Strolling Through the Park One Day

As I mentioned in my post earlier this morning, I really have been wanting to kick the exercising up a notch during this pregnancy.  When I was pregnant with Olivia, I went to the gym at least a few times a week and did cardio and weights.  I also did a prenatal yoga class once a week.  Times have obviously changed quite a bit and heading out to the gym or a yoga class one evening a week just isn't happening.  I'm guessing that's what happens when you have a toddler at home!

I have been lucky enough to have a few friends who enjoy getting out and walking with their kiddos and so we've scheduled in a few walk/playdates, but nothing on a regular basis.  I am really going to work hard this last trimester to walk 3-4 times a week.  Losing this baby weight is NOT going to be easy with a toddler AND a newborn at home, so maybe a bit more exercise on the front end of this pregnancy AND establishing a walking routine with Olivia will help in the long run.  Better late than never, right?

If you remember, Olivia has never really done very well in strollers.  She does a great job in the Chariot, especially when it is moving quickly while being pulled by a bicycle.  But, the girl does not like being confined.  That is, until she met her match with the Baby Jogger City Select.  As a present to her for her birthday and as a gift to the new baby, my brother got us this awesome new stroller.

The coolest thing about this stroller is that it can be a single or a double stroller based on your needs.  So, for now, we obviously just use it with Olivia.  But, when the new baby comes along, we can add the car seat adapter and push both of them around in the same stroller.  Yes, it will be more weight to push, but it won't be some big, wide load coming through.  {We'll save that for my rear-end.}

Look at all the ways the stroller can be configured! 

I love that the girls will be able to face each other if they want.  And, now sometimes Olivia will choose to face me on our walks instead of facing out.

I'm not saying that Olivia never fusses or wants to get out of the stroller - she still does sometimes.  But, she definitely stays in this one for much longer stretches and really seems to love riding in it.  Oh, and it is super easy to fold up and doesn't take up nearly as much room as the Chariot.  We still use that one for biking, but it wasn't very practical for lugging around to different trails/walking dates as we had to almost completely disassemble it to make it fit in the back of the car.  I still need to get the parent console which holds your drink, keys, etc -- the thing with this stroller is that just about everything comes separately -- but we seriously have been so happy with it.

She's demonstrating how to use the shade!  Love that girl.

So, a big, huge, GINORMOUS thank you to my brother for gifting us this amazing stroller!  {And, sorry it has taken me so long to blog about it!}  We love, love, LOVE it!  And, we look forward to more fun walks/playground adventures like we had this morning.

Olivia saw these golfers on the golf course and thought one of them was Poppy...until he shanked his ball into the water.  Then she knew better!

Happy Tuesday from the Central Coast!

Here we are about to go down the double slide together!

Celebrating Memorial Day With Tacos

As promised, here are a few pictures of our {errr, Olivia's} Memorial Day.  We didn't really do much of anything, but it was nice to stay put after a weekend of entertaining and hanging out with David's dad.  Olivia LOVED having her Poppa around for the weekend and even started crying at one point when he and David left to go run a couple of errands.  She is still asking about him and thinks he is just back in his "office" at our house.  {Not exactly sure which room she is referring to!}

David spent a good majority of the day organizing some files on his computer as well as organizing things in the garage.  You think my nesting is rubbing off on him?  One of these days it's going to move in the direction of assembling furniture and painting Olivia's new dresser.  But, I'm going to need another grandfather here for that...any takers???

We did end up grilling out {hotdogs} for lunch and having a little picnic in the backyard.

She wore this same dress and barrette last Memorial Day.  Check her out here.

What a difference a year makes!  However, I'm pretty sure that same color polish is on my toes.

And, mmmm, how yummy does that zucchini bread look?!

For dinner, I used our ground beef and made our favorite taco night fixin's.  I swear that is Olivia's favorite dinner that I make!  She ended up eating THREE "burritos."  Of course, they were the small tortilla shells and about half of the insides made their way into the high chair, but when she eats the same meal that we do {at the same time}, I'm one happy camper.

She is clearly enjoying herself as well!

Alright, we are heading out for a walk to the playground.  I need to kick up the exercise a notch over here seeing as how I may be pushing out another baby in a few months sans epidural again.  OY.  Or should I say OW.

