California

We got back from California a week ago and I think we're finally back on schedule, so I actually have a minute to sit down and write! First, I'll say that we had an excellent trip. We've been there three times since Olivia was born, but now that she's like a real person it was much more fun for everyone.

The flight out there was easy. She ate, slept, played, and walked up and down the aisle. Erik and I were exhausted by the time we go there, but we couldn't have asked for a better flight.

We spent most of our days at the beach or the pool with Pops, Tutu, and the Mehringer family. Olivia had so much fun playing in the water and sand. When we weren't swimming or playing in the sand, we were at In-N-Out (3 times) or eating tacos!

Olivia was mesmerized by her cousins, Adella and Nolan, throughout the trip. She learned so much from them while we were there like how to get from laying down to the sitting position. Now when I go to get her from a nap, she sitting up with a big smile on her face! She is more stable when she pulls herself up and while she's cruising around the coffee table. This past week she started waving, clapping, signing for more, and she says "Dougie!"

It was really nice to have Pops and Tutu around, so Erik and I could go out at night. We went to the movies, dinner, and out for drinks almost every night! Thank you Pops and Tutu!

While we were there we got to celebrate Princess Adella's 3rd birthday! I'm pretty sure she had the best 3rd birthday ever! Cinderella was there along with all of Adella's princess friends and family.

Unlike our trip out there, our way home was stressful and chaotic. Everything was great until we arrived at LAX to find out that Virgin America's computer systems were down and they were handwriting all of the luggage tags and boarding passes. This is the second time this has happened to me! We waited in line for an hour maybe longer to get checked in. When we finally got to the gate, we found out that our flight was going to be delayed even longer due to the weather in Boston. Olivia was doing fine up until this point, but she needed to eat and nap and started to lose it. She fell asleep when we got on the plane, but it only lasted a half hour and we ended up taking turns holding her in the back of the plane for the next 5 hours. This is why it has taken me so long to recover from our vacation. Traveling with a 10 month old is much harder than traveling with a 3 or 7 month old. I can't wait to see what it's like in December!