California Dreaming - #LudaFamVaca

Just over a week ago we got back from an absolutely amazing family, or should I say FRamily, vacation. We travelled to California with our friends and their son, starting off in L.A. and ended the trip in San Fransisco, and we couldn't have asked for a better trip to the west coast.

Em did great through all the travel. She was sick on the plane flying out to California, but she recovered quickly and was laughing and enjoying Disneyland by the end of her first full day of vacation. Once she got all her energy back, she was full steam a head and it was a good thing, because we had quite a busy week planned.

After we landed in L.A. we went straight to the hotel and woke up fairly early for a fun day at Disney. We left at 6:50 EST, so when we arrived on the west coast it was nearly 10:00 P.M. Getting Em to sleep wasn't too difficult, even though she slept a lot of the flight. She was our wake up call, which is what we usually do any way, and then the adventure began.

For our family, Disney has and will always be a magical place. There is just something about all the detail that they put into making your experience, that makes us what to go there time and time again. We have been to Disney World twice in the last 3 years, but we were so excited to go to Disneyland, the place where it all began. Surprisingly everything seemed much smaller here, versus what we have seen in Florida, the castle was smaller and it didn't seem as crowded, but that also could have been due to the time of year. Even with the differences, Disney did not disappoint and we were had an amazing day. Our favorite part was seeing Em get so excited about the Parade. She took turns riding on mine and Shawn's shoulders and smiled, waved and danced throughout the whole thing. We loved Disney before we had kids, but now that we have our sweet girl and one on the way, it is going to make trips like this and life in general so much more exciting.

 Me and by babies. <3

After a busy day at Disney, we took a walk with the stars. It was so fun to see some of our favorite actors, actresses, singers and producers names in gold and at times we actually felt like we were seeing them. For all we know we could have walked right past someone "famous" since most of the time we were there we were looking down at the sidewalk.

Who's to say we won't have our own star on the Blvd. one day?!

Ventura Beach was our next stop and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we loved this place. We stay at a hotel right on the the beach and near a state park that had a beautiful walk to a pier. There was also a harbor near by with shops and restaurants that we were able to take a trolley ride to and really enjoyed having a low key day to unwind before starting our drive up the coast.

The drive on Rt. 1 was everything we expected it to be and more. We wanted to stop every 50 feet for pictures and when we did finally take a pit stop, we were not disappointed by the views.

After lunch and a picture taking session, we toured Hearst Castle, which took about 2 1/2 hours and just a few minutes drive past that, saw hundreds of sea lions lounging on the beach. Both experiences were truly amazing and definitely gave us some of our favorite views from the trip.

Bixby Bridge was our next stop. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Once we finally got to Monterey, our stop for the night, we were exhausted. We had been in the car all day and we were hungry. Multiple that times 100 for Em and you'll know how she was feeling. Needless to say I have never seen the girl so happy to eat chicken nuggets and run around a hotel room. In hind-sight it may have been a bit easier if we had stayed overnight at the half way point and not had to rush through a lot of the views on Rt. 1, but now we know for next time!

After spending the night in Monterey we spent the morning at the aquarium and the early afternoon enjoying the seaside town. Disclaimer: read signs posted outside of restaurants, especially if you have kids. Although we had a great morning, we had quite a hiccup in our day when Em got upset at a restaurant and then we were asked to leave because she was crying. Apparently, there are no crying policies for kids at certain establishments, who know?! Despite that it really was a wonderful day and we'd love to spend more time in Monterey again sometime.

And then there is San Fransisco. Alcatraz, Pier 39, Lombard Street, the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods and the hills. Did I mention just how hilly San Fransisco is, just ask Shawn. I'm sure his calves can tell you all about it after pushing Em in her strolled up and down them. We were so impressed with this city and really loved everything about our time here, especially Alcatraz. Shawn had so been looking forward to touring the island and it did not disappoint. The audio tour was so great and we loved getting to explore and learn more about this historic prison. With that being said, I wouldn't want to find myself alone on that island anytime soon. The following day we went hiking in the Muir Woods and finally got the view of the Golden Gate Bridge that we had been waiting for.

Breathtaking views, lots of laughter and joy. This trip was just what our little family needed and with everything that we were able to see, a reminder of just how creative a God we serve. We couldn't get over the drops off the side of Rt.1 with ocean on one side and mountain on the other and the tops of the trees in Muir Woods that seemed to go on forever. We truly were blown away by this trip and although we were exhausted by the end of it, we were not ready to come back. There is just so much more to see, which only means that the West Coast hasn't seen the last of us!

