Batten Down The Hatches

Girlfriend is on the move!



Ashley started crawling on Tuesday while I was at work. (Ask me how I feel about that...) Luckily, Claudia got it on video!

As Will Smith Would Say, "Welcome To Miami!"

I will admit, a cross-country red eye with a 9 month old sounded daunting. But of course, my little world traveler fell asleep like a little angel within the first 10 minutes of the trip. I didn't sleep a wink because she is just like me and tosses and turns all night, but she slept the entire 4.5 hours to Miami. We arrrived at 5am and were greeted by a sleepy, but excited G-Daddy and Mor Mor. Ashley was pretty excited too and stayed up the whole drive home and was so excited to meet Wade (she is their cute dog) that she wound herself up and was almost immediately past her jetlag!

I said goodbye to Ashley that afternoon for my conference and she got to spend Monday-Thursday with just her grandparents and the dog! It was pretty hard for me - I had never been away from her for so long, but she sure seemed to be having a blast everytime I checked in! (Mor Mor had gone above and beyond to have everything ready ... from formula, bottles, diapers and food all the way to toys galore! Ashley felt right at home!)

Here are some great pictures from the trip...

And she would not be my daughter if she didn't just LOVE the Johnny Jumper!


Sunday evening we headed to the airport for our flight home. By the time I got us and all of our gear through the security checkpoint (This is a pain in the you-know-what when you have a kid with you! A girl can get pretty sweaty in this process!), Ashley had taken her 2nd diaper opportunity, so I headed to the DIRTIEST bathroom I have ever seen to change her. I took her out of her stroller, only to have it then tip backwards and her diaper bag and cooler with her formula went crashing down onto the dirty floor. In the process, two of the bottles of formula broke into a million pieces of glass. Sweaty, trying to change Ashley without having her touch anything while holding the stroller up with one foot, I must have looked just like the calm, cute mother I have always aspired to be ... NOT! Anyway, once I got us through this ridiculous escapade, the pre board was already over and we were boarding with everyone else. So much for having time to get ourselves situated. The weather was less than perfect and we were delayed an hour on a tarmac. Ashley was not bad, but I will admit, I was working HARD to keep her content. Let's just say I got over any germophobia on this trip. If girlfriend wants to sit on the floor of the plane to play, then girlfriend will sit on the floor! All in the name of sanity! After 7 hours of air travel, we finally returned home. Her daddy was sure excited to see her!

We were so lucky to spend the time with G-Daddy and Mor Mor. We don't get to see them often, so it was a lot of fun for both of us! Thanks for the wonderful hospitality and we hope to be back sometime soon!

SORRY!

I know that many of you have been checking here for an update. And I have so much to tell you ... its just that I have no time to tell you! Our life is just upside down right now. Work is very busy and we have been finalizing a lot of details with our remodeling/upgrading home process! On top of all that, I am just so darn tired. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry...

I feel terrible because I REALLY have been wanting to post about my Girl's Weekend to Vegas. It was a Mr. Mom Weekend and Chris did a great job with little Ashley. And if you weren't sure about Chris yet, when I got home he said, "I really liked having her all to myself. I feel like we bonded!" Yeah, I think I did pretty well in the good husband department, don't you?

We also have some great video of Ashley, "Miss Larocca If You're Nasty" showing all the latest dance moves. (I am concerned that she may have her father's rhythm. Trust me when I say that IS NOT A GOOD THING!) Nonetheless, it is pretty cute. The catch is that I haven't had the time to figure out how to download it from our new video camera. I know, big tease, but I will do it soon.

Ashley and I are leaving on our first cross country, red eye tomorrow night. I have a conference in Miami, so Ashley will be vacationing in Coral Gables with G-Daddy and Mor-Mor. She will be livin la vida!

When we get back, we will post pictures and videos galore! Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there!

Who Says That Yankees & Sox Fans Can't Get Along!?

This Memorial Day weekend, we were lucky enough to have a FULL HOUSE! My sister Christina brought her cutie pie girls out to meet their little cousin Ashley! Taylor and Alex sure entertained Ashley - she absolutely loved watching them run around the house!

The whole family was on deck for the event, including Aunt Jenny, Uncle Chris, Papa and Gigi. We all went to the park on day two and everyone enjoyed the merry go round...



Including Ashley!



It was pretty cold, so there was a lot of bundling for the kids on the west coast. (Christina kept teasing me because I had the heat on to take the "chill" out of the house!)

Aunt Jenny and in utero Cousin Chloe were lots of fun. Not to mention the fact that Ashley fell absolutely in love with Uncle Chris. She was constantly staring at him like a love struck teenager!

The highlight was a trip to the Fun Zone on Balboa Island where Ashley enjoyed her very first carousel ride! This was very special for me since I clocked a LOT of time in the Fun Zone growing up. It is so fun to experience it with a whole new perspective!





It was so wonderful to have everyone together. With everyone being so spread across the country, it is not easy to coordinate. I hope that Ashley and her cousins will still build a lot of memories together! We all miss you, Christina, Taylor and Alex! (Even though you're Red Sox fans!)

Let me just leave you with this scrumptious photo...

Our 5th Anniversary!

This weekend we celebrated our 5th anniversary. Five years always seemed so long to me before, but now it feels like just yesterday we were getting married on that beautiful afternoon in Dove Canyon. Ah yes, I was the sweatiest bride that every lived - spending every moment on the dance floor. Luckily, Chris was able to look past the sweat and stick with me!

We spent the day at the Montage, getting massages and relaxing by the pool. It was 85 degrees and the weather was perfect! That night we headed out to a new restaurant in Newport Beach called The "A" Restaurant. It was formerly known as the Arches and has been remodeled and updated. (Chris loved the fact that the valet attendants were all hot girls! I am kicking myself for not coming up with this idea in the first place!)

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon enjoying a stroll around Balboa Island.



Here is some video of Ashley - island life suits her, doesn't it?! (I love how she has her feet propped up on the crossbar!) Note the two pairs of sunglasses...if you don't give her a pair to hold, she pulls them off her face. It is quite the choreography, putting the one pair on and quickly holding the others in front so that she thinks she is pulling them off. I like to call that "strategery!"

Cuteness

Just when I think she can't get any cuter...she does. (Try and ignore my annoying voice...)

My Very 1st Mother's Day

It all started with breakfast in bed (Uh, that was a first! Nice hustle by the husband!) and ended with a long walk on the trails by our new home. After all the craziness with the new house, it was nice just to unwind by ourselves and enjoy being together as a family.