First Weekend Away

Ryan and I took our first overnighter, away from Shaye, this past weekend to attend a wedding in San Diego. We decided to take advantage of the time and make it a full trip so we left early Saturday morning and got home mid afternoon on Sunday. Shaye stayed with Ryan's parents and had a blast. Teary eyed, we dropped her off at 9am and set off to meet up with some friends that live in Rancho Bernardo. Side note: gotta love our GPS system that took us on a 12 mile detour to get to the freeway (and yes, we followed it to prove a point, but that had us arriving late in SD). We went to breakfast with April and Jason and then joined them on a super fun hobby of theirs, indoor rock climbing. They have been doing it for years, and although April doesn't have much time for it these days with her travel schedule, Jason is a monkey and climbs a couple times per week. It shows. They were impressive and took the time to teach us the ropes (literally). Our session was cut short since they had to get home for a furniture delivery but we had a great time and recognized that rock climbing is much more difficult than it looks!




The wedding was a great time, although admittingly one of the worst weddings we have attended from an organization and food standpoint. But, we spent some quality time with 4 of my co-workers and their spouses and had a lot of fun on the dance floor.



On Sunday morning, we stopped at the Carlsbad Outlets and shopped. We cleaned out the Gap and Banana Republic and decided to come back with Shaye another time to explore the gorgeous Flower Fields.

Shaye was in good hands with Rick and Joyce. Joyce took Shaye to a luncheon with a bunch of teaching colleagues and apparently she had a great old time! I was a little worried that she would freak out since she still has some stranger anxiety but it did not seem to be an issue. In fact, I have seen many pictures with Shaye in random people's arms so she turned out to be a trooper! Ryan's grandma, Nana, also came along and they enjoyed each other's company. Shaye became Joyce's lucky charm since she won the grand prize of the luncheon - a beautiful handmade quilt decorated with gorgeous handbags.


Later that day, Shaye had a visit from Shawn, Brianna and Hailee as they stopped by separately and held her.


Good friends, the Austs, also made an appearance and although Shaye carefully checked out Jerry, she was ok with him feeding her. Joyce said she had lots of fun all weekend.


She went to bed seamlessly.

On Sunday morning, they took her to church and since she has been many times before, it didn't phase her. She loved being in Rick's arms, looking at all the people. Joyce gave her a blessing since she was the Eucharistic Minister and she just smiled and smiled!

We came back and picked her up around 2:30, armed with our San Diego souvenier - a giraffe Pillow Pal. Ryan and I got all the smiles we imagined and we hugged her tightly. She seemed to like the giraffe.


We were happy to be home, but was so thankful to have this special time together, just the two of us. Ryan and I truly enjoyed ourselves and were very thankful for Joyce and Rick's care of Shaye.

Kara's Birthday

Kara turns 35 on April 28th, but her birthday was celebrated with family while she was here visiting on Friday the 23rd. Even better was the fact that Shaye and I were able to spend the day with her since I had the day off. We walked down the street to have lunch at a nearby sushi restaurant. It was Shaye's first time in a restaurant high chair and she loved it! It was a race to see how many times Mommy and Auntie could pick up the toys Shaye threw on the floor over and over again. She did pretty well and we were able to finish our lunch just as Shaye was ready to go.

My mom prepared a super delicious dinner for the family for K's birthday. Grandpa Wharton, Dad, Rye, Shaye, and Kara's mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew were in attendance. It was great to catch up with Matt's family since we only see them a few times a year. Joseph is growing up so fast! It was a terrific night together. Happy 35th, Big Sis!

7 Month Surprise!

Shaye turned 7 months old today so when Grandma Flower arrived, she came in the door singing "Happy Birthday To You". Shaye was so excited and was full of smiles as she always is when Joyce walks in the door. Shaye has been learning to bake on Thursdays and Fridays with her Grandma, the Queen of Baking! When we got home this evening, there was a little birthday cake Shaye had made for herself, wanting us to eat it, along with a star cake since she is our shining star! AND with her extra time, she made a few cookies too. All of this came with the cutest note. Thanks, Shaye, and most of all, thanks Joyce for your thoughtfulness!

Babies for Our Cousins

Both Ryan and I each have a cousin that have recently become a new parent. It has been an exciting 2010 already for both families. For my side, it's the first boy (since Shaye is the first baby). For Ryan's side, another girl has changed the face of those rough and tough Flower boys!

After a very long and slow labor, Aryella was induced and gave birth on Saturday, February 13th and brought Sylus Stephen Stickney into the world. She and John are such happy and fulfilled parents and they have made my uncle and aunt (Jeff and Lourdes) very proud Grandparents! Sylus is a big boy...at 2 months, he is already 14.9lbs, 25 inches! We can't wait to drive out to Murietta to meet him sometime soon.

Emmery Serafine Flower took her time as well. After 20 hours of labor, Heather gave birth to this little girl on Thursday, April 8th. We know that Kevin will be a natural father and we can only imagine how much he adores Emmery already. Ryan's uncle and aunt, Craig and Margo, have also become first time Grandparents. Although they live in Portland, we plan to make a trip (perhaps next year) up there so Shaye can meet her new buddy. Perhaps by then Craig and Margo will be able to handle a double dose of babies while the parents do some Portland wine tasting?!

We are so excited that our families are growing. Life gives us all so many blessings!

Easter

Easter was super fun for us since Shaye enjoyed the company of family throughout the day. We went to an early mass and dressed her in the pretty Easter dress Grandma Netro had picked out for her.

In the early afternoon, we went to Ryan's parents house to spend time with them. Brandy and Ryan's Grandma Barbara came a couple hours later. Shaye was comfortable around them and even let Barbara feed her!

As we were leaving to go to my parents house, Shawn, Brianna and Hailee showed up. Again, more smiles from Shaye! At Grandpa and Grandma Netro's, she squealed away, playing with all her new toys.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner and a quiet evening with my Grandpa. It was a relaxing and truly enjoyable holiday.

Easter weekend was also the start of veggies at lunchtime. Shaye had her first dose of green beans. For the first couple days, she wasn't thrilled. But has quickly changed her tune and started eating like a champ. She tried squash today and seemed to be a fan!