Tomato Baby

Along: 19 weeks

Size: Luda Bean is the size of a heirloom tomato. Baby is roughly 6.0 inches long and weighing roughly 8.5 ounces. This week many of sweet baby's senses are beginning to develop as the brain is designating areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision and touch. Baby is starting to make more controlled and conscious movements, which hopefully means that we will really start feeling our sweet Luda Bean moving around here soon. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still hanging out at about 10 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Maternity clothes are definitely more comfortable. Jean are still a bit baggy, but it's much better than having to use a hair tie for my regular jeans. 

Gender: I'm still guessing girl. So far we have had mixed reviews on whether we are having a boy or girl. I feel like as time goes by I may get a stronger feeling one way or the other, but for now, I'm just loving having our sweet Luda Bean snuggled safe on the inside. 

Movement: Still feeling flutters and hoping for bigger movements this week. I'm really looking forward to Shawn being able to feel the baby move and I know he is too!

Sleep:  No complaints here.

Exercise: Still staying active and keeping my legs moving as much as possible.

Cravings: The other night I had such a hard time deciding on my snack. At this point it is not the cravings that are getting me, but that everything sounds good. Right now I am thinking about peanut butter (something we don't eat because of Em's allergy), carrots and dark chocolate. 

Symptoms: I have had heart burn almost everyday this week, but it's been tolerable. I have also had a lot of cramping in my legs and feet. I'm dreading the morning that I wake up with full blown cramps in my calf muscles, but it's sure to happen since it happened a lot when I was pregnant with Em. 

Best Moment of the Week: This has been a short "week" since I put out my last post Sunday, but Wednesday was definitely a good day. Shawn was at home with us all day, so we just spent the day lounging around together and relaxing. Emerson adores her Dad and I love seeing them snuggle together and play together. She is definitely a Daddy's girl. 

Happy Thursday!

Sweet Potato Baby

Along: 18 weeks 4 days

Size: Luda Bean is the size of a sweet potato weighing roughly 6.7 ounces and measuring 5.6 inches long. Sweet baby's bones are started to harden including the bones in the inner ear, meaning he or she may be able to hear my heart beating and my tummy growling. I'm pretty sure by the end of this pregnancy our sweet baby will be plenty familiar with not only mine and Shawn's voice, but with the precious voice of his/her big sister. In fact, Bean may come out of the womb saying her name as frequently as is comes out of my mouth!



Total Weight Gain/Loss: Coming in at just about 10 pounds. Hitting double digits much faster than my first go around, but I'm feeling great and doing my best to stay healthy for me and the Bean.  

Maternity Clothes: I seem to be hanging out in that awkward middle stage. Some of my jeans are getting to be too tight, but maternity pants are still a little baggy, so I think I'm going to have to pull at the belly band to use while I'm waiting for my belly to get just a bit bigger. I'm sure I won't have to wait too long. Luda Bean is growing like a weed! I can't wait to see him/her at our next ultrasound in a couple weeks!

Gender: I'm going to say girl. I'm still not feeling strong either way. Shawn thinks boy. So far everything has been pretty spot on from my first pregnancy, including Luda Bean's heart rate that is hanging out at 150. 

Movement: I'm feeling flutters every now and then, mainly when I'm laying down or sitting still enough to notice them. I have an anterior placenta this go around. Meaning my placenta is attached in the front versus towards that back, so I essentially have a pillow between me and Luda Bean. However, if sweet baby is as active as his/her Big Sister, then I'm sure we are going to start feeling more movement soon. 

Sleep:  I'm still not going to complain about sleep...yet. We were on west coast time all this past week, so things were a little off and Shawn and I had a sleeping buddy most nights which meant that one of us was getting kneed, punched or kicked all night long. But the snuggles were sweet and at least 1 of the 3 of us was sleeping well!

Exercise: We were so active this week, walking and hiking; I even worked in a 3 mile run. Needless to say miles were added to my total for this pregnancy and my legs are still sore from all the exploring we did. Totally worth it though! 

Cravings: I'm always in the mood for more hearty foods, with bacon hanging out in my favorites. I've also really loved a good juicy orange or apple and ice cream is never a bad thing, but I wouldn't classify it as a craving...yet!

Symptoms: I'm feeling fantastic and really have no complaints. Pregnancy so far has been really great to me and I'm just cherishing the time with sweet Luda Bean on the inside. 

Best Moment of the Week: Can I say the whole week? We just got back Thursday, which is why this is coming out a few days late, from an amazing week in California. The weather was perfect and the views were breathtaking. We were able to take Em to Disneyland, which of course was so much fun. Seeing things through the eyes of your toddler just makes life so much more exciting and I loving being able to go on adventures with my little, growing family. I'll post more on our California within the next couple days along with baby girl's 16 month update! 

Easter Egg Hunt at Pop-Pop and Nana's House

Sweet girl does not like taking pictures unless SHE wants to, needless to say this is the best we got together today! Haha.

Happy Easter Friends and Family!
Love,
Ash