Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole's first birthday was such a fun day. We had a "Let's have a ball" themed party, everything beach ball related. He loves the beach and balls, so it was the perfect combination, and the perfect way to say goodbye to summer. (Although in California we still are enjoying summer weather).

Don't bother me, I'm eating

The cutest 1 year old I ever saw

At 1 year he weighs 20 lbs 4 oz, is 30 3/4 inches tall and healthy as can be.
He repeats the words "bottle", "ball" and  "beach", still no mama. He says "whoa" when he does something cool, and "uh-oh-oh" when he drops anything. He can sign "more".  He loves to clap for himself, and when asked "how big is Cole?" he throws his hands high up in the air. He started taking his  first steps the day before his birthday.
He LOVES sweets, especially marshmallows. When we go on walks he looks for dogs constantly. Still loves the beach and wants to play in the water.
 He LOVES his grandmas, when they were both at his party he kept switching off every couple minutes. He got his first 1 year molar. Sleeps through the night most of the time, eats pretty much what we eat, nurses twice a day. We love this little guy and can't believe how good life is just 1 year later when we never thought we would survive :)

The Narrows

I have always wanted to hike "The Narrows" in Zion National Park. The cool river a d steep mountain cliffs on each side seemed like an adventure calling my name. A couple weeks ago we went on a "sibling-cation" with my brothers and sisters to St. George. Chad's parents have a vacation home that they let us all stay in and we had a blast.

All of us, including Cole and my 5 1/2 pregnant sister-in-law, went on the hike. None of us knew what to really expect, how deep the water would get, what type of shoes to wear, or how far we would go but that didn't stop us from diving right in. Those first steps in the river was a rush, I felt almost dangerous, being in the water with socks and shoes and it was ok. I had to get over the fact that my feet would be sandy and soggy for a couple hours and that was just fine. You really have to focus on the river and your steps because you can't really tell where the rocks are. So many times we would look up and see those steep red cliffs and it would take our breath away, seriously. This hike was the most incredible hike I have ever done (not that I am an avid hiker at all). It was over a 100 degrees in St. George but in the narrow trail we were on it was cool yet warm at the same time. There was never a dull moment, especially as we would pass hikers and they would all stare at us as if we were crazy for bringing a baby on the hike, which I might agree with them now that it is over. I loved sharing this experience with Chad, Cole and my brothers and sisters. We don't all live close by, and have busy lives but I am grateful for them in making the time to get together and create lasting memories.

I can't believe how many beautiful areas there are within driving distance to us. We visit St. George at least once a year and I sure hope that we make it back again.

4th of July

We celebrated up in Utah this year with our friends and family. We spent the whole week enjoying the beautiful Utah summer, doing things we don't get to do in Los Angeles. We went boating, rode scooters around town, watched the Stadium of Fire firework show, went to Seven Peaks, got caught in a summer thunderstorm, ate at the Waffle Truck, and ate like I have never eaten before. We love you Utah, in the summer that is.