Our California Adventures

My mom and dad had a trip planned to California for the family for a while. Unfortunately, with Chris just barely starting his new job, he needed to stay here to work. So, Oliver and I represented the Lopez family. It was a pretty fabulous week. Thank you parents! We missed our missionary Parker. We had so much fun with him last summer. Love you Park.

Oliver and I flew out of Eugene to LA on Saturday. The GPS on my phone gave us three routes to Eugene and of course I picked the shortest in time. Well, that route ended up taking us on this one-lane road in the forest. It was so beautiful! It really felt like a fairy tale with all of the trees and greenery etc. We saw a Christmas tree farm which was also cool. But eventually, this beautiful route was trying to take us on a road that looked like a four-wheeling trail. So we had to turn around. Anyways, we did make it on the plane (luckily Eugene isn't too big of an airport).

Oliver was so good both times flying. He slept and ate and slept some more. He woke up as we were landing. Such a good boy! Mom and dad and Brit and Addie picked us up in LA and we were off to Oceanside. My mom booked this beach condo for us and it was perfect. It was a block away from the beautiful beach.

We had a fantastic week of enjoying the beach, Disneyland, California Adventure, and Sea World. It really was a wonderful trip. Oliver was a trooper as we partied in the various parks. He likes his stroller and to be outside. I basically fed him all over the place (even on a couple of rides), he napped, and was overall happy. He loves Brit and Addie and of course Grandma and Grandpa. He was not too happy to get into his car seat traveling to and from these fun places. Poor baby. But, we survived. Yay for Disneyland! I'm excited to take him back when he's older and can fully enjoy the magic of the place.

And now for pictures from the trip

beach in Oceanside

sharks were worn in honor of the beach
(thanks to the Fukui's for the onesie)

I puzzled a bit

This was our day hanging out in Oceanside with Grandma, while the rest of the crew headed to The Price is Right. It was kind of a perfect and relaxing day with some of my favorite people. 

Oliver loving bath time:

this kid. love him so much

Disneyland:

all ready to go with our Mickey socks

The Haunted Mansion was transformed into
The Nightmare Before Christmas.
 Oliver rode with us and wasn't even scared :) 

 California Adventure:

sure love these two. they know how to party

We love the swings, well at least mom and I do. I tried to talk to my dad during the ride and he wouldn't look at me. I found out afterwards he looks at the person in front of him so he doesn't get sick. He was a trooper to even go.

all tuckered out

Oliver loves silly Uncle Brit

he certainly has the Thomas thin upper lip

we just love this picture. so happy!

oh Oliver, striking a pose

Sea World: It was not busy at all, which was great. The shows were super fun and it was a lovely day. 

closed eyes from Brit and Oliver

 Last day of Disney:

Our first time at Car's Land. It is so adorable.
 And the racers were my favorite ride of the trip.

a little wet after Grizzly Bear River Run 

Oliver loving Addie's kisses as we wait for It's a Small World,
which was completely transformed for the holidays. 

This picture pretty much summarizes this
experience of  Disneyland for me. We did
 lots of nursing and the churros are my
 favorite thing in the park. 

Teacups! 

Oliver's adorable Mickey outfit from Grandma.
he even posed for the picture.

Brit trying to get Oliver to smile. no luck

It was a perfect vacation. We're happy to be home with Chris again though and look forward to exploring this new home of ours.

reunited with daddy

Our walk the other morning:

2 months

Oliver officially celebrated his 2 month birthday while we were on vacation in California. So, technically the pictures are about a week late.

At two months Oliver:

-Is seriously the cutest thing. Of course I'm biased, but he is just adorable. I am so in love with him.

-Is a smiling machine. I love to look at him and have him give me the biggest grin. I didn't capture too many of them in these pictures, but he really is a grinner. He does an open mouth huge smile that I love. I love that his personality is coming out.

-Has recently begun to kick and wave his arms around. It is so funny. He looks like he's riding a bicycle. You know, just getting some exercise.

-Still eats like a champ. He loves it.

-Is sleeping longer increments during the night. Which means I'm getting some more rest! Sleep is a beautiful thing and makes for a happier mama.

