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While Eric was on a guys trip in the Wind River, Jack & I went home to CA for the weekend. It was so nice to be back in California. Going home for the weekend made me realize HOW MUCH I love and miss CA.

We got to LA at 8am Friday morning. My mom & Jimmy picked us up from LAX. We went to The Oaks mall and went shopping for a while. OMG that mall is SOO nice! A fraction of what it used to be. When we got back to Santa Paula my mom watched Jack while I got a much needed back massage. That night we went to the local car show. My favorite was an old Ford from 1917! It was fun to stroll around on Main St. Jack & I made it on the front page of the paper. I new that kid was going places!

On Saturday we went shopping at the Camarillo Outlet Mall. Gotta love shopping! Ann came over Saturday afternoon... I love hanging out with her!! Ann, myself and Heidi went out in Ventura Saturday night. So much fun!!! I'm still laughing about it today.

On Sunday Aunt Connie, Charlene & her boyfriend Joe came to Santa Paula tomeet Jack. We all went down to the Fandango. Whats a Fandango you ask?? Well, its like a street fair with music, food, and vendors. Good local fun!

Monday grandma took Jack to the Labor Day parade. He loved seeing all the excitement! Later we went to Santa Maria to see Grandpa and Laura. We loved seeing them, and we got to meet their puppy Smokey. Smokey must have known Jack was just a little baby because he gave Jack lots of kisses and was extra gentle to him. On our way home we stopped in Santa Barbara to see my cousin Anna and her little girl Juliette. Juliette is so precious and she gave Jack some nice toys and a book.

We came home on Tuesday. Traveling alone with an infant is a lot of work!! Its nice to be home. Jack was SO happy to see his Daddy. We both really missed him!

Jacks 4 month video

Hi Gramps!!!!

We love you Grandpa!!!! Glad you found our blog! You're the best Uncle Bachelor Dave a girl could ask for.

Wisconsin!

The only cousin missing in this picture is Collin.. =(

Well I know I should have done this post 3 months ago... better late than never... RIGHT!? We took our first family vacation to Wisconsin in May. Jack was only 4 weeks old. Jack was perfect on the flight (both ways). Though I did noticed the people in the surrounding seats were not too happy to be sitting next to a baby. They gave the look of "oh great, I'm going to have to hear that kid the whole time!" I really didn't blame them, i was more worried that Jack was going to cry the entire 3 hour flight than they were! Fortunately for everyone on that flight Jack slept the entire time, i was so relieved.

We stopped on our way to New Lisbon in Milwaukee to visit Eric's college friends Justin & Amber. They have a precious little boy also, Landon. It was really nice to meet them & i was happy for Eric to get to visit with some old friends. They were really nice, we had a good time with them!

We stayed in WI for about a week. It was really nice to just lay low for a while. While we were there we went to a high school baseball game, went shopping at the outlets in The Dells, watched a "parade", and had a great family pot luck. The best part of the trip was that we got to see the new babies Olivia & Carmen. They were both born within the last year. Jack got to meet all his cousins, and his great grandma- lucky kid! ! It was a great trip, I just wish we lived closer so we could see them all more! I

I also learned how to shoot a gun. It was my first time ever shooting a gun, I hit my target

3 for 3... SO WATCH OUT!!!... Eric did pretty good too ;-)

Into The Wild

Eric and his dad went backpacking into the Wind River Mountains late July. The Wind River is in Wyoming, near Yellowstone & The Grand Tetons. It is beautiful, it looks just like Yellowstone. Unfortunately I will never see the sites it offers, unless its through the window of my car... as i drive past it. The reason I'll never see it is because it has a "small" population of Grizzly Bears. Any population of grizzly bears is WAY too big for me! Timothy Tredwell anyone?They had an amazing trip! They hiked 12.5 miles "into the wild", where they didn't see another soul (except each other). Eric caught a giant trout, they both caught more fish than they could ever eat. The pictures hardly capture the beauty that is The Wind River. Eric is going back for Labor Day weekend, it will be his 3rd trip into the Wind River.

Mom u-da bomb!

We are so blessed to have had my mom here for the past month. We loved having her around!! She stayed with Jack all day for last 3 weeks so I could work. While she was here we shopped around for a great childcare so I could return to work permanently. I came to the conclusion that no child care is good enough. I am so fortunate that I will not have to return to work. The decision was a little nerve wracking to make, but ultimately i know i made the right choice. It just feel so right.

My mom and Jack spent many fun days together! She encouraged him to develop in so many ways! I feel she is the reason he has accomplished so many baby milestones early! A week after I brought Baby Jack home from the hospital she told me "Come on Monica, You can't swaddle him forever!!' My mom taught me not be fearful and worry about him, but that everything is going to turn out! She was here to share in many wonderful moments in Jacks life including: his first time in a pool, his first giggle, his first attempts at scooching, his first roll over, his first time in a lake, playing at the beach, helping her shop at the mall, helping me stay calm during his first trip to the ER (not such a wonderful memory), our walk at Fort Buenaventura where she had to scare a snake out of our path, Jacks first face dunking in his baby pool- oops!... So many more fun activities!!

Thank you mom for being so wonderful. Thank you for all you have taught me. Thank you for your help the past month. Thanks for all you do. We love you!

The Amazing Jack

He Rolled Over He Rolled Over He Rolled Over!!

Just 1 day short of 11 weeks, Jack rolled over. He is one step closer to mobility. I am one day closer to chasing him all over the house.

Happy Birthday America!

Happy Fourth of July!! We all went to Pineview to cool off for the day. It was so crowded but we found a nice, grassy spot to claim as our own. Everyone went swimming, it was a great way to spend the Fourth! Jack got to feel the lake for the first time... everything is a new experience to him. We love watching him experience lifes firsts. It's funny how such a simple thing, like introducing water to a baby (besides the bath), can bring me so much joy. Ann got Jack an adorable pair of board shorts. No one spoils him like Aunt Ann!

We BBQ'd a ton a food, then watched the fireworks. We climbed up into the mountains behind our house to get a Million Dollar view. The view was definitely worth the hike, and We saw at least 5 different firework shows. Jack slept through them, too much excitement for one day. Later that night Mike spent a small fortune and put on his own firework show! I don't know what was better- the fireworks or my moms "Flash Dance" she performed during the fireworks. Shes too much for words sometimes, always keeping us entertained!

Lovin the Batistas

Ann & Mike came to visit... Woo Hoo!! We had so much fun with them, but it was short lived and they left far too soon! Friday night we played Power Hour using a Michael Jackson tribute Power Hour CD Eric made. Big Ups MJ! Then we really painted the town... kidding. I was so excited to go out and experience the night life for the first time in almost a year. We went to a couple different spots and took advantage of Utah's new bar law. Utah joined the rest of the states by dissolving their "Club Membership" law. Really, it doesn't matter if the clubs are private or not, they are pretty boring & I don't feel like i missed out on anything the past 9 months! Anyways, It was really fun to be out with Ann & Mike. We had a lot of fun together, and a lot to laugh about!

Enter Baby JACK William

Eric made a video for our baby Jack. He picked the music of Jacks favorite singer, Frank Sinatra (Eric made me type that). As you can tell, we're extremely proud parents!! ENJOY*

Stewart guys come to visit!

3D movie

Playing a game of Caps
Uncle Dave

Grandpa

Uncle Jimmy

Last week my brothers came to visit. I loved having them here. We didn't do anything amazing, but it was really good just to have them around to hang out with and laugh with. I miss them!