Playdate with Anders !

On Friday I went over to my friend Anders house and we had such a fun time. First we went on a 2 hour hike with mama & Anders' dad Doug, then we played at their house on the floor and watched the really cool trains they have (you can see one in the bottom picture), and then we went out to lunch at Chipotle (although it was strictly milk for us babies, we didn't get to try the yummy adult food). Can't wait for the next playdate :)

I slept through the night!!!

I surprised my mama & daddy last night by sleeping from 11pm until 6am this morning! Mama couldn't believe it, and she is so happy and energetic this morning! I told them I may not do this everyday, but it may be a new trend for me. I guess I'm a big boy now :)

We have sprinklers!!!

In early December Papa Chuck & Grandma Tilla came out to Tempe to lay a sprinkler system for our front & backyard. Jonathan & Chuck were working in the yard from early in the morning till long after the sun went down! Since I was a bit under the weather (again...), Tilla was so wonderful to take care of Jacob pretty much full-time (minus feeding him). Here's a photo collage of all the guys work. One of the pipes had to go under the driveway, and so you will see the 5 foot deep hole Chuck had to dig on the other side of the driveway to find the pipe!! There was lots of cheering and celebrating when the pipe was located, or so I hear :)Thank you so much Chuck & Tilla for the fantastic job you both did! 

Carmel Beach Picnic

Just got these photos from Papa Chuck! Thanks for a great time! 

Aunt Allison :)

On our way back to Arizona we stopped off in Clairemont to meet Auntie Allison (Jonathan's sister) & her boyfriend Eli. This was the first time Jacob & Tricia got to meet her, and we are so glad we got the chance. We had a great lunch together and walked around a bit. Jacob absolutely loves this cooing noise that Eli makes! And we went to this amazing folk music store owned by Ben Harper's grandparents.

Can't wait to see you both again real soon! 

Rincoln Beach

On our way back home, we stopped over for the night in Rincoln. The coach was parked right next to the beach overlooking the ocean. We had a lovely campfire and took a walk in the morning. Then it was a sad goodbye to Grandma & Papa, and back in the car to head back to Arizona. Our trip was so much fun, thank you Tilla & Chuck for an amazing time!

 

Hike at Pt Lobos

On our way back from Carmel we took a hike through Pt Lobos Nature Reserve. We saw a deer, and walked along the trails next to the ocean. The views were amazing! 

Carmel Day Trip

Here are some photos from our day trip to Carmel. It is so gorgeous there! We had a lovely picnic under the trees overlooking the ocean.
 

Walk at Pfeifer State Beach

On new years day we took a walk at Pfeifer State Beach, and stayed to watch the sunset. Here are some pictures from our walk. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium Trip

We met our good friends Ali & Ken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on New Years Eve. We all enjoyed looking at all the fish & animals. They even had a great white shark! Jonathan took some amazing pictures. Thank you Ken & Ali for making this experience possible!

Big Sur Trip with Warners

After Christmas we drove up to Big Sur to meet Grandma Tilla, Papa Chuck, & Cousin Jared. We stayed at the Fernwood Campground in the Coach underneath the beautiful redwood trees & next to the Big Sur river. It was incredible. Here are some pictures from a hike we took near the campground.
As you can see Jacob has a new Kelty Backpack. Thank you Auntie Kristen & Uncle Danny for the gift certificate to REI that helped to get this. Jacob is pretty heavy now, so having the backpack makes hiking so much more comfortable! 

Visit to Papa & Betty

On the 27th we were all off to Henderson, Nevada to visit Great Papa & Betty! There were 8 of us, Grammy & Grandpa Ward, mama & daddy, Aunties Sarah & Kristen, Great Uncle Dave, & me. We had so much fun hanging out together. We played cards, talked about great memories, took a walk, and had a yummy dinner at the Elephant Bar. I was such a good boy on the airplane, especially when our flight was delayed for many hours on the way home.
Thanks Papa & Betty for a fun-filled day!

Lunch with the Sierras

On the day after Christmas we met Adrienne & Jane (Tricia's godmother) for a special lunch at the CPK in Westwood. Jacob slept through half the meal, giving us lots of time to catch up. It was so wonderful getting all together. Afterwards we got deedee riese cookies (mama & auntie sarah's favorites from our ucla days) & took a drive around campus. It is amazing how much the campus has changed in the last few years!
Looking forward to meeting Adrienne's little one when he/she arrives this summer! 

Christmas Day at the Steeles!

We celebrated Christmas Day dinner at Great Aunt & Uncle Steeles. Dinner was very yummy, and we had our annual present exchange. Thank you all for the wonderful presents!
The day began with the "boys" watching the Laker game, while the girls (and Kenneth) watching the Devil Wears Prada (mama's first movie in 6 months...) The day was wonderful, and ended with Aunt Mary's famous chocolate chip 3-tiered bundt cake, a favorite to all!



 

Christmas Eve at the Beach House!

I had so much fun this Christmas! Since the beach house is currently under construction, we celebrated Christmas Eve on the third floor, & then went over to Great Aunt & Uncle Steeles for Christmas day. Grammy & Aunties Sarah & Kristen went out and got a beautiful tree and decorated it so nice. It was even taller than me, even though auntie sarah teased mama that it would be a 2 foot tree...
thank you all for the wonderful presents. I'm going to be the best dressed 6 month old in Arizona! And all the cool toys are so much fun to play with.
Christmas was extra special because I got to meet my uncle Danny for the first time. He is really cool. he went to ucla just like mama, auntie sarah, grammy, great grandma ward, grandma tilla, grandpa ron....do we notice a trend??
Grammy made me a new blue sweater that i absolutely love! Thanks grammy, I know a lot of love and hard work went into making it :)
Of course the night ended with Coper in the bathtub, boy was he tired after all that fun!