Oh Sweet Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara now holds a special place in my heart. I start this blog with a family picture.


We started out our mini two day vacation with a ride up the coast. We wanted to spend the day walking around Venice Beach, then follow that up with an evening in Santa Monica with a very dear friend for dinner.

Eli loved Venice Beach. He totally and completely missed his afternoon nap. He spent the entire afternoon gawking at everything. He was adorable in his hat and sunglasses (Sunglasses courtesy of his great Auntie Cathy, and the hat is a Goorin hat from the Village Hat Shop in San Diego - Yes that was a plug for work).


We spent the afternoon going from shop to shop, eating gelato, and looking for the perfect pair of sunglasses for Shay. It was a fabulous day spent together as a family. Aside from every other shop being a Pot House, and the scent of Weed having an overwhelming presence in the air, we had a great time.

This is by far one of my favorite pics of the two boys who are the center of my world:


We spent the night at the Courtyard Marriott. I have to say, that I was thoroughly impressed. We had not been in the room 5 minutes, when there was a knock on the door, and it was the night manager bringing us a crib. Eli loved hanging out in the King size bed, and slept wonderfully in his new bed. We spent the morning cuddling, watching Handy Manny, and just having fun.

We spent Sunday in Santa Barbara walking down State street, and shopping. Highlights from the day include:

- Eli losing Soft Sophie in Urban Outfitters and Daddy running the 3 blocks to see if he could find where we lost it. Sophie was sitting on the counter waiting for him.
- Eli was so tired from all of the sightseeing that he passed out mid shopping


-Driving up through the mountains and taking some beautiful pictures.

These are two of my favorite picks taken. I love the one of Shay and Eli in black in white. It was such a perfect picture.


The last picture of the trip is of Eli sitting solo for the very first time. I was so proud of him! He is growing up so fast!


I loved Santa Barbara and the memories that it brought. Shay and I have decided that we DEFINITELY need to get away more often... and not just to Detroit. We need to start making time for our family. This trip proved to us that nothing is as important as the time we get to spend with each other. 0 comments

Posted by Cortney at 11:20 PM

Sprocket learned a lesson....

As most of you know Sprocket the Cocker Spaniel is not easily trainable. He has his own way of doing things, which typically always gets him into trouble (ie: eating Eli's socks and then throwing them up whole, running around the house with underwear hanging out of his mouth, and my favorite, jumping on the table, eating my chicken, and the jumping back down before Shay and I even knew what the hell just happened).

Sprocket's latest mug shot:


Today a 14lb baby put Sprocket into a new situation. This afternoon I gave Sprocket a Frosty Paw - the best doggie treat on the planet! Sprocket loves Frosty Paws. He guards them, licks them lovingly, carries it from room to room, all the while the damn thing is melting.

I put Eli onto the floor to crawl around while I went and made him his afternoon bottle. I come back and see my child head first in the cup of puppy icecream... going to town! Sprocket is hoovering over him not sure what he should do! He looked up with me with his big brown eyes (Sprocket that is) and practically begged me to please get him his ice cream back!

I told him to go ahead and get it back. He gently put his head in between Eli and the ice cream and gently pulled the ice cream out of reach of Eli. Eli was not to be thwarted. He scooted his little hiney closer to where the ice cream was. Sprocket expertly picked up the ice cream and moved it to another location.

I wasn't sure exactly what to do at this point. I mean, my kid just ate puppy ice cream. Then I remembered yesterday when Eli crawled over to Sprockets bone and went to town on that.... What can I say, my kid loves the doggie treats! I just wish that I could have gotten a picture of it! Lucky for you, I do have a video of Eli going for Sprocket's bone.... Gotta love it! Enjoy!
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Posted by Cortney at 5:02 PM

OOPS!

I am so sorry that I have been neglectful of my blog for the last 3 weeks. Things have been a little crazy around here. Let me get you back up to speed!

- Saturday April 3, 2010: Eli turned 6 months old! I cannot believe it! Where has the time gone!? I feel like just the other day I was pregnant, and getting ready for him to arrive. Today I have a baby who has learned how to army crawl around my living room! He looks like an inch worm when he does that. ADORABLE! I need to get it on video so I can treasure the preciousness of it!



- Sunday April 4, 2010: Eli, Shay, and I experiences our very first major earthquake. 7.2! We have come to an agreement that we did not enjoy it. Shay had left for work about an hour before, and I was sitting in the rocking chair with Eli. He had just fallen asleep 10 minutes before after an hour of rocking and singing. Sprocket was sprawled out, passed out dead, to the world. I was sitting in the rocking chair reading and cuddling with my little man, when I realized that rocking chair was shaking side to side. Sprocket instantly jumped up totally on alert and we ran for the doorway before the major swaying took place.

Let me tell you, the movies do not portray earthquakes accurately. It's not a shaking feeling. It's more like a rolling motion, with some swaying. It feels like you are incredibly drunk and unable to catch your balance.

Thank goodness for Saved By The Bell... Or else both Shay and I would have had no idea that we were supposed to get in the doorway. C'mon, you remember that episode: The gang had just had a babyshower for Mrs. Belding and were in the elevator with her. AC Slater in a towel and Lisa's jacket? (Side note: Shay and I referenced this episode in the middle of my labor and delivery.. every time Shay tried to breath with me, we would crack up because of this show.)

Back to the earthquake. I was pretty shaken after the initial event. Eli went back to sleep about an hour later. Shay had come home to check on us, and Sprocket was totally on edge. We had no damage, but lots of aftershocks. After the earthquake, I went to check my china cabinet. I wanted to make sure that nothing had shifted. I haven't dusted the cabinet in a while, so I picked up one of the wine glasses and saw that the dust was still in tact (pathetic, I know). The only thing that fell, was the laundry basket of clean laundry that I had placed in our closet.

- Monday April 5, 2010: Eli had his 6 month check up. He is healthy as a horse. He weighs 14lbs (talk about a peanut) and is 26 inches long. Dr. Gerber was a little worried about his weight which is in the 3rd percentile. We have upped his intake of oatmeal, veggies, and fruit. We hope that he will be around 17lbs by his next appointment in July. At the doctors, Eli decided that this was going to be the day that he was going to get up on all fours and try crawling... he did this however, on the scale table. He lost his balance and then proceeded to face plant into the side of the scale. He screamed, we consoled. As we consoled, the nurse gave him 6 shots. He was not a happy camper the rest of the day. I was able to put him down for a super long nap in the morning, and another one in the afternoon.

- Shay and I took Eli to the MSU alumni meet up for the Final Four game against Butler. We lost but it was a great game to watch with Eli. One of my favorite pics from that day:



Shay and I will be taking Eli to Santa Barbara next weekend for a mini family vacation. We both have a 4 day weekend planed, so we will are taking the family and visiting Hearst Castle. We are really excited to get a way for a bit and just be the 3 of us. When we are home in Detroit, we never get the chance to breathe. We are constantly running from one house to the next, and from one restaurant to the next. It's more exhausting going to the D then it is anywhere else.

Well, I think for the most part, I am all caught up with what is going on around here.I promise to post pics of our Santa Barbara trip as soon as we get back. Until then, LOVE YOU! 1 comments

Posted by Cortney at 9:06 AM