what a great weekend!
friday started off with Braden & Mommy having their first 'road trip' :) Mommy was a bit nervous at first about traveling alone with Braden, but he did a great job which made Mommy a bit more comfortable...he just slept the entire car ride to & from...with a few random giggles while asleep ~ makes you wonder what they really dream about at such a young age, I'm guessing Braden is dreaming all about his next meal!
destination: Solvang to meet his Great Grandma for the 1st time and getting to see Grandma
some dear friends of ours live in Solvang with their 2 little boys, so I was very excited to get there a little early so I could spend some time with them and so they could meet Braden. I was a little worried that my new 'morning routine' would prevent me from being to either place even close to my goal time, but I was going to try really hard to make it work. I told myself I would leave the house by 8am, knowing I didn't need to leave until 8:30 to make it to Becca (she has a great name too!) & Rusty's until 10am, so that gave me that 1/2 leverage, which for me always helps. so I'm up by 6am, Braden still sound asleep. I get ready while Jess watches him for me and then I then by the time I'm completely ready, breakfast eaten & with all the necessities packed (which I had tried to get as much done the day before of course) it was then 7am. so next I change the lil guy into a fresh clean outfit, put another clean diaper on him and get him all ready to eat since I know that is a MUST for him before we venture off into the car for an hour & a half drive. Jess was awesome & had the car all loaded up with everything I needed, along with the gas tank full before he took off for work. I literally pulled out of the driveway at 8:28am! I was STUNNED! did I really think we'd leave on time? NO! I thought you know it won't kill me to be a little behind, but I really wanted to be ON TIME! and since we were going to meet my Mom & Grandma at 11am I really wanted to have some time with my girlfriend. when we used to live by the beach I quickly acquired an addiction to a local coffee shop, which of course I just have to have as we were going to be on the road for a bit. unfortunately they were a bit crowded and it set me back by about 25 minutes...BUMMER! I still had sweet time with Becca & the kids and then we were off to meet Grandma & Great Grandma!
I love you becca!! see you again next weekend :)
our day was very leisurely! all Grandma & Great Grandma wanted to do was stare at this precious little boy. he was seriously an angel all day! he didn't fuss but once towards the end of the day when a gal at one of the local stores was closing up which made me cut Braden's 'snack' short. we got several stores in, a wonderful lunch and much r&r time at a hotel we stay at in Solvang that let us enjoy their garden/pool area to relax at. the day quickly came and went as it always seems to. we were so glad to have such great weather and get to have such a wonderful day with the grandma's! thanks for everything Mom & Grandma; Braden loves all his new clothes! it was a great day!
4 Generations
Braden was all smiles!
Saturday my mother-in-law & her husband came up to visit. Grandma Cheryl & Tony were so excited to see baby Braden! we had a very relaxing, enjoyable day staying in our cool air-conditioned house as it was well over 100 outside! they cooked a great dinner & we enjoyed some great local wine together. thank you for dinner! Braden was a champ for 2 full days of activities without a fuss at all! they loved seeing all his new expressions & his new features. he is such a great little boy.
we had Braden dressed in his adorable "Quack Quack" outfit (shoes & all) that our sweet friend gave to us. I just have to show him off in this adorable outfit! 
even a "quack quack" on the tooshie! 
Sunday we all woke up pretty much exhausted. Braden slept almost 8 hours and we all slept like a rock! Of course our morning was fabulous as we woke up to Braden ROLLING OVER! Yes, you read that correctly ~ our little man rolled over for the very FIRST time all by himself. I must say, I was a bit sad as he it just shows how fast he's growing. We (well, lets be honest - of course it's more me!) have gotten suckered into having Braden sleep with us, rather than in his bassinet. It started off with me just knowing I would sleep better because when he was in his bassinet I just couldn't sleep as I was always leaning to the side of the bed to check and make sure he was breathing, which in the end would just end up with me waking him up and then from there I would pull him into bed with us. I have kind-of set a deadline to him being in bed with us - which is at 3 months I figured I would get him into his cradle or crib. I make an intentional effort during nap time to have him in his pack 'n play or his crib, and he is doing pretty well with this. But now that he is rolling over I'm a little nervous of him rolling out of our bed...so it makes me sad to think he may be in his 'own' bed sooner than I thought. We'll see... We had a very relaxing day just the 3 of us. Braden was FULL of smiles & giggles while playing with his Daddy. His daddy found his tickle spot on his back! Here are some of my favorite shots. He definitely loves his Daddy! Oh, and of course Kona had to join in on the fun :) ...and last, but not least as we were getting ready for bed our lil man had his first 'real' tear. it about broke my heart! of course there wasn't anything really wrong, except that he was, well, hungry!
