Six Months Young

Audrey turned six months last week while we were in California, what an amazing six months it has been. It is such a joy to watch the changes and new developments as she has grown bigger and smarter and stronger day by day. It is so fun to be able to interact with her more, talking and playing and making her laugh. It has also been a lot of work, being up in the middle of the night with a crying baby can be quite frustrating, but can be something to have a good laugh about too  and is all completely erased with smiles at sunrise.

It is mind boggling to think just six months ago Audrey was a tiny, helpless bundle and now she is a playful, jabbering baby, and of course, the next six months will bring even more exciting changes. For now, here are the stats: she weighs 15 lbs 4 oz, is just over 26 inches long, has tried three different foods, has rolled over a total of five times, sits for an average of 10 minutes before tipping, has zero teeth, sleeps 8 hours straight an average of 5 nights a week, vocalizes approximately 75 different noises, smiles and/or laughs approximately 30 times a day...what am I missing? Let me know in the comments section what other updates I need to give.

Here are some pics from the past six months that have not found their way into the blog through other means but do need to be seen by the world (aka the couple people that follow this blog)

California

Audrey went on her first trip out of the state.  We went to California for a trip filled with visits with friends and family and exploring beautiful places.
We started by going to Walnut Creek to stay with Aunt Cara, Uncle Doug, Cousin Nolan and most importantly the brand new addition, baby Parker.  We had a good time hanging with the fam, went to Pyramid Brewery, walked around downtown Walnut Creek, went for a hike in the foothills of Mount Diablo.

After 5 rainy days in the East Bay we headed in to San Francisco under clearing skies. 
We spent a sunny weekend visiting my college roommate, Lisa, and her husband, Trent in the city.  Lisa blogged about our time there and posted some great pics here

Lisa and Trent on the carousel at Golden Gate Park

The rare lack of fog allowed us to take in some great views and the alternative foodscape allowed for some delicious meals.  We ate at an amazing vegan mexican restaurant called Gracias Madre that was filled with the scents of freshly made tortillas and had delicous cashew "cheese" on a few dishes.  And we breakfast at a vegan-accommodating soda fountain, St. Francis Fountain, where I was able to thoroughly enjoy a "milk"shake. 

Lounging on "hippie hill" at Golden Gate Park

Uncle Alex flew in from Las Vegas, we picked him up at the airport and headed north for some exploring. 

We drove up the Pacific Coast Highway and I would have stopped at every turn off to look at the ocean if only the driver had accomodated.

We camped and hiked in some really beautiful places.  Point Reyes National Seashore was our first destination.

Our first night of camping we pulled up to Wrights Beach after dark and could hear the waves.  Every few minutes there would be a huge wave crashing, which we learned more about in the morning.  The signs all over told of the dangerous "sleeper" waves and rip currents that make the beach one of the deadliest in the state. 

"no Audrey, we can't swim here"

The next night we camped at Russian Gulch State Park near Mendocino and took a nice hike to a waterfall.

Then we headed to Hendy Woods State Park where we were awed by big trees, more specifically old-growth redwoods, including a hollowed out tree that had been converted into a home by a hermit who lived there for 18 years until his death in 1983.  Hendy Woods is one of 70 or so state parks slated to be shut down this summer, but the people of the community are working hard to keep it from happening

Great big tree

Our last day was beer and wine day.  We quaffed at a winery nearby Hendy Woods, in the lovely, unpretentious Anderson Valley area, then rolled on to Santa Rosa where we visited the Russian River Brewery. We had the lucky coincidence of meeting up with George and Nancy, good friends of my parents, who offered up a night at their house.

There are lots more pictures to look at, if you want to see them click here...California pictures

Sweet campervan

We rented a sweet campervan for our travels in California which worked really well for traveling between our multiple destinations, transporting a butt load of stuff (mostly baby gear) and camping at some beautiful state parks. Our friends, Peter and Meghan suggested looking into campervans after hearing our proposed itinerary and reminiscing about their travels in New Zealand. We found a few options and decided on Lost Campers.
The van was outfitted with camping cook supplies, chairs and table, cooler, and a bed, which all came out when needed or folded/stashed away discreetly for driving. Cowboy, the name by which our van is known, made for a great home during our trip.

Folding down the back seats

and setting up the bed for snuggle time.

Loosening up the legs during a break from driving the sonoma coast. The ocean is just over the grassy ledge.

All business in the front seat.

Backseat is where the party is at.

Note the bed folded up behind Ellen.

Camp ground at the Russian Gulch State park.

Testing out the awning at Hendy Woods State park camp ground.

Going to California

We flew to San Francisco this morning, our first flight as a new family. Thankfully, Audrey was quite content; nonetheless, I now have empathy for crying babies on airplanes. Feeding and playing took care of the bit of agitation and the time went by quickly. We got our sweet rental campervan and drove straight to aunt Cara and uncle Doug's place in Walnut Creek to meet up with cuzie Parker and cuzie Nolan.






Being entertained by the new Easter lamb


Note the happy fellow passenger reading peacefully in the background

Springtime

Our one month of winter came and went fast and now it is full on spring here. The ski area has closed all but a third of the terrain and is talking about trucking in snow for closing weekend next week. This is fine with Audrey because the warm weather has allowed for many trips to the pool and rides in her bike carrier, which makes for some good naps...she typically falls asleep within moments of movement on the bike and one day a couple weeks ago she fell asleep in my arms as we left the pool.








Audrey's first flowers.



I had a couple more pics I wanted to post but I can't figure out how to sync them from Chris's iPhone into the iCloud so I can get them on the iPad and post them using the blogpress app. Any tech tips are welcome :)