What have we been up to? Well since the beginning of the year, we have been doing the normal day to day thing with a couple of weekend trips here and there. The boys and I have enjoyed taking walks down by the beach, and enjoying living in a place where the weather pretty much is paradise anytime of the year. We do get a few days of rain here and there, but even during the winter time, the beach is an enjoyable place for us to go and play. In the early part of February, the boys and I took a trip up to Folsom, CA (northern California) to visit my sister Lana. We got super cheap plane tickets, and so Brent got to fly on an airplane, and actually remember it, since he is old enough to remember things. He loved it!
Brent and Cameron had fun playing with cousins, and I had fun hanging out with Lana. We took the kids to the Jelly Belly Factory, and also to a bouncing house place. I think by the end of our trip we were more worn out than the kids were. It was fun watching shows w/ Lana, laughing, and doing the mommy thing with my sister. For some reason, when Brent smiles in these pictures, he is Mr. Squinty eyes...he's half Asian..did you know? :)
Cameron had his 1st birthday this last Sunday. I can't believe he is one year old already. I feel like when babies hit 1 year...they start to not be babies anymore. It actually is bittersweet for me, since Cameron has been an amazingly good baby from day one. For his Birthday we had my family down for some dinner and cake/ice cream. Cameron didn't really care about the cake that much, he just squeezed it with his hands, and licked some frosting. We had a great time eating good food,and celebrating Cameron's fist year of life. Here is a list of things Cameron does/loves/etc.:
1. He wears 2T clothes 2. He says cracker, car, num-num (food), Dent (translation: Brent), Dat (dad) 3. Loves to be around a party, so he can walk around in circles, and yell. 4. Has 8 teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom) 5. He is Brent's friend unconditionally, even when Brent is a bully. (I don't get it) 6. Loves playing in the backyard with Brent 7. Pushes cars along the ground, pushes buttons on toys, and puts lid onto containers 8. Still has no sideburns...gonna ask the doctor about that 9. Loves to cuddle, especially with Momma 10. Is the most good-natured baby I have ever been around. He has such a sweet dimeanor, and is pleasant and content 95% of the time. I just love my Cameron to pieces. He is such a blessing to Jared and I. I'm excited to see him develop in the next year. His Stats are:
99th percentile in height 50th percentile in weight 110th percentile in head circumference (his head is as big as Brent's....big brained baby)
One of the hardest things for me to remember to do is take pictures, and then download them, so that they are recent. So these are some pictures of the boys in November at the park.
Brent also had his first dentist appointment right before Thanksgiving. He did really well, and enjoyed the whole experience. I was more nervous than him. The hygienist let him hold the sucking thing, and she moved the chair up and down several times...he loved it, and wants to go back. Jared and I try to make doctors/dentists seem like exciting places to go, even though they aren't, and Brent seems to respond to it well.
Our 6th year anniversary was on the 27th of December. Jared planned a special surprise for me, and we ended up celebrating on the 26th. He told me to pack an extra pair of clothes that were nice for what we did in the evening. My mom came down and watched the kids for us for our extravagant date. When we got in the car, Jared revealed to me that we were going to live the day like movie stars, and that we were going to Beverly Hills to see New Moon (which I have been dying to see). Before going to the movie, we stopped in at Sprinkles Cupcakes (another star attraction) and each got a delectable cupcake...they were really good!
Then, after Sprinkles and the movie was the biggest surprise and treat EVER! For those of you who don't know, I'm totally into everything culinary. I know all the terms/ingredients and different types of preparations, thanks to hours of reading cookbooks and watching Food Network. Jared revealed to me that we were going to Spago for dinner that night. Spago is Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Beverly Hills that is regularly visited by the rich and famous and we went there! We splurged and had the Chef prepare us several different starters and several different entrees. Each item was about 3 bites, and plated so perfectly like art. And, it tasted AMAZING. There were things we had that one would never think of going together but it did. It was a 2 hour culinary experience...my life has been enriched. Thank you Jared...you really are the BEST husband for me! Here are some pics, sorry it is so dark, my phone doesn't have a flash on it.
Christmas and anniversary were wonderful spending time together as a family. Today being New Years day, we went on a little hike this morning and enjoyed our nice San Diego weather. (Sorry to all my friends who live in the cold)
Jared and I are VERY glad to be closing the book on 2009. We have a had a rough year, but have come out of it with high hopes of the future. We were blessed with another child in 2009, and we have endured a huge trial that has strengthened our family forever. Welcome 2010!
Our trip to Jamaica. Sorry the post is so long, I did not know how to do a slide show. ENJOY!
Jared and I lounging on the beach at the all-inclusive
How Beautiful is this?
This was the really weird place we stayed at for one night...the decor was hideous, Jared was falling off the bed because of the shape.
This is at the same weird place we stayed at. Everything was black and white. We are pretending to be chess pieces.
This was the view from our villa at Frenchman's Cove in Port Antonio. It was amazing! There was no one there...it was like our own private beach!
There was a fresh water steam that went into the cove. It was quite cold, but then it went into the warm water ocean. So when you went into the ocean, there was a cold layer on top and really warm water on bottom.
This was the Blue Lagoon. The water was over 200 feet deep.
Swimming in the Blue Lagoon!
Jared Surfing at Boston Bay Beach. The only surf spot in Jamaica.
Taking a bamboo raft down the Rio Grande.
Hiking to Scattered Falls
Banana Plantation
Dinner at Woody's in Port Antonio. It was a shack restaurant, we ate real Jamaican food, including curried goat. It actually just tasted like beef. But they wanted us to suck the bones, and I was not having any of that!
Reach Falls...Amazing, almost not real. We were the only ones there.
There was this hole/cave you could go down inside that was in the waterfall. And this is what we saw...
Reach falls was truly amazing. Jared was like a boy on Christmas day with all the nature around us. As we were there, I told Jared that there was no way to capture it just by taking a picture.
We had so much fun, and enjoyed the break after having a very stressful year. We missed our boys, and so it was fun to come home after vacation and be reunited with them. Just 3 more years until our next awesome trip!
Brent and Cameron had fun playing with cousins, and I had fun hanging out with Lana. We took the kids to the Jelly Belly Factory, and also to a bouncing house place. I think by the end of our trip we were more worn out than the kids were. It was fun watching shows w/ Lana, laughing, and doing the mommy thing with my sister. For some reason, when Brent smiles in these pictures, he is Mr. Squinty eyes...he's half Asian..did you know? :)
After Jared's birthday, we celebrated my 29th birthday, and went to BJ's for dinner...it was FAB. Loved it! Our next birthday is Brent's on April 24th, he will be 4 years old. He cannot wait for his birthday party...he fantasizes about it all the time.
