Holiday Happy Baby

December has been so much fun so far- Afton seriously just kills us with her emerging personality that develops more each day - she is such a joy. She's been eating solids for a while now and I've posted some really cute video of her eating - I love the look on her face with her first taste of peas. Unsurprisingly her favorite is pears - she just gobbles them up like crazy. At her 6 month appointment it was fun to learn that she's now 18 lbs! Double her birth weight - and she is crazy tall - 98% for her age and the doctor said she thinks Afton will be at least 5'8"- are you serious!!? So rad. As always we are constantly in search of adorable giggles - Justin succeeded by throwing the blanket over her the other night which made her laugh so hard it's just impossible cute. Another cute thing Afton's doing is sucking her toes - we keep trying to get it on video but she is too interested in the camera - I'm going to have to sneak a shot of it somehow. She also sits up like a champ for as long as she wants - she's getting really strong! There are a few pictures in here of an adventure I had with Benito yesterday. I sometimes let him play on the inside and outside of his outside cage as long as I'm close by, I know it sounds crazy, but he's never moved from it and he can't fly plus it's protected by a canopy decking on top. Anyway, I leaned out to check on him and didn't see him in his cage which was confusing and not alarming because I could hear him loud and clear. I went outside and couldn't see him anywhere, so I listened for his squawk and discovered him WAY up high in our plum tree - I mean he was up there! He must have gotten startled by something, fell from his cage and found the closest thing to climb up. I tried to bribe him down with treats but he wasn't having it. Eventually I had to climb the tree myself to get him - super danger dog, but pretty funny. Other than that we've been doing great, we're having a Christmas party this Saturday so if you're around please join us. Love you all to the max!

Thanksgiving love feast

We had a blast in Utah for Thanksgiving. I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but I LOVE that place! It's so beautiful with the snow and bright sun and gorgeous mountains, not to mention the many many people we love, it was so much fun. Of course I forgot to bring the super cute little fleece coat I got for Afton on at baby gap just for this occasion, but she handled the cold like a champ. In fact she was a super champ the whole trip, I swear she should win awards for what a good sport she was about the constant car seat nightmare to and from. Thanksgiving dinner was so good it should be illegal, and I had a tri-fecta of pies for dessert. In fact speaking of awards I think I should win one for most calories consumed in a 4 day period......not that I'm proud of this fact, but on Saturday, we had doughnuts for breakfast, hires Big H for lunch and home-made pizza for dinner!! Somehow I did not gain weight....it's a Christmas miracle! Our favorite part was seeing all the adorable nieces and nephews with Afton, she was not even bugged by all the sweet kiddo's right in her face. Although I LOVED Utah, I do always come home with a renewed motivation to like California a little more. At least here in Cali my hands are much prettier and we don't have any inversion........or mountains, but seriously it's not that bad. As always- any and all of you are welcome in our Cali Cassa anytime!

Fake Fall

We are doing our best to enjoy this weird fake Fall in California - every now and then you can find a leaf that is a little orange or red and that's always such a joy in this weird world of no seasons. Of course I do realize that most people would prefer this weather to the cold I envy so much, so we're trying to make the most of it and we've been to Disneyland twice in the last week. Afton and I try and have a fun adventure every few days somewhere that's unique to California so I can learn to appreciate this place a little more, and I'm not that mad at doing exercise at the beach. We had a fun Halloween with the Johns who live right around the corner from this famous super Halloween house where they hire a contractor every year and go all out with a different theme - this year was "Thriller" and it was so amazing. You can see it a little bit from the picture but it was identical to the movie theater and graveyard in the video, and they had the video playing on a huge screen and to make it even more awesome they had MJ up on a balcony holding his baby and dropping him again and again. Afton makes a pretty adorable cow. I also posted some video of her super happy morning sounds - she is so happy and giggly in the morning, it's really cute so I had to take some video of it. Also, she gets totally freaked by the sounds of burps, coughs and nose blows. When Justin burps she jumps - lifts up her legs and flails her arms - it's so cute. I did my best fake burp, nose blow and cough to show how cute it is when she gets startled by these various body noises. There's also just a few pictures to show how big she's getting and how cute she looks in her clothes. She's so much fun - you guys need to come visit us ASAP!

Super Squeal

Stella, Sullivan & Emerson with Afton
Karina is obsessed with the baby and she loves uncle Justin too
Justin thought Afton needed to look more gangster
This dress is so cute on her that whenever she's wearing it she just makes the sweetest expressions

I know that other babies do these things, but I'm sorry, every new thing Afton does is an absolute revelation to me - she's the most precious angel of adorable cuteness that's ever happened. I can't even stand this new squealing talking thing she's been up to - it's just too awesome. I will post video as evidence. Other than that she's still really super grumpy about tummy time, but she's getting stronger as we struggle through it and I think she'll be sitting up on her own in a matter of weeks. We are doing good (despite the fact that I'm feeling sick) and it's been a super fun month that started with the whole May clan in town for a big Disneyland adventure which was seriously too fun. Afton was really cute with the family and all her super rad cousins. October is especially cool because we have loads of May family birthdays and one King one as well. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Ethan, Sullivan, Emerson, Cheryll, Joyce!! We love you to the max!

