Spring Break
Although every week is "Spring Break" for us right now, we had a fun-filled week while everyone else was on their Spring Break.
Hangin' at the Jones'
Holden Goes to 4th Grade
We kicked it off by visiting my fourth grade class on Friday, April 7th during their Spring Fling Party. The kids LOVED seeing Holden and were amazed that he was the "thing" that was in my belly. I put Holden in the Baby Bjorn and as soon as I walked into the classroom, he fell right to sleep. I think he remembered all of the commotion of the classroom from when he was in the womb. He slept the entire time we were there. It was great for me to visit with the students, parents and my long term sub, Hollan.
Road Trip
Trey packed the car up on Saturday night (thank goodness....we had A LOT of stuff) and Holden, Houston, and I left at about 5 am on Sunday morning to go visit my family in Visalia. I learned that driving 5 hours with a newborn, an 80 pound yellow lab, and a car jam-packed with baby gear is not as bad as it sounds. Luckily, Holden slept the entire time. The hardest part for me was worrying whether he was breathing in the back seat or not. Once the sun came up, it was better because I could see him in the baby mirror. The next challenge was figuring out where to stop to feed him. I planned to stop at the half way point near Magic Mountain because I didn't want to stop in the middle of LA. But wouldn't you know, Holden must have sensed we were in the heart of LA and started crying. My mom and I were talking on the phone at that point and decided Glendale was an ok place to stop. Well, I missed the exit and got off one exit later. I was pretty much in the ghetto, but I didn't know it yet. I found an AM/PM, scooped Holden out of the car, and went in to use the restroom. I saw a "Out of Order" sign and thought, "Great! Now what?" When I started to ask the man working there if there was another restroom close by, he replied, "Oh no, it's not out of order we just put that on the door at night so the drunks don't use it." Ok, clue number one that I was in the ghetto. After using the less than ideal bathroom, I got back in the car and decided to drive over to the Del Taco parking lot across the street to nurse Holden, since it was empty. I'm so glad I did! As I was nursing Holden in the back seat, I noticed that there was a scary looking bum talking to himself right where I was just parked. Then I started looking around, and noticed pretty much everyone around was shady. Thank goodness it was only 6 am on a Sunday morning, there weren't many people. I was happy to get us all buckled in again and back on the I-5 North. Next, we stopped at my sister's house in Bakersfield. Aunt Jill and Holden's cousins, Mackenzie and Tabatha, hopped out of bed early Sunday morning to welcome us. Amanda and Uncle Randy were there too, but I didn't get pictures of them.
Hangin' at the Jones'
We arrived at my parent's house in Visalia at around 11 am and our relaxing week started. We had a great week of just hanging out. My mom spoiled me by cooking for me, and holding Holden whenever I needed a break. She also helped me put him to bed every night.....we became professional shhhhers. My sister and her girls came for a day. We also spent time with my grandma, Norma - Holden's great-grandma. While Holden was sleeping, I was able to watch two great movies with my dad - Just Like Heaven and Dreamer.
Houston LOVES going to my parent's house. The basket of toys in the living room is the first place he runs when he gets there. He immediately took out every toy and spread them across the living room. He loves playing with their Jack Russell Terrier, Trixie, too.
Although Gabby is the smallest of the three dogs, she is "The Boss". In the picture above she decided that she had enough of the toy playing. She had no problem splitting Trixie and Houston up when she had enough of their playing either. Houston was actually afraid of her.
I not only had my hands free, I had my whole body free while Mom and Amanda carried Holden in the Baby Bjorn.
A cutie picture of Mackenzie and Tabatha!
Holden's first social smile in response to someone was on Wednesday, April 12th. He smiled at his Aunt Jill. Of course by the time I ran to get the camera, his smiling session was over. This was the closest picture I could get of his first smiles.
Ever since Wednesday Holden has been all smiles. He smiles at his toys, at himself in the mirror, and at his mom & dad.
Holden and his Great Nana Norma
Holden and his Papa Jim
Houston LOVES going to my parent's house. The basket of toys in the living room is the first place he runs when he gets there. He immediately took out every toy and spread them across the living room. He loves playing with their Jack Russell Terrier, Trixie, too.
Although Gabby is the smallest of the three dogs, she is "The Boss". In the picture above she decided that she had enough of the toy playing. She had no problem splitting Trixie and Houston up when she had enough of their playing either. Houston was actually afraid of her.
I not only had my hands free, I had my whole body free while Mom and Amanda carried Holden in the Baby Bjorn.
A cutie picture of Mackenzie and Tabatha!
Holden's first social smile in response to someone was on Wednesday, April 12th. He smiled at his Aunt Jill. Of course by the time I ran to get the camera, his smiling session was over. This was the closest picture I could get of his first smiles.
Ever since Wednesday Holden has been all smiles. He smiles at his toys, at himself in the mirror, and at his mom & dad.
Holden and his Great Nana Norma
Holden and his Papa Jim