison...

Here are some pictures of my boys at 9 months!  The first 2 are of Jake.  He just looks so much older than Pierce does right now... I think it's because of ALL his hair :)  The last one is of Pierce.  It's funny to me looking at these 3 pictures that they actually look alike.  When in reality or in person, they are very different.  But you can tell they are definitely brothers.  Anyways, thought it would be a good comparison for me to look back on. 

Happy weekend to you!