Tutu Precious

For those of you who attended my baby shower I'm sure that you remember this cute little tutu that my sister gave me (it got a lot of oohs & aahs). It's the epitome of baby girl femininity, which I thought I wouldn't be that into, but that was before I saw my little angel in it. I'm really beginning to embrace the joys of everything girl.

Solana Beach

We had the greatest time in Solana Beach (northern San Diego) for our Pyne family reunion. The weather was fabulous. The beach was gorgeous. Gavin and I didn't want to leave. Gavin even tried boogie boarding. This was our 2nd family reunion in Solana Beach. We vacationed there 3 years ago and loved it. It was great to return to Solana (sunshine) Beach and that beautiful little community. However, this time Tiffany owns a beach condo that we were able to use in addition to renting another one. Tiff's condo was fabulous. She's renovated and decorated it in a cool, contemporary beach style. It was very fun staying there. It was also nice to be able to see Cyndi (my best friend from Ventura), who came down from Huntington Beach with her family. During our week long stay we went to the San Diego Zoo, Knott's Berry Farm (pics below), and tried to fit in as much beach time as possible. I'm still daydreaming about it...

Camping & River Rafting

We had a wonderful time camping on the Grey's River near Jackson Hole Wyoming and rafting on the Snake River. This was the second year that we did this rafting trip with families of the men who work at Tony's station (#6). There were 6 plus families this year so we had a nice big group. Gavin loved rafting the rapids and did not want to get off the raft. He had no problem with the cold water drenching us (wish I could say the same). Tony and I had to switch off watching Arabella who slept a lot and hardly fussed at all. She loved the fresh air and being outside a lot. She slept better in the trailer than she has ever slept at home (8-9 hrs. straight every night). The Baby Bjorn came in very handy. I walked around camp with Bella in it a lot (picture above). We decided to bring Rowdy because he's been camping with Tony many times on hunting trips and we knew he wouldn't be a bother. Rocco had to stay with grandma and grandpa Allred because we knew he WOULD be a bother. The scenery was breathtaking. It will be fun to go back next summer.

4th of July in St. George

Here are some pics from our trip to St. George for the 4th of July. We met up with my parents and my brother, David, and his family and we had a great time as always. The 1st two pictures are of my parents house and the 3rd picture is of a pretty little pond across the street. I loved all the lily pads and flowers floating around in it. Gavin and his 4 cute girl cousins had a great time finding frogs and tadpoles all over the yard and in that pond. The last two photos are of the Entrada pool. Grandpa Don has pretty much all the grandkids hanging on him while baby Arabella sleeps peacefully in the shade.

Birth Announcement Photo

I ordered Arabella's birth announcements from tinyprints.com and I am thrilled with the finished product. I chose a beautiful and colorful birth announcement that cooridinated with the colors in this photo. The particular announcement that I chose was designed by Tea exclusively for Tiny Prints, ( Tea is a baby & childrens clothing line whose designs I love). Yours should be arriving in them mail any day now...

Favorite Baby Gear

A must have is a baby swing or a chair that bounces or vibrates. In fact, we discovered we needed one for upstairs and one for downstairs. It really doesn't matter what kind you get as long as you have a place to set the baby that moves in some way to calm them.

I love my BOB jogging stroller. I've wanted one every since Gavin was a baby. We finally broke down and bought one (at REI). It's not only a great jogging/power walking stroller, but it's all terrain so your little baby isn't bouncing around when you are walking on something other than a smooth sidewalk. It used to be that you couldn't use it until your baby was about 6 months old and had good neck control, but now they sell an infant car seat converter so that you can use it with your newborn (which is when you really want to lose that baby weight).

I love this infant car seat cover. We are using Gavin's old car seat, which is black and gray (not very feminine). This adorable cover can be removed easily for washing and it provides a little cozy comfort for my LTB as Tony calls her (Little Tiny Baby). For an added bonus... it is reversible. One side has this cool black and white pattern and the other has a super soft lavender chenille. This particular cover is by Itzy Ritzy.

