Alyssa is 18 Months

Alyssa turned 18 months old this month and constantly leaves me wondering where the time goes. Inevitably, we are now in our last phases of a baby. Bottles, cribs and diapers will soon be a thing of the past. At times it makes me very sad, but also very excited to finally be shedding all these items. We will be moving into a new phase where the kids will be super fun and much easier to tote around! (not that they aren't right now)

Alyssa is definitely holding her own in this crazy household. Constantly trying to keep up with her brother and sister and their friends. Following the big kids around, barely able to keep pace. She is my only child who has proven to be quite the climber at an early age. Climbing steps, play structures, tables and chairs and plummeting down slides, mostly without missing a beat. She has had her fair share of falls with the resulting bumps and bruises. Only a few have taken my breathe away.

Eating sand at Lake Tahoe

She is such a fun little baby. Always on the go and absolutely loves to be outside. Adventurous to the core, this one. Running, riding bikes, exploring, digging in the dirt and sand. Preferably eating the dirt and sand, I should add. She loves the beach and especially the water. Oh my god, what a fish she is. Just the sight of a pool or ocean and she is squealing and waving her arms in excitement. I have been doing mommy and me swimming lessons with her at La Petite Baleen since she was 14 months old. She took to swimming so quickly. I will be amazed to see how she progresses in the next couple of years. On our recent trip to Lake Tahoe, she just had to get her feet in the lake and ended up taking a header straight in, clothes and all. She wasn't too happy with the shock of ice cold water and refused to go in again. She was much happier in the 90 degree hot tub at the house we stayed at.

Chillin in the hot tub in Lake Tahoe

One thing is for sure, this little girl is going to keep me on my toes. She has a lovable sweetness and a devilish side too. She definitely has a feisty spirit in her and I am almost thankful she is not really talking yet.

I am looking forward to watching her grown into an amazing little girl!

Enjoying a ride in the stroller in Santa Cruz

Groovin with the iPod

Mommy and me at Santa Cruz

Lake Tahoe, Part One

At the beginning of August, we took a trip up to Lake Tahoe with our good friends. We rented a 3br/2ba condo in Incline Village and spent 5 glorious days there. The weather was a perfect 75-80 degrees the whole time we were there. The goal of our trip was to do a whole lot of nothing...even with 4 children.

Wednesday morning, we departed in the van with all four children. Equipped with snacks and dvd's, we set off at 9am. Smooth sailing right through to Auburn, where we stopped at In&Out Burger to pick up lunch. We took lunch to a nearby playground and sat on the grass under a tree to eat. The kids had a chance to run around and stretch their legs before we got back in the car for the rest of the drive. They did great and Alyssa slept almost the entire second half of the trip. The men were arriving on Thursday night after work.

We arrived at our condo around 3pm. It was a really nice complex and our condo (which seemed more like a townhouse) was really nice. Much nicer than we anticipated. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms with plenty of room for the kids to play. There was a small grass area in front of our unit and a swimming pool right across the parking lot.

Our first day was spent at the lake, which the kids quickly realized how cold it was. The girls didn't seem bothered too much as they were floating around, running and jumping in. Jimmy didn't get in much past his knees and Alyssa put her little toes in and headed right back to the sand.

 

 Much of our trip was spent at the pool in our complex. After our experience at the lake, the kids decided they would much rather swim in the pool at our complex. Which was fine by us because they charge $12 per adult per day at the beaches in Incline Village. They were nice beaches, but that was a little much. So each morning after breakfast, all the little people scrambled around excitedly putting on their swimsuits and grabbing their gear.

Jimmy and Alyssa taking a break.

While Alyssa slept in the afternoons after lunch, the kids would relax. One afternoon Jimmy and I went on a little adventure walk around the complex. He was fascinated walking down the paths and through the trees. Finding pine cones, spotting dogs, picking up sticks and seeing squirrels. It was awesome spending some one on one time with him too.

Our evenings were spent relaxing, making dinner, watching movies, talking and reading. Once the kids were all in bed we had some time to play games like Cranium and Scattergories.

On two of the late afternoons, we packed up everyone in the car and went down to Kings Beach for some time on the playground at at the lake. Of course all 3 older kids ended up in the lake!

On our last evening, we went to Kings Beach again (no kids allowed in the lake this time!) for some time at the playground and dinner at Jason's. This is such a great restaurant. Seriously, the best clam chowder ever! Doug and I have been going to Jason's since before we were married and the food is always good. We had a great dinner! The kids enjoyed it (and were all behaved!) and so did we.

We went for a little stroll after dinner to soak in our last little bit of Lake Tahoe.

Trying for a nice group photo!

Our last morning was spent packing and getting ready to hit the road. Five days was definitely not long enough. It was a wonderful trip and we are looking forward to a winter version this season!

BFF's!

We captured the best group photo on our way out!

Behind

I find the same question popping up daily...where does the time go? How are we halfway through September already? How is Alyssa almost 18 months old?

I really enjoy writing on this blog and I know there are some friends and family that really enjoy reading it, but I am seriously behind. So much of what I want to write about seems like old news. August went by in a blur with two major vacations packed into one month. I still need to post about those. They are coming, I swear. I figured after Labor Day weekend I would be all caught up with life post-vacation and I seem to be just getting busier.

Anyway, stay tuned. I am trying to get back on the ball. But when I have afternoons like today and Alyssa has refused to nap at all when I need to pack for Tahoe, bake for family night at school, have things ready for my wonderful babysitter tonight and go out to dinner with friends. Maybe I will find some time to actually eat lunch and do my hair. Of course, I did just manage 10 minutes to write this post!