Happy Tuesday from the Central Coast!

Scan On It ... And Organize It

How many times do you think I've blogged about my obsession with organizing and getting rid of things in the last few weeks?  Probably only a fraction of the time that it has been on my mind.  I honestly don't remember being like this when I was pregnant with Olivia, but it is seriously starting to consume me!  It's too bad I am entering my 3rd trimester now because some of the fatigue is starting to kick back in and I am getting frustrated when there are things I know need organizing!  All of Olivia's old clothes are sorted and the newborn and 0-3's have been washed and put away.  I even consolidated some holiday stuff and am feeling more organized in that area as well.  {And, you know what happens when there are open tubs that need filling??  I start looking for other things to fill them!}

I love my pretty labels!

Yesterday, I went through almost 2 dozen Parents magazines and ripped out any articles/craft ideas/recipes that I thought I would want to keep.  Now I need to get them all organized into categories in a binder and then do the same thing for my Martha Stewart and Real Simple magazines.  I've also been going through a ton of pictures and putting them into picture albums.  Loose pictures are my new arch enemies!  I had David scan a few of them for me that I wanted to share here and put up on Facebook for my mama's birthday.  {Happy Birthday, Mom!}

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures. I can't remember if I've already scanned this and posted it before, but it is worth posting again.  To say I was attached to my Pappaw is putting it lightly!

{And, it looks like I am wearing red, white and blue, so it must have been some sort of holiday!}

Here I am on my 2nd birthday.

I love my mom's hair and her rockin' outfit!!  And, what I wouldn't give to be that blonde again!

This was my mom's engagement picture.  I don't think I could get my hair that high if I tried!

Look, Jill, my mom was IS stylish too!

Oh Dad, let's let that mustache be a thing of the past!

A few weeks ago when Mom & Dad were out here, I joked about how my pappaw listened to the Reds' games on an old-fashioned radio while Olivia's Poppy now listens to them on his newfangled iPhone.  I just found this picture of him, in classic form, listening to his radio, undoubtedly tuned to 700 WLW and listening to the Cincinnati Reds.  {Love him}

It must have been a hot one out because he is practically nekkid!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Memorial Day {and birthday, if it happens to be yours}.  I have a few pictures of Olivia to share from our day, but I think I'll save those for tomorrow.  I've got a stack of articles to sort through while David puts her down for the night.

Happy Memorial Day from the Central Coast!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let Down Your Hair

Most days I have Olivia's hair pulled back into either pigtails or {my personal favorite} double braids.  {I am not complaining, but} It is getting SO long and generally gets caked with food or tears/snot post typical toddler tantrums.  So, if I can get her to sit still long enough {READ: supply her with enough treats and entertainment} her hair is pulled back.  I decided to let it all hang down today though and it blew my mind at just how long it is getting.  I love it and I refuse to cut it EVER.  I've been going through old pictures of me {remember, I'm nesting} and how in the heck my parents MOM ever paid a stylist to give me a mullet is beyond me.  I hope I never do that to Olivia or her pretty, curly goldilocks.  Check out the length on this baby!

It's amazing how much it has grown in the last year!

Hope you all are having a fabulous THREE DAY WEEKEND!

Happy Sunday from the Central Coast!

The Only Thing Missing Was Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries, funnel cakes, bounce houses and family time?!  Woot Woot - that makes for a fun day!  {And, also one worn-out group of people!}

We got up early this morning and packed snacks and a picnic lunch to take to the Strawberry Festival {or the Strawberry Vegetable, as Olivia calls it} up in Arroyo Grande.  We walked through all of the booths and then headed over to my two kiddos favorite spot - the bounce houses!  But, of course we had to take a little lunch break first.

They cancelled the Prince and Princess contest this year, but let me tell you, she would have won it hands down!

When we went to the festival last year there were only a couple of bounce houses there.  {See that post here!} This year there were at least a dozen -- I swear David was in heaven.  We ended up just doing one of them and thank goodness it wasn't crowded.  Olivia can handle the bounce house when there is just one other kid in it, but once too many kids get in, she starts hugging the floor and is ready to get out.  I guess there is a such thing as too much bounce.

And, while we were out in the sunshine and the camera was out, we had to pose for a couple of pictures!

Three generations of Michelsons.