destination: Solvang to meet his Great Grandma for the 1st time and getting to see Grandma
some dear friends of ours live in Solvang with their 2 little boys, so I was very excited to get there a little early so I could spend some time with them and so they could meet Braden. I was a little worried that my new 'morning routine' would prevent me from being to either place even close to my goal time, but I was going to try really hard to make it work. I told myself I would leave the house by 8am, knowing I didn't need to leave until 8:30 to make it to Becca (she has a great name too!) & Rusty's until 10am, so that gave me that 1/2 leverage, which for me always helps. so I'm up by 6am, Braden still sound asleep. I get ready while Jess watches him for me and then I then by the time I'm completely ready, breakfast eaten & with all the necessities packed (which I had tried to get as much done the day before of course) it was then 7am. so next I change the lil guy into a fresh clean outfit, put another clean diaper on him and get him all ready to eat since I know that is a MUST for him before we venture off into the car for an hour & a half drive. Jess was awesome & had the car all loaded up with everything I needed, along with the gas tank full before he took off for work. I literally pulled out of the driveway at 8:28am! I was STUNNED! did I really think we'd leave on time? NO! I thought you know it won't kill me to be a little behind, but I really wanted to be ON TIME! and since we were going to meet my Mom & Grandma at 11am I really wanted to have some time with my girlfriend. when we used to live by the beach I quickly acquired an addiction to a local coffee shop, which of course I just have to have as we were going to be on the road for a bit. unfortunately they were a bit crowded and it set me back by about 25 minutes...BUMMER! I still had sweet time with Becca & the kids and then we were off to meet Grandma & Great Grandma!
I love you becca!! see you again next weekend :)
our day was very leisurely! all Grandma & Great Grandma wanted to do was stare at this precious little boy. he was seriously an angel all day! he didn't fuss but once towards the end of the day when a gal at one of the local stores was closing up which made me cut Braden's 'snack' short. we got several stores in, a wonderful lunch and much r&r time at a hotel we stay at in Solvang that let us enjoy their garden/pool area to relax at. the day quickly came and went as it always seems to. we were so glad to have such great weather and get to have such a wonderful day with the grandma's! thanks for everything Mom & Grandma; Braden loves all his new clothes! it was a great day!
4 Generations
Braden was all smiles!
Saturday my mother-in-law & her husband came up to visit. Grandma Cheryl & Tony were so excited to see baby Braden! we had a very relaxing, enjoyable day staying in our cool air-conditioned house as it was well over 100 outside! they cooked a great dinner & we enjoyed some great local wine together. thank you for dinner! Braden was a champ for 2 full days of activities without a fuss at all! they loved seeing all his new expressions & his new features. he is such a great little boy.
we had Braden dressed in his adorable "Quack Quack" outfit (shoes & all) that our sweet friend gave to us. I just have to show him off in this adorable outfit! 
even a "quack quack" on the tooshie! 
Sunday we all woke up pretty much exhausted. Braden slept almost 8 hours and we all slept like a rock! Of course our morning was fabulous as we woke up to Braden ROLLING OVER! Yes, you read that correctly ~ our little man rolled over for the very FIRST time all by himself. I must say, I was a bit sad as he it just shows how fast he's growing. We (well, lets be honest - of course it's more me!) have gotten suckered into having Braden sleep with us, rather than in his bassinet. It started off with me just knowing I would sleep better because when he was in his bassinet I just couldn't sleep as I was always leaning to the side of the bed to check and make sure he was breathing, which in the end would just end up with me waking him up and then from there I would pull him into bed with us. I have kind-of set a deadline to him being in bed with us - which is at 3 months I figured I would get him into his cradle or crib. I make an intentional effort during nap time to have him in his pack 'n play or his crib, and he is doing pretty well with this. But now that he is rolling over I'm a little nervous of him rolling out of our bed...so it makes me sad to think he may be in his 'own' bed sooner than I thought. We'll see... We had a very relaxing day just the 3 of us. Braden was FULL of smiles & giggles while playing with his Daddy. His daddy found his tickle spot on his back! Here are some of my favorite shots. He definitely loves his Daddy! Oh, and of course Kona had to join in on the fun :) ...and last, but not least as we were getting ready for bed our lil man had his first 'real' tear. it about broke my heart! of course there wasn't anything really wrong, except that he was, well, hungry!
