Weekends

The weather has been really nice lately, so we've been spending time in the front yard- Hudson riding his bike and London crawling off the blanket. She alternates between sliding on her tummy and pushing up to her feet, although she is starting to crawl on her hands and knees a little bit.

Date Night

Thursday morning, Hudson woke up with pink eye, so I called into work, took him to the doctor, and spent the rest of the day doing laundry, lysoling, washing hands and administering eye drops. Luckily it was practically cleared up by the next day, but come Saturday, I was ready to get out of the house and have some adult time with Brandon. He must have been in the same place mentally, because he had called his mom the day before and asked her to babysit. Normally we head to Laguna Beach for date night, but this time we thought we'd stay local and check out a couple new restaurants at the Irvine Spectrum: CUCINA enoteca and Paul Martin's.

We got to CUCINA enoteca around 5, so we were able to take advantage of their happy hour. I got sangria, Brandon got wine, and we shared a pepperoni and fennel sausage pizza (half price!) Brandon found this great little spot on the patio in front of the fireplace, so we hung out there for a little while. The decor and ambiance was great... totally our style.

After that, we headed next door to Paul Martin's American Grill. Usually, as a party of 2, we get some tiny little table, so we were stoked when the hostess led us to an oversized, round booth! We ordered a bottle of pinot noir and shrimp cocktail to start. For dinner, I had the skirt steak with arugula and maple bourbon glazed sweet potatoes, and Brandon got the Durok Pork Porterhouse with brussel sprouts. Mine was really good, but Brandon's could have had more flavor. (It's never a good thing when you have to put salt on your food...)

We decided to go back to CUCINA for dessert, since I had been thinking about their tiramisu since earlier in the night when I spotted it on the menu. It was a little too whipped-cream-y for our liking but all in all, we had a great extended dinner date! We both commented that it was the best date we had in a while. Cheers to adult time!!

Hudson + Mommy Time

With 2 kids and a full-time job, it's rare that I get to spend any time with just one kid (or alone, for that matter...). A couple weeks ago, London was sick and we couldn't go to church, so I took the opportunity to spend some time with Hudson while Daddy stayed home with London. We started out with a pumpkin muffin and chocolate milk at Corner Bakery, then headed off to the park. We didn't do anything fancy, but we both enjoyed some one-on-one time.

Cabbage Patch Kids

Cabbage Patch Kids hold a special place in my heart. As a little girl, I remember being at my grandparents' house on Easter, going out to their garden with my sister and finding our Cabbage Patch Kid dolls hidden amongst the cabbage, wrapped up in green tissue paper. My sister and I had quite a few of the dolls and I loved the smell of them and their yarn hair.

For London's first Christmas, she received her first Cabbage Patch Kid from my grandma (her great-grandma). Although the new dolls are a bit more modern (and sadly without the yarn hair!) they have the same familiar smell and it brings back all the wonderful memories.

Yesterday I snapped this picture of London and her baby "Leigh Jordan" (which came on her birth certificate... fitting, since my middle name is Leigh) and I had to laugh at how similar they looked! Bright eyes, big smile and chubby cheeks!

i ♥ my boy

Last weekend, Hudson & I spent some time drawing masterpieces on the sidewalk while London was napping.  Here is his drawing of Mickey Mouse that he drew by himself! :)

9 months

-6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)
-12-18 month clothes
-size 3 shoes
-sleeping 12 hours a night + 2-3 naps
-crawling all over the place (although not the traditional way!)
-wants to do everything her brother does

First Sleepover

This boy had his first sleepover a couple weeks ago. In an effort to get him potty-trained and bribing him with anything we could think of, my sister told him that once he was potty-trained, he could spend the night and she'd take him to Chuck E. Cheese for his reward. It's been almost 2 months of successful undie-wearing, so he had his first sleepover at Auntie Danielle's! He was very excited to sleep on cousin Jillian's trundle bed. We dropped him off in the afternoon and he got to stay up late watching movies and eating popcorn. Then the next day, he went to Chuck E. Cheese with his cousins and also to feed the ducks at the park. He had such a great time, and it was so nice of my sister to do that for him (and us)! I think we probably missed him more than he missed us... it was strange (and by strange, I mean QUIET)  being home without him.

London's favorites...

1. Ergo baby carrier // makes those trips to the park or grocery store possible with 2 kids
2. Aden + Anais swaddle blankets // great for swaddling, covering up while nursing, wiping up spit-up
3. Sophie the giraffe // an expensive teething toy, but the babies love it!
4. Fisher-Price Swing // we got a lot of use out of this until London hit the 20-lb mark
5. Aden + Anais comfort issie security blanket // London knows it's bedtime when we hand her this
6. Burt's Bees Baby Bee Shampoo // smells great, lasts forever and is 99% natural
7. Hudson's racecars // her brother's toys are always more appealing than her own...
8. Dr. Brown's bottles // yes, there are a lot of parts to clean, but these are great for babies with reflux
9. B. Zany Zoo // a fun, colorful toy with a lot of interesting things to look at (and isn't a complete eyesore in the living room)

Fun at the Park

8 months

London is 8 months old! Here's what she's up to (besides 20+ pounds!):

-4 teeth (right front tooth popped through yesterday)
-pushing herself up to her knees and even her feet (like she's doing a push-up)
-army crawling and swiveling around
-wearing 12 month clothes, size 3 shoes
-sleeping 12 hours at night & taking 2-3 naps a day
-becoming very vocal... and her voice is loud!
-celebrated her first Christmas and New Year
-loves to be outside
-moves her hands around like crazy, especially when she's excited... which we like to call "jazz hands"
-likes to stick her tongue out

-getting cuter and sweeter every day!

We love our little London girl.