Can you tell it was kind of windy?

We ended up getting a half flat of strawberries before we left and so after a family nap, I made some freezer jam.  I hope it turns out as good as the ones my mom has made for us in the past.  I think I may have eaten my weight in strawberries today {and judging from the picture above, that would be A LOT} ... and this little strawberry in my belly seems to like them too.  She is just movin' and shakin' away.

No, there's not much sugar in those...

In other {non-strawberry} news, one of my best friends in the whole world got married today in Chicago.  It wasn't in the cards for us to be out there with her on this special day and it made me a little sad to miss it.  She made such a beautiful bride and I couldn't be happier for her.

Isn't she gorgeous?

Congratulations Michele and Alejandro!  We wish you all the happiness in the WORD!

Hee hee - just a little inside joke between the two of us.

Happy Saturday from the Central Coast!

Friday Fun Day

David and Olivia are on their usual Friday date night - the house is clean and I'm sitting down for the first time all day!  Olivia and I hit up a couple of huge sales at Gymboree and Carters today -- shirts for $3.99 from Gymboree?  Yes, please.  Our favorite jeans from Carters marked down to $4.79?  I'll take three, errr four!

David's dad is on his way down for a visit and we are so excited to spend a couple days with him.  It's about time Olivia saw him face-to-face again!  Every time we go to Target, she sees this man on the air purifier box and says, "There's Poppa!"  I think he would be pleased!

I snapped a few pictures of Olivia with my cell phone before she left with David.  OY, she's so cute.

I know it is so hard for her to look at the camera and all...

We are heading to the Strawberry Festival tomorrow and I am so excited.  It's probably my most favorite festival in this area...and I'm pretty sure I am going to get some strawberries to make my own strawberry freezer jam.  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Friday from the Central Coast!

Playdate, No Brownies...

...but I DO get a Girls Night Out!  {A much needed GNO, at that!}  Can I get a Whoohoo?!  David was out of town all last weekend, so I am not going to feel one bit guilty taking a few hours tonight to go out to dinner and have some girl time with my friend Katie!

But, enough about me!  We spent the morning at Chumash Park hanging out with Sarah, Jacob and William and were lucky enough to run into Sarah & Kendall there too!  It was a gorgeous day and it was so nice to get out of the house for the morning.  Like Sarah {Jacob's mom} said, "It is so hard sometimes getting out, but once you are there it is so worth it!"  And that is the truth.  Getting both of us dressed and ready and then packing snacks and all the playground necessities isn't the easiest thing in the world, but the kids love it and it's great to be able to hang out with all the moms.

Olivia had to check out both of these little riders.  They seem to be her new thing.

If this didn't scare the crap out of me -- this park has two different play structures.  I was not a fan of the bigger one -- too many kids and too many dangers!

Jacob shared some of his snack with Olivia....

...and she thanked him with a kiss!

Awwww!

I love pictures like this!  They are such good friends.  Jacob just adores Olivia and I love seeing that!

Happy Thursday from the Central Coast!

Playdates & Brownies

We had an eventful morning this morning!  I took a break from all of my organizing and we met up with Sarah and Kendall for a little playdate at the park.  These girls just love each other to pieces and it's so fun watching them play together.

Kendall is SO brave.  As soon as she could, she ran off to the big playground, climbed the stairs and went straight for the covered slide!  Olivia was petrified of the swinging bridge!  I can't say that I blame her - I hate those too.

Sarah had a couple of things to get from WalMart and so did I, so we took our kiddos up for a quick shopping trip together.

David was out of town last weekend and emptied the car of anything baby related, so our cart cover was MIA.  Of all places for her to have her pb&j lunch....

Sarah was really craving In-N-Out Burger, so we tagged along for a little lunch date.  Since Olivia had already eaten, I just shared a few of my french fries with her.  She was OBSESSED with dipping them in the ketchup!

I couldn't get both girls to look at the camera at the same time.

And, as if that wasn't enough to wear me out -- I came home and made a dozen breakfast burritos and a box of this goodness while Olivia napped!

The worst thing about the brownies is that you are supposed to eat them chilled.  I've been sneaking little bites of them since this afternoon waiting for them to cool and I'm officially ready to get a real brownie for dessert!

Happy Tuesday from the Central Coast!