Ayla's 1st Solid Food!!!

Ayla had her 4 month check up today & is growing like a weed! She is now 16 lbs. (90%) and 26 1/2 in. (99%). The doctor gave the go ahead to introduce solid foods- rice cereal... it's only 1 tbsp. mixed with 3- tbsp. of breast milk. It doesn't replace any of her feedings but gives her practice with a spoon for when she tries pureed baby food in a couple of months. We've been letting her play with her spoons in preparation for this day & let me tell you, she ate like a champ! As my dad would say, "She's sure strapping on the feed bag".

I had to wrestle her for the spoon! She wanted to do it herself!

Mmmm! Thems good eats!

Help has arrived!

Well, we finally got sick of looking at the growing people in the mirror (Ayla's not the only one with baby fat around here), so... Here is our new friend


Isn't she beautiful! We moved the office into the kitchen nook (which has never been used to eat in)
so we could make room for our lovely new NordicTrack C2500. We'll call her Nora (ok, I just made that up, but she has to have a name... Maybe Ali will come up with a man's name for when she uses it...). Now there is NO EXCUSE. We are going to look so hot for Brent & Vanessa's wedding! I never thought I'd be one of those treadmill guys, but whatever it takes, it's cheaper than a year at the gym without the meatheads. Here's to earning my wine!

Can you handle the cuteness???

Mother/ Daughter Outfits

Leave it to my mom to find the picture of me as a baby sporting the same look as Ayla... now you see why that outfit reminds me so much of the '70's! You can also see where Ayla gets her voluptuous figure :)

PROOF!

I now have proof that pregnancy hormones are real!!! I bought this outfit while pregnant with Ayla & thought it was the cutest thing ever. It's a size 6 month so she hasn't been able to model it yet. Since many of her 3 month outfits are beginning to get snug, we decided to take out some of her 6 month clothes to see if they fit yet...

The good news is they are beginning to fit, which expands her fashion repertoire... the bad news is, this little outfit, that my pregnant mind thought was sooo adorable looks like it would be right at home on the Brady Bunch set! I've had "Keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on dancing all through the night, gonna keep on, keep on, keep on doin' it right..." in my head ALL DAY LONG!... and now you have it in your head... sorry about that, but if I must suffer so should you ;)

What was I thinking????

Mystery Savings Bond...

Somebody very generously got Ayla a US Savings Bond that we received in the mail today. The bond came directly from the treasury alone in an envelope with no sign of who the gift was from. If you are the kind soul who gave this gift, we would love to thank you personally... Let us know! Maybe we will get a card in the next day or two, but in the meantime a sincere Thanks to our mysterious benefactor!

Ayla's First Camping Trip

Yes, we were brave & decided it was time to take our 3 month old baby camping for the first time. Since we went to Tahoe last weekend, we chose to head over to the coast to give Ayla her first ocean experience. We stayed in the little town of Olema, on the Point Reyes National Seashore, just north of San Francisco and the epicenter of the 1906 earthquake.

She did really well on the car ride there, just stopping once to eat at a vista point along the way. Once there we set up camp & took a small walk into town...

She enjoyed the walk so much, we didn't have the heart to wake her... so we just went about the business of relaxing at the campsite! That night she slept so well! The other campers would never have known we had a baby with us had they not seen her with their own eyes! She was so good & quiet! Truly she was in her element! WE WERE AMAZED!






The next day we decided to have picnic at the cheese factory. Ayla got to see the geese at the pond for the first time & watch Ma & Pa chow down!









We enjoyed some lovely blue & breakfast cheese along with salami & an extra sourdough baguette with a delicious Sauvignon Blanc... mmmmmmmmm!









Ayla enjoyed some fingers!













After lunch we drove down to Stinson Beach to give Ayla her first view (and feel) of the ocean.












This picture cracks me up! Notice the "Yeah, So?" expression on Ayla's face... I mean, really? What's the big deal? Water, sand, waves... BORING!

Soon enough though, she showed how she really felt about her beach experience!
The shirt says it all!

This beach stuff is pretty cool!

Here's the happy camper that night.

The next day we broke down camp & headed over to the Bear Valley Visitor's Center. We decided to go on a hike out to Arch Rock... An 8 MILE HIKE! Seemed like a good idea to us, but who knew how the baby felt about it? Well, it turns out Ayla could not have been more thrilled! SHE LOVED IT! We did not hear one squeak from her unless she was hungry. She just hung out in her stroller watching the scenery...
The trail was mostly flat, which was good! So we could maneuver the stroller easily. It wound through dark, lush forested areas. It was so dark that our gear showed off it's safety features when the camera flashed!

Here's Ayla, once again in her element!

The trail changed quite a bit as we approached Arch Rock. We were off roading for sure!

Here's our payoff at the end of the trail!
Worth it? I think so!

One camping trip down... about 50,000 more to go! We were absolutely shocked & amazed by how well Ayla did! In fact when we got home she all of a sudden became very fussy... something we did not see at all while camping! I think we may have to move to the backyard & use the house for storage! We feel so fortunate to show Ayla the world around her & make memories together as a family!