How did I ever survive without a nursing cover when I first had Gavin? This is my #1 pick for baby gear that I can't live without. When you have a new baby and she wants to eat every 2 hours you must be ready to stop and nurse her no matter where you are (unless you just want to stay home all the time for fear of nursing in public). I use this fashionable nursing cover everywhere... restaurants, the park, the pool, the mall, etc. It's totally discreet, nice and big so it covers everything, light weight, and won't slide off like a blanket. This nursing cover is also by Itzy Ritzy. The one I have matches my car seat cover (above).

This is my favorite diaper bag (and I've tried several). It's the Skip Hop Studio Diaper Tote. It's the perfect size and I like how it resembles a large purse. It has the perfect amount of pockets. I also like how it can stand on it's own and it's comfortable to carry. To me it's fashionable and functional. You can purchase it here.

When you have a baby who screams every time you wipe her bum with a cold wipe, a wipes warmer is a necessity. I had one with Gavin, but Tony threw it away in frustration after owning it for only a week or so because it made the wipes stiff and brown. Well, this Prince Lionheart Ultimate Wipes Warmer does not do that. It's awesome! No more crying baby during diaper change.

I'd love to hear what your favorite baby gear is? Tell us which items you can't live without.

Summertime

Today is the 1st day of summer! I look forward to summer all year (well, all winter & spring anyway). It's always been my favorite season. Growing up it was my favorite season because school was out and now it is my favorite for the same reason (no work). Here are a few photos from last summer... socal vacay, Vegas, St. George and here. We also took our pop up trailer on several super fun camping trips... Bryce Canyon & Snake River. I wonder what this summer has in store for us? We already have a Newport Beach vacation planned, as well as the annual Snake River camping trip. We're headed to St. George for the 4th of July (please don't be 104 degrees again). And we hope to add in a few more camping excursions. Can't wait!

Happy Father's Day!

Here are a few pictures from the vault that I have compiled to illustrate what a great dad Tony is. I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children. He loves to teach Gavin fun new things (and I know he'll enjoy teaching Bella all these things too). In case you didn't know Tony and I share the joy of caring for our kids. When I'm working and Tony is off he stays home with Gavin (& soon little Miss A too). He's a very involved, hands-on dad. Happy father's day Tony!

I also must wish my wonderful dad a happy father's day as well. I've always thought he was the best, coolest, strongest, most handsome dad around. Growing up my dad was an accountant by day and superhero by night. He drove a Corvette. He surfed. He was a triathlete for years (winning several of the triathlons he was in). I often had friends who commented on how handsome my dad was. And now he is a wonderful grandpa and Gavin adores him. Happy father's day, Dad.

Big Brother

So Sweet

The Silly Wagon

I've been meaning to blog about The Silly Wagon ever since I ordered some things from them a couple of months ago. I got a couple of tees for Gavin, one with his name on it and one with a 4 and trains to display his age (example above & you can scroll down to "Gavin's Birthday" to see him wearing the other green personalized shirt I got him). For Arabella I found a really cute outfit and a onsie with her initial on it (example above). The items arrived surprisingly quick and came with a coloring page, crayons and a happy face stamp (Gavin was especially excited about that). Now they are celebrating their 2nd anniversary and almost everything is 4o% off. They are also giving away one of their most popular tees to one lucky winner. Click here to go to their website and here to enter their giveaway.

GOOP

I have really been diggin' Gweneth Paltrow's blog/website, GOOP. You can sign up and receive her weekly newsletter about her favorite recipes, restaurants, fashion, parenting advice, music, travel, etc. Last week's newsletter was about Party Jams and she asked several well known DJs what their favorite party music was. She also shared her favorite party songs. I got some good suggestions and downloaded them onto my ipod for my workout mix. This week's newsletter was about 3 of her favorite Italian food recipes. You can sign up for GOOP here .