-Is getting chubbier. He's got a double chin. It is kind of hard to keep clean and sometimes collects things. Has got more rolls on his legs, which are just delicious. Yummy legs. Has dimples on his little elbows. All and all, just a bit chubby. We're happy he's growing!

-Wears mostly 3-6 month clothes, which is craziness! He's getting so big.

-Is "talking" more, which I just love. His little noises are so sweet. I love our conversations and am excited for when I can actually understand him.

-Is called Oliver, handsome, sunshine, or baby boy by his mama.

-Loves bath time! Evening is a harder time of day for him. He's more fussy usually, but put him in the water and he's happy as a clam. He's starting to kick in the water too. We love baths!

And we love our boy.

Adventures in Arizona

A few weeks ago, Chris was asked to go to Arizona for work for one week. We thought it would be fun to make it a little vacation (at least for Oliver and me) so we packed up the Vibe and headed to Phoenix. It was a long drive, but Oliver was a champ. He slept much of the way.

Chris worked a lot during the week. Oliver and I hung out in the hotel room watching too much TV, met Chris for lunch occasionally, and went on a few outings. We enjoyed going out to dinner. Overall, it was nice to have a change of scenery. It was a little too hot for me though. Coming back to fall weather here in Utah was lovely. Oliver also got to meet his Grandpa Lopez for the first time and also his Great Grandma.

at Oregano's. delicious food.

look at that wingspan

a little cross eyed :)

Choco loving his strawberry lemonade at Red Robin

yummy hamburgers

We decided to visit the Grand Canyon on our way home. It was the first time for all of us. It was breathtaking and just beautiful. We got there as the sun was setting. Oliver was a trooper and just hung out with dad. He was the cutest.

In other exciting news, we are heading to Newport, Oregon within the month. Chris was offered a new job, so we're moving to the Oregon coast for the next chapter of our lives. We are excited for the adventure that awaits us and working on figuring things out for moving.

Oliver at One Month

Our sweetest Oliver is already one month old! We are just loving each day with this little man. 

At one month Oliver:

-Loves to eat! It's definitely his favorite activity, and he is so good at it! This is clearly seen from his chubby cheeks, belly, and even rolls on his legs. He truly has grown so much from when he was just born! And we love it. He eats probably every two hours. Sometimes a little further apart if we're lucky. He's just a growing boy. 

-Kind of looks like a balding man right now. He has lots of hair in the back, but he's lost his hair in the front. We're sure it will come back. Grandpa Thomas said that he looks like him (referring to his receding hairline).

-Is one strong boy. His legs have been strong from before he was born, as evidenced from his kicking inside of me. We feel like he holds up his head pretty well. He sometimes pushes away or has even been known to punch. We're hoping this aggression will go away :)

-Gets the hiccups quite frequently. Like mother like son. They are loud but he normally doesn't seem to mind them too much.

-Makes the sweetest noise when he tries to sneeze but doesn't. It's like a little sigh. We just love it.

-Is a cuddler. He loves to be held and sleeps best that way, which we know could be problematic. But he's just so sweet so it's hard to put him down. 

-Kind of moans and groans a lot. Usually he's working on some business you know where or needing to burp. 

-Is growing out of some of his clothes, which is crazy to me. Some outfits I thought for sure would be huge on him barely fit! I better get with it or else he won't be able to wear some of his adorable clothes. 

-Has the sweetest dark eyes. He loves to just look around. This morning we were just staring into each others' souls. He wins every staring contest. 

-Loves to suck and lick his lips when he's hungry. He will suck on just about anything, from Chris' arm to his clothes etc. until he gets the real deal. We tease him into giving us kisses when he's hungry. They are delicious and wet as he sucks on our nose, lips, or cheeks. So funny.

-Is a sweet soul. I can tell he is a strong spirit, and I know he will do much good in this world.

-Seems to love Spanish more than English. Most of the time he listens up when his dad talks to him in Spanish. I guess I better keep working on my skills. 

-Is called Oliver mostly. Sometime Ollie. Chris calls him cookies and cream occasionally or baby-to. I call him sunshine. 

-Is just about the yummiest thing. Chris and I are just continually in awe at how sweet and yummy this little man is. We love him to pieces. My heart is truly full.