a visit with aunties liz & ruthie.

my sisters liz & ruth came out mid-july to meet little man and we had the BEST time.  i loved our week together so, so much.  it was the first time we've had a "vacation" just us three.  usually we are either with the entire price herd, or liz's girls, or it's just an afternoon out together in columbia.  but we were in full on vacation mode for their visit and i loved every second of it.  it meant so much to me that they came to spend time with me and my babykins.  charlie was horrified that they would come out here and not do some hiking - but with a new baby and the upper 90s heat, it wasn't really a good option.  so we begrudgingly settled for lolling about & shopping & eating good food :)

i busted out the baby bjorn one morning in preparation for our ikea trip.  ikea is kind of a nightmare with a stroller so i thought this would be a good option.  it was okay - i think brady will enjoy it more as he gets older & bigger.  he just kind of hung there and wasn't super content for very long.  as i discovered this week, he actually prefers the ergo carrier for now (with the infant insert) but i hadn't tested it out yet so the bjorn it was.  he did fine, just not as happy as he was in the ergo later.  the nice thing about the bjorn is that when he's older he can face out with his back to me, and i think most older babies really like being able to see what's going on so that may be good later.

brady was very happy snuggling on his aunt ruthie mattress!  the week they were here he had just started to really look around more and i think he liked being kicked back, comfortably watching all the goings-on in the living room :)

he had to wear his "cool like auntie" onesie for their first morning here.  nothing beats snuggling a little peanut in the morning.

windsor was having a "taste of windsor" festival while the girls were here so we went down one evening and enjoyed the yummy food stations (my fave: fried oreos. yes please!) and snow cones and live music.  mike took the baby for a stroll around the lake while we hung out which was nice!  it was a beautiful warm summer evening - and not humid or buggy.  nice change from the midwest, right? :)

we celebrated sarah's 16th birthday on sunday while the sisters were in town.  mama trish made a delicious cheese cake to enjoy after sunday lunch...we tried a recipe that liz found on pinterest, crockpot buffalo chicken sandwiches.  YUMMY!

with three of his aunties.  he's a lucky little guy :)

really smiling intentionally was amongst his newest tricks he practiced while the sisters were in town.  we enjoyed making idiots of ourselves trying to get him to smile again & again.  he seemed happy to entertain us!

more snuggles with the aunts. happy baby.

it's very hard to resist a swaddle & binky when it's nap time. and isn't liz adorable with her new short hair?  i love it!

we gave him his bath while they were here and he was happily entertaining us with coos and smiles.  he really LOVES his baths these days.

most adorable shark ever.

we practically bought out the carter's outlet!!!  i can't resist buying things there for brady and liz's girls and i'm pretty sure i need to go back to work soon just to pay for it all :)  we had a blast running around with our arms full of cute outfits.  ruthie got him this raccoon from there, which we named roscoe.  brady loves him already.  the raccoon line at the outlet is ADORABLE and i bought several things from it.  also considering the raccoon halloween costume.  how adorable!!

terrible tragedy of the week was that we only took ONE self portrait and dang-near forgot to even take that one (liz reminded us as i dropped them off at the airport so i held up the traffic line to make sure we got one).  i love this picture of us three.  liz & ruth - love you guys so much.  seriously, thank you for coming out to spend the week with us - it meant so much to me and i can't wait for our next girls week!!!  let's make it a tradition, babies in tow :)  brady is such a lucky boy to have you as his aunties.

slowing down.

when i'm at home, and he's napping - i put him down a lot so i can get things done.  but on vacation, i have nothing to do during nap times except love on him and it's the best thing ever.  much needed time to just slow down, and hold him.  he won't be this tiny for long.

meeting traci.

while i was in alameda, my sweet friend traci came up to see us one morning.  i was so glad she was able to meet little man and have coffee for a couple hours.  i've actually only hung out with her a few times now but i love her so much...we always have a great time even if it's just a short visit :)  i think we will have lots of fun with the yaus and their sweetheart emilia over the coming years!

p.s. thank you julie for sharing traci with me ;)

squints mcgee.

i love how you smile with one eye squinting.  you are the cutest thing ever, do you know that?  how am i ever going to tell you no?

four bff's.

four bff's having morning snuggles on the couch.

i loved holding tiny jp on my chest, makes me miss how little brady was - and how big he seems now!  he just doesn't hold his legs up the same way anymore when we snuggle :)

breakfast with a bear cub.

erika & i took my favorite little bear cub out to breakfast this morning at blue dot cafe in alameda. really cute cafe with good coffee, and so awesome to be walking distance from the jackson home. josie poe got to stay home for daddy bonding while we went out and we missed her so!

airports & ergo carriers.

i was a little nervous about my first travel experience with little man.  he's a pretty chill baby, and has gotten into a somewhat predictable eat/sleep schedule but you just never know!!  we tested out our ergo carrier the day before our flight and  he LOVED it.  he had actually gotten his shots just a couple hours before the pic below and was sleepy, and he stayed asleep while i was putting him in the carrier & while i wore him around the house - a good sign to start with!

this is in the airport - i took him out of the carrier once i got to the gate & he stayed asleep in the infant insert part.  it actually was awesome to have during the flight too because it served as a little cushion on my lap for him.  the ergo was really easy to get on and off, and comfortable on my back through the airport.  i was so glad i decided to check the stroller/carseat combo at check in (thanks for the rec, julie!!!).  it was great to have my hands free through the airport, with security & the restrooms & the shop where i stopped to buy water, etc.

mike took this of us as we walked into the airport.  i was loaded down!

meeting JPJ.

brady & i are in california this weekend.  we flew in to meet little josie poe jackson!!  my sweet friend erika had a baby girl three weeks ago & i couldn't wait to meet her.  she is the sweetest, snuggliest little peanut and i love her so much already.

it is SO fun to be mamas at the same time as erika.  our due dates were just a few days apart, but of course brady came early.  they were born on tuesdays, six weeks apart.  i have loved talking about our stories so far with little kiddos, and sharing all the little details that only another mom would appreciate.  i also love that erika & i had on the same shirts when i got in town :)  they're great for nursing!

we are loving our weekend here so much already.

vacation naps.

number one priority while on vacation is taking naps.

luckily josie poe jackson let little mister share her crib.

but then some mama snuggles were in order, too.

bear butts & besties.

soon after i found out that i was having a boy & jen was having a girl i found these pants at gap-kids.  i bought them for each baby and totally envisioned that we'd put them in them side by side.  it was so fun to make that vision a reality yesterday!  just in time, too - brady is about to bust out of the waist of his.  he totally had muffin-top (good thing it's cute on babies).

the babies were soooo sweet when we laid them down together.  cora just gazed at brady (i see a future?) and brady smiled & talked to her.  they even linked arms!

they are almost the exact same weight & height!

all was good in the hood til we turned them over on their tummies to get a butt shot.  then the screaming commenced & they were just sure we were sentencing them both to hours of tummy time (oh the horror!).  brady is totally pushed up on his arms howling in this pic.  cora wasn't far behind.  but aren't the bear butts so cute?!