February Fun

We have had a fun month thus far.  The kids had a blast with their grandparents and uncles while we were in Tahoe…

 



MJ finished his winning basketball season- he even had a few passes and a big rebound the last game!






The kids made another trip to their new favorite “bouncy place" -Catch Air.






I received a beautiful bouquet of roses at work from my sweet husband for Valentine’s day.  We spent the evening with the kids eating pizza (Valentine’s day sure has changed over the years!)…but it was perfect.




We were so glad to spend some time with Andrew and Leah while they were in town last week.  We celebrated cousin James’ second birthday as well as Steve’s 34th birthday together.  On Sunday, the kids decorated the downstairs with banners and balloons for daddy.  After Steve opened his presents, MJ and Ty treated him to Waffle House and a matinee.  That night the two of us went out to dinner and another, less kid-friendly movie.  :)

Happy 34th birthday, my hubs!  It seems like you were 21 yesterday!

We also made a trip to the circus with the Fennelly’s, Lorimer’s and cousin James.  The kids had a great time watching the elephants, tigers and crazy clowns while playing with their new swords!

Catelin at 8 Months

Standing outside the exercauser!

Catelin has grown so much in the past month – not just physically but mentally and emotionally.  I love watching her figure things out…she gets just as excited as MJ and Ty did when they were her age.  

Eating: She eats 1.5-2 servings of stage 2 foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  She is still taking about 4-5 six ounce bottles during the day and drinking water from her sippy cup.

Sleeping: 12 hours at night (~7:15-7:15) and two 1.5-2 hour naps during the day.  

Favorite toys: Sofie the giraffe, toy (and real) keys, balls, baby Einstein music box, her squishy owls, and anything she can chew on!  She still loves the exercauser and even though she is way too big for her bouncy chair (and she doesn’t need it b/c she can sit on the ground), she still likes to bounce/rock in it from time to time.  

Finally, a bow in that crazy hair!!  :)

Motor skills: She is crawling/scooting backwards now, but she still hates to be on her belly.  In fact, she rarely rolls over because she hates it so much.  I think that will change as soon as she starts moving around more.  

Catelin loves to rock herself and has been doing it for months.  The second she gets into her car seat, she starts rocking away.  I finally got around to videoing it:

She can also stand for a short period of time while holding onto something (but she’s not pulling up yet).  

Teeth:  About 3 weeks ago, two of her top teeth broke through (the side ones) – it was a rough few days for our sweet girl, but she got through it and is much happier now.

Talking/babbling:  She is babbling a lot these days.  I swear she is trying to tell me something but for now it just sounds like “ba, ba, ba!”

Personality:  She is a happy, sweet baby.  The teething days are a little rough for her- she is very fussy and wants to be held a lot…The rest of the time, she is content playing with her toys, laughing at the boys, and loving on mommy and daddy.  

Oh, and she loves playing peek-a-boo (please ignore my “baby” voice!):

  Fashionista:

Love. It.

Happy 8 months, my sweet baby girl.

Lake Tahoe

Tahoe!

 

When I opened my last present on Christmas day, it was a North Face jacket with a postcard of the Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe inside.  On the back there was a sweet note from my husband saying we were going on a long weekend alone there in early February.  The babysitters were set up and everything was already taken care of…he even upgraded us to first class on the flight out there! 

 

We had an absolute blast getting away alone together.  The Ritz was gorgeous – every room had a fireplace and the level we were on had a lounge that served small meals throughout the day along with wine, beer and a dessert bar!  It was heaven.

 

Our room and the view from the balcony at sunrise

The first day, we spent time at the hotel and took a gondola ride down to North Star village.  There were cute shops, restaurants, bars, and an ice skating rink.  We even got to watch a local snowboarding competition. 

On the gondola

The next morning, we drove down to the lake for breakfast and enjoyed some beautiful views.



We went back to the hotel and relaxed by an outdoor fire before our spa treatments (which were awesome!) 



And we even got to watch the Super Bowl while enjoying the sunset over the lake. 


Our last day was jam-packed with activities.  We drove to Squaw Valley around mid-morning to go dog sledding.  It was cool to see how well trained they are and how much they love to run! 







We then drove down to Emerald Bay- which they told us is the second most photographed destination in the continental U.S. (how do they know that anyway?!).  It certainly lived up to the hype.  The journey took us along the ridge line…as in we drove over the ridge of the mountain- 2 narrow lanes with no guardrail and steep drop-offs on either side.  It really was beautiful but I was too busy hyperventilating to take a picture!  haha

Emerald Bay

We drove back up to the north side of the lake to go on a two hour private snowmobiling tour.  It was incredible!!!  The views of the lake were spectacular.






I refused to wear the red and black snowsuit (even though I graduated from GT 10 years ago I still can’t wear those colors together) so I am wearing one that looks like I belong in a 1980’s workout video—Jane Fonda, here I come!

Thank you, my hubs for such an amazing weekend.  And a big thanks to my in-laws and Lisa for taking care of the kids while we were gone! 

I was so happy to see these three little cuties as soon as I got home!!