Del Valle Lake

We hit up a bucket list item this week: Lake Del Valle. W had heard good things about it and I don't think I've ever been. Funny how you can live so close to things and never experience them.

We had some lunch...

Then got to playing on the beach and in the water!

We also played some more Frisbee, with balls, and enjoyed the shade!

Only a few more weeks as a family of three!!

A Day At GG Park

The Swensons played hookie from work and chores on Monday. Well, I should preface that with: we worked hard over the weekend to continue to clean/organize the house and complete projects. We were ready for an afternoon of fun.

One of the few things I told W I wanted  to do before baby comes was spend more time at GG Park. So, when he had Monday off, we decided to head into the city. My girlfriend, Stefany, had just recently told me about the children's play area and we were hoping to check it out.

We grabbed some lunch at my favorite sandwich shop and drove in. The weather was perfect and after parking, we found a spot on the grass to meal and play a little Frisbee. Can I just say here, that I've told W that we won't be doing a summer baby again {if we could help it}, but I would totally be pregnant during the summer if we lived in the city. It was the perfect temperature!

Afterward playing in the grass, we made our way over to the huge park area. I let the boys be boys while I snapped some pictures.

I loved that E totally fit into the crowd of kids with his long hair. We even saw a little one sportin' some dreads. But none of this came close to the joy E had over the wet sand pit. Since we weren't quite prepared for a water feature {read: no change of clothes or towel}, we stripped him down before letting him loose.

Seriously, loved every moment of it...squealing and shrieking in delight. Such a water kid! See that diaper? Completely full of sand and water by the end.

 We had to call it quits when the diaper broke and the insides started to leak out. After a quick change on the hood of the car and back into clothes, we ended the day with a carousal ride. 

 Such a wonderful day that totally hit the spot!

Date Night in Oakland

This past weekend, with our babysitters my parents back from a wild vacation, W planned a fun evening out in Oakland. Our church does several local community events and goes a group to them. When W heard they had discount tickets for "My Fair Lady" at the outdoor Westminster Amphitheater, he knew I'd love it. 

He also took me to a new restaurant. One of the perks of driving people around the area is discovering new places; the last being the Airplane Museum. This time W discovered an awesome awesome place: Homeroom. A restaurant with one simple concept: Mac and Cheese. And they do it well!!

Saying it was delicious is a understatement! I got the Gilroy gouda and W got the pesto basil. Both were straight out of heaven and we were both too stuffed for their homemade desserts. We're definitely coming back! Homeroom has only been open for 6 months and we got to learn the fun story behind the owners. I loved the giant chalkboard, whimsical light fixtures, and succulent plant wall, but really, they had me at the Mason jars.

After dinner, we joined the rest of the group and enjoyed a beautiful summer evening watching the musical, cozied up underneath a blanket . One of my favorite dates to date!

Pantry Reveal!

Here's the BEFORE:

And the AFTER...Our new Pantry Storage Closet!

More on the low down here.

10 on 10

Thanks, Stefany, for reminding me yesterday!! :) It was a fairly normal Wednesday for us...

8:30... loading up for some errands

It is getting much harder to 'head out the door' these days with E's requirements: hat, baby, goggles, water, helmet, and the latest one, Quack Quack the Duck. He literally asks for each of these as we load up.

9:30...back with our loot for an upcoming family/maternity shoot.

10:30..naps for all...this is when I use to get stuff done. Not so much anymore. ;)

11:30...with some extra down time I started a new craft project.

12:30...Met Stefany and her two kiddos, Lyss and Trey at the park. And waited for Ash and Grayson to join.

1:30...Singing Happy Birthday and eating yummy cupcakes for Grayson's first birthday. E got icing everywhere, including my point n' shoot.

2:30..back at home just in time for a visit from Erin and her adorable belly!!

{blurriness from sticky icing fingers...this picture let me know it needed further cleaning}

3:30...puzzles and reading!

5:30...W had to pick up my parents from the airport so he missed out on dinner..which made dinner more than slightly off so we settled for some yogurt.

6:30...after bedtime routine and a quite house, I pop in a movie that W wasn't really excited about and eat dinner.

W showed up somewhere between Italy and India. We switched to Alias for a few before heading up to bed. Some quick reading, catch up, cuddles, and lights out by 9:30.

A & E

 Seriously couldn't get enough of these two together. Autumn and her Mama, Nat, came over for an afternoon of swimming last week. 

Nat snapped some quick pics on her phone of these two. I know there is a good amount of young boys and their parents from church lining up for this precious girl. Some strong competition. Of course, I'm bias but I think E's got a real good shot. ;)

Some Serious Business

His:

Mine:

And that's why we've been a bit MIA lately! :)

Have a great weekend!

Because Pregnancy Wouldn't Be Complete...

without a 911 call. Seriously.

Last time it was for W passing out and this time for E. 

Some kids like to paint on walls while their moms are pre-occupied. Some get into your thick body cream and cover their faces, arms and legs. Mine? He rolls off of our sofa as I watch him from the kitchen while finishing up dinner. Unfortunately, he has fallen off of the sofa a few times already, but this time was obviously different. He was a bit hyper and had rolled with much gusto. After I picked him up, he passed out. I wasn't sure if it was a seizure, concussion, or just passing out from the shock/sobs not letting enough air in. He was out, stiff, with his eyes rolled back in my arms for a few seconds while I dialed 911 and tried to get him to respond. Then he came to, seemed momentarily disoriented, cried a bit and asked for his baby. 

By the time I was finished with the call, he was already talking about his 'owie'. W walked in shortly thereafter and E was acting normal albeit quieter; I just didn't want to put him down. The paramedics were already on their way so we figured they should just double-check.

Sure enough, it sounded like E had passed out from lack of air. We had 8 firefighters standing in our small family room, checking him out. They just asked questions and gave him a once-over. Then asked if he wanted to see the firetruck while letting me know "We need more boys!" and "You'll sure have your hands full" once they noticed I was pregnant. Such sweet, kind guys, I'll tell ya. It shook me up but the entire thing from when I picked him up to when the truck was leaving only lasted 30-45 minutes. We were eating dinner at our regular time.

Still a bit shell-shocked.

Honestly, it would be so nice if just one pregnancy could happen without emergency drama. It would be nice not to suffer a heart attack while growing a human. It's all this Mama asks for. Apparently, that's still asking too much...

Maybe I should just open a tub of lotion and put it right in front of him to play with next time I need a few minutes?

Stretchy Play Dough

Another art book activity that we gave a shot on a hot afternoon was one of the many play dough recipes. It was super simple and super quick to make. The dough is oily and felt a lot like soft bread dough. 

Here's what you need:

- 4 cups of flour

-1 cup of oil

- 1 t of food coloring

-1 c of water

-Mixing bowl and spoon

What you do:

-In mixing bowl, mix water, oil, and food coloring

-Slowly, add flour while mixing

It made a big mound for pounding, squeezing, rolling, and poking.

Then you get to PLAY!

I started E out with the paci in the hopes that he wouldn't eat the dough and it worked. He was a bit nervous about the feeling in the beginning but in the end, loved it. I pulled out a few random bits from the kitchen from him to play with.

Definitely an activity we'll do again when it's just too uncomfortable to be outside!!