Just found this under Josiah's crib mattress. It explains alot, I think they're in on it together...

(Photo courtesy of Tata Lucio)

Thanksgiving

Time off, vacation, R&R, call it what you want, this Thanksgiving was a time of rest. The tragic thing was that I was resting from adjusting to having two babies, and I had only been on my own for three days!

My Granny, Carolyn Wendt is amazing. She provided a beautiful place for us to stay right up from the ocean in Shell Beach. In addition she made the entire Thanksgiving meal for 13 people! Ryan and I decided to make it a mini-vacation by staying down in Shell (only about 30 minutes from our house) for four days. Lyndal joined us for part of it and her and I got a bit of girl time in. She even watched the kids while Ryan and I had a date at the local hot springs. By the end of the weekend, I felt like I got a little part of me back, a little part of me that has been buried for over two years.

This is the view from the street outside the condo.

The cousins and the new babies at Thanksgiving dinner.

Josiah and I walked to the Seaside Cafe from the condo, and the day before, Lyndal and I came here and sat and chatted for a few hours.

Josiah was a trooper, he sat, read books and played for an hour while we chatted and waited for breakfast. He thought putting the cup holder on his head was hilarious!

There was a good swell so Ryan and I got to surf a few times. One of the best parts was that we could just walk to the beach from the condo. One person could watch the kids and the other could surf. I got to go twice and it was so refreshing to get back in the water after so long. I felt like I got to reconnect with a little part of myself!

Josiah taking off on the little walking trail.

Ryan caught red-handed! Breast feeding and drinking...

We got to meet up with some friends and go for a walk.

It was the lowest tide of the year.

There were some pretty cool critters in the tide pools, starfish with 5 arms and one with 20 arms, sea anemones, big crabs...and best of all dogs! Pretty much Josiah's favorite thing on the beach that day.

Thank you again Granny, for all your hard work and for such a relaxing weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gotta love the Fashonista Aunties...they pick out the cutest clothes, Thank You!

(Please excuse the gang signs. We're trying, but there are some bad news babies out there....I think she met them at our mommy and me class ; )

Welcome Home Kaila

The first week at home. Short and sweet, the pictures tell it all. Plus, my time is quite limited these days : )

Josiah giving Kaila kisses.

It's A Girl!!

Welcome baby Kaila! We love you so much!

Kaila Marie Hayes

Born 11-1-11 at 1:10

6 pounds 14 ounces, 19 1/2 inches

...(continued from previous post) As we were walking around with Josiah trick-or-treating, I began to have a few contractions that I wrote off as false labor. Regardless, we decided to stay the night at Lyndal's, Ryan's sister, house since it was close to the hospital and she was one of the people who volunteered to help with Josiah when the baby came. Lyndal, Taylor, Ryan and I chatted and hung out at their house. We passed a few hours snacking and watching the masses of trick-or-treating kids as they took advantage of the one time of year it is socially acceptable to knock on anyone's door and eat candy from strangers.

I wasn't convinced I was in labor until 11 pm. I called my mom, labored for 45 more minutes before waking Ryan up (he had gone to bed a little earlier), and we went to the hospital around 12pm. Kaila (pronounced Kai-la not Kayla) rushed into the world at 1:10, astonishing Ryan and I at her speedy and relatively easy delivery!

As always, Ryan was an amazing source of comfort and encouragement! He was there for me all the way.

Kaila was born so quickly, she came out absolutely beautiful, without the cone-head and swelling that a long labor often inflicts. Such a pretty little girl already!

Kaila's journey to being born has been marked with joyous surprise. First, learning that I was pregnant was a surprise, then having her come four days early and threaten to be a Halloween baby was another surprise. I kept telling Ryan " I can't believe we're going to have a baby on Halloween...!" Then, when we found out she was a girl, I was overjoyed and our whole family was surprised as well (there were a lot of "boy" guesses). Welcome to the world Kaila Marie! We love you!

October 31st, 2011

The little man has been recovering from a double ear infection followed by a gnarly strep infection, so Halloween was about mending up. We took short a walk around to the neighbors houses, and he was given one m&m, as his token piece of Halloween candy. Our little lion was super ferocious and feeling great by the time we took these pictures.

Little did we know, our Halloween was about to get a lot more interesting just hours after these pictures were taken. To Be Continued...

2nd Annual SLASBCQUADGTACE

SLASBCQUADGTACE= Definition: San Luis and Santa Barbara Counties QUADfecta Disk Golf Tournament And Culinary Experience. Pronunciation: slash-ba-quad-ka-tasie

Leave it to my man to imagine up, and organize the SLASBCQUADGTACE. Every year it covers an epic game of all four disk-golf parks in our area, Waller Park in Santa Maria, Laguna Lake and Sinshimer in San Luis Obispo, and lastly, Hielman Park in Atascadero. The tournament begins at the crack of dawn and goes until 5 or 6 in the evening. The guys compete for the Champion-Title Goblet (a sweet thrift-store find) and they throw over 70 holes throughout the day, traveling over 50 miles to complete the marathon.

The"culinary experience" begins with breakfast at a popular local venue, and then we all join up for dinner at another locally-acclaimed restaurant. The first year we ate breakfast at a delicious, steak house in Santa Maria and then had Family-Style Basque food in San Miguel. This year we had breakfast at the Seaside Cafe in Shell Beach and ended the day with pizza from Nardonnes in Atascadero. Refusing to be left out of the best parts, the girls usually join up for the food and then spend the day together in between meals.

2nd Annual SLASBCQUADGTACE: August 20, 2011

This year's competitors from the left; Trago, Danny, Joe, Tim, Dave and Ryan

The course terrain varies, there are lakes, oak forests, mini-ravines, and 'swamps.' It's not hard to lose a disc, so it didn't surprise me in the past to see the guys knee-deep in swamp-puddle mud, barefoot and shuffling around trying to find a rogue disc. They've even scored a few new ones that way!

Tim getting technical

There's a lot of skill involved in executing a good throw.

Jaime and I showing off our baby bumps. Tracy and Kerry were here, but not pictured...partly because Kerry took all the pictures! Thanks Kerry!

Tournament Champion Two Years in a Row: David W.