Recently, Matt and I have been talking about families for Family Home Evening lessons.  We have read several talks together and have been discussing what type of parents we want to be for our children.  Thinking about families and parenting recently has made me realize how grateful I am for my family.  Matt and I grew up in remarkable families and I am so grateful for the wonderful influences I have and the people I have to look up to.

Add my sister Sarah and my brother Nate's wife Elisabeth and two kids

I just couldn't leave her out :)

This is two years old now so we're missing some of the grandkids 

1 Month

I'm a little behind on my blog but I never did a one month post.  Here's our little Thomas at one month old:

- Loves to snuggle.  It's a good thing too because we can't get enough of his cute baby snuggles.

- Still has skinny little legs but his cheeks are starting to fill out

- Loves sleeping pretty much everywhere (well except maybe his crib).  He takes naps in the Bjorn, the stroller, the car, in our arms, and in his sweet rock n' play.  We haven't tried putting him in his crib much yet but he moved to his own room at 2 or 3 weeks because mom wasn't sleeping enough :)

- Poop machine.  Seriously... one time he got it all over me and the curtain.  Hopefully when his legs chunk up his diapers will fit better and we won't have as many blowouts.  

- Successfully went to his first full day of church.  He was a trooper.

- Sleeps pretty well... usually wakes up every three hours or so to eat

- Has old man hair.  Oh and he just got over having a little cradle cap and that weird peely skin babies have.  He's getting cuter everyday now.  Poor newborns... as much as we love them, they're a little awkward looking.  

- Great grunter.  I swear he makes the weirdest noises.

We love our little man so much, but seriously... what's not to love?!

Coronado Getaway

Every year my family meets up in Coronado for a beach trip and I REALLY didn't want this year to be different.  Before we had Thomas I was pretty convinced that we'd be able to go as long as he didn't have any health problems, etc.  Matt was a little harder to convince.  After spending some time at home adjusting to our new lifestyle with a baby, we were ready and excited to get out of the apartment for a little bit.  We weren't pros on being parents to a newborn by any means, but we were ready for an adventure.  So when Thomas was just over three weeks old, we took him on his first road trip!

Our first stop was Stacie & Seth's house up in the LA area.  Matt's sister is awesome and we love visiting her family.  Luckily they were very patient with Thomas' crying at you know... 2 and 4 in the morning :).  It was great to see them.  Their little girls are so cute.

Our next stop was Thousand Oaks, CA.  About a year ago, Matt went to an Acoustical Society of America Conference in San Fransisco.  While he was there he met a lot of great, influencial people including one of the founders of the acoustical consulting company McKay Connant Hoover.  Since the conference, they have been in touch and we were invited to meet up with them in Thousand Oaks on our way to San Diego.  We met Tony Hoover and he was great!  We got to tour the office and go to lunch with him and another man that works there.  Matt and I were both really impressed with the firm and I THINK/HOPE they were impressed with Matt too.  Matt said he'd love to work for them or another similar firm.  I guess we'll see how things pan out in two years.

Finally we made it to Coronado.  It was really fun to see all of my family... especially because most of them got to meet Thomas for the first time :).  We had a blast!  Thomas LOVED the beach!  He slept a lot and seemed to love the nice weather.  It was so nice to have a break from the craziness of normal life and take a time out for some fun.  We had tons of fun playing on the beach and eating... and eating... and eating some more.  Mm!  I'm already excited to go again.

Our Little Family on the Beach

Some of my cute nieces...

 Moo Time.  We might have gone twice in less than a week :)

Coronado Bay and Bridge

By the San Diego Pier at Anthony's Grotto

In front of the Hotel Del Coronado.  We only took a couple pictures with the little man because usually he was cozied up in his carseat but we had fun with the little fella.

I know a lot of people must think we're nuts for taking our newborn on a trip, but I am so glad we did!  Being a new mom is exhausting and it was really nice to have some help.  Going on vacation also helped me learn how to get out of the house.  Before that I had only really gone to Target and Costco with Thomas, but the trip helped me become more comfortable spending time doing errands and going out.  I am so grateful for everything right now... including the awesome trip we got to take before Matt started grad school and things got busy again.