Giggles from heaven

Seriously can anyone argue that this noise is not one of the best things about life on earth? Justin dropped his napkin on Afton last night just to be dorky and she loved it. Now you guys can see why I spend all my time in pursuit of this adorable laughter. Enjoy!

Nor Cali D.C.T.

THE FOLDED EAR - we have to flap it back into place at least twice a day!







DCT=Dream Come True! It really was to have a whole week off and take our first family road trip up to Northern Cali. We had an amazing time with Rand and Joyce in Walnut Creek where we went over to Napa for a day which was beautiful and we even got to spend some time with Courtney which was super fun - she filmed the below video of Afton on the baby bjorn attack. Focus on the baby and not my extra chin that came with that baby. Rand and Joyce have been updating their house for the last year and it looks incredible, the kitchen is insane, I'm in love with it - and the food that comes out of it! Afton was in full show off mode, she gave us her first giggles right there in the kitchen with Grandpa holding her and me dancing in front of her like I do many mornings after my workout. She thought it was too funny and now I'm obsessed with trying to make her laugh because it's the best sound that's ever happened. Mid-week Justin went down to Big Sur with all his pals and had the best surf trip yet - amazing conditions, and he loves his new longboard and wet-suit. Afton and I took off to visit Uncle Reid and Aunt Gabi in Saratoga. I have hardly seen these guys over the years, but being with them again was like heaven! We had TOO MUCH FUN! It was just so great to be back in the house where I have so many childhood memories from Marilla Drive, but what I didn't remember was that they have the most AMAZING mid-century furniture ever! I was FREAKING on this stuff, I took lots of pictures of it so let me know if you want me to send them to you- there's a peek of it with the picture of Reid and Gabi on the couch- it's so cute the way they watch TV like that in evenings. I swear when you spend time with people like Reid and Gabi it just makes you want to be a better person. Reid told me so many fun stories about my Dad I didn't even know including some great old pictures and even video from 1956! So rad. We went to Santa Cruz and took this beautiful hike in the hills around Saratoga. It was Reid's idea to use the hanky since I didn't bring a hat and I think it looks too cute for words, but you make your own assessment based on these pictures. cutestbabyever.com.........we love her!

Farrah Photo Shoot!

My sweet sweet friend Farrah who's been coming over all the way from LA on the reg ever since this little one was born to save my life with socializing (and the occasional trip to Target or batch of laundry - she's an angel) came over the other day when Afton was being particularly adorable and we did a full on Afton photo shoot. Is it just me, or is this baby so cute it should seriously be illegal??

Big Girls Don't Cry

Happy news! The new acid reflux medication Afton is taking is really making a difference! Afton has been a much happier baby this last week. I swear she grew 3 inches in the last few days! One of her pairs of 3-6 month pajamas don't fit - it's insane! I have to edit her closet because there are loads of cute little things that no longer fit this big gorgeous girl. As you can see above, she still knows how to put an adorable outfit together. How cute is that corduroy skirt with the over-all straps?!! Of course it's impossible to keep the straps up, but it's too cute for words. We went on a shopping spree on Saturday because I sold a swatch on ebay and got $100. Old Navy was having a super sale of 50% off clearance stuff - we bought her about 15 things - at least 7 of which cost less than $2!! UNREAL! The funny thing is that she's already fitting the 6-9 month stuff and it's seriously just so fun to get her dressed - which as previously mentioned we do a lot because she likes to pooh outside her diaper whenever possible. The other day we were just about to leave and she did a SUPER POOPER - there was pooh all the way up her back and into her armpit! She's been into sucking on things lately- and sometimes as illustrated below she likes to just make a sucking face even when she's not sucking on anything - it's pretty cute. She also has this obsession with her Pops right now- no matter how sad she is when Justin looks at her she's in heaven. She loves the spot between us as the dinner table and she just sits looking at her Dad the whole time waiting for him to look at her - and then she smiles and giggles and it's seriously the best thing ever. Here's some fun pictures of our big beautiful baby and a few video's to make you smile.

Good Morning Sunshine!

My mornings have been blessed lately with the cutest smiles ever - as soon as I hear a stir I walk into the nursery and look what I get (check out the video below)! The most adorable smiling baby that's ever happened. Afton is growing like crazy- she's already 14 lbs and once again at the very top (96-97%) for all her measurements. She's totally grown out of her 0-3 months stuff and it's so much fun to get her dressed everyday - 4 times a day (she has a way of shooting pooh really far outside her diaper). She also is really getting into toys- I got her these really cool little rattle monsters that have rad prints and stuff - it's so hard to find baby toys that are made with super cool style so I was really excited when I saw these guys, and as you can see from how she's gripping onto one of them during her morning nap she likes em too! Here's some of the latest for you all!

Smiles for MILES!

I seriously can't get anything done right now because what if I miss one of these heart melting smiles?! It's the most adorable thing that's ever happened (and yes, she spends a lot of time in this bouncer....and yes, it's the best $18 I've ever spent). See for yourself...........

me have cute baby

She was so adorable in her little green dress for church yesterday I had to share. Please ignore the mess behind me - our hall closet broke and threw up all over the living room.