Mama and daddy go on a date

Yesterday, Scott and I had a "date day", instead of date night. My mom came to watch Kekoa and we had the whole day to play, just the two of us. Of course we missed our little bundle of joy, and talked about him a lot during our date, but it was so nice to spend time together, to be carefree. We drove over the hill to Santa Cruz and picked up a delicious lunch of grilled paninis, salt and vinegar chips, quinoa salad, and a real special treat...black cherry cream soda. It was quite a change to take our time in the grocery store, to not be rushed. As we parked the car, Scott said, "OK, I'll go get the chips and you go get the sandwiches." We both realized that there was no rush, we had all day to spend in the store if we wanted to!
We had quite the picnic spread and ate our lunch out on the green lawn, in front of the lighthouse, overlooking the gorgeous ocean. It was a really breezy day and the salty ocean air smelled so good!
Yummy panini!
After filling up our bellies, we headed about 5 minutes north to Wilder Ranch State Park. Neither one of had been there and we were both excited to hike out to the beach. The trail takes you right onto the cliffs. It was just breathtaking. The ocean was so incredibly blue and we saw all kinds of birds too, cormorants, seagulls, and a falcon riding the wind, in search of prey. I couldn't believe that we were so close to Santa Cruz and there were so many secluded beaches with no one on them!
My favorite part of the day was finding a little spot out on the cliffs, spreading out our blanket, and laying down to watch the ocean waves crash against the rocky shore. It was so peaceful and restorative for our souls.
All good things come to an end and we were also getting anxious to see Kekoa. We headed home, but not before having some delicious ice cream downtown! Kekoa was so excited to see us...the feelings were definitely mutual! We couldn't get enough snuggles and kisses from each other!
It was so amazing to spend the day with Scott, take our time eating lunch, and going for a hike. We both needed the time together. And it is so amazing to come home and have our cutie pie son greet us with such enthusiasm! A perfect end to a perfect day.

We walked down a short steep trail to one of the secluded beaches and found this super cool cave! There was water dripping from the ceiling of the cave and so many ferns hanging down, it was incredibly lush and green. It went really far back too.

My first visit to the zoo

Wednesday morning we headed out to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose. What a great place for kids! There is a petting zoo area with goats and other farm animals. Kekoa enjoyed touching the pony's mane and got really excited around the goats. I was a little nervous around the goats, but not our son. There are also rides, more suitable for older kids, and another zoo area. Kekoa had a really great time. He just loves going to new places, just not the car ride to get there! We can't wait to go back again...

Having my snack before we head out.
So ready to go mama!


I would like to go here please!

The first thing we saw when we walked in was the Great Horned Owl, chillin' on this woman's arm. Kekoa LOVES owls and couldn't believe this one was actually moving around. It had huge yellow eyes and was turning its head around, like owls do.

Next stop the petting zoo...


Our motivation for going to Happy Hollow was to meet up with my friend Jen and her 2 year old daughter Annika. Kekoa and Annika meet for the first time!

I think what I liked best was all the big trees, providing shade on a hot day. We chose a beautiful redwood tree to sit under and have our lunch!


Kekoa couldn't get enough of all the new sounds he was hearing and all the new sights he was seeing. We were sitting in perfect view of the little roller coaster and Kekoa just couldn't stop staring at it race around.


This African tortoise was the big hit for Kekoa. It was cruising in its pet, back and forth, and was moving quite quickly. Kekoa wanted to climb down and hang with the tortoise. Maybe he'll love them as much as his mama! I loved watching it walk too, its hind feet are so cute, they look like miniature tree stumps.



A little Meerkat and Kekoa meet.

Fenced in

Because we have such a little explorer, we now have a fenced in area for Kekoa. It had to be done. We couldn't leave him alone, not even for a second. Our place is so small, we are busting out, and haven't found a home for all of the things that Kekoa can get into. Now we have a safe place for him when we need to fold clothes or bring up groceries from the car or go to the bathroom or....
Just this morning he was "helping" me cook. By helping, I mean taking all the canned and boxed food items off the bottom shelf. He found a clear container of animal crackers and was dying to open it up, just couldn't figure out how! Such a curious little George!

I love that belly!!


Here is Kekoa, off exploring. I love the laugh sound he makes, I call it his, "I'm up to no good" laugh. :)

Uncle Mango visits

Yay, my Uncle came to visit today. It has been a long time since I've seen him...I miss him! Thanks for treating us to breakfast! Come back soon! :)

In my highchair...

Kekoa is definitely finding his voice. He has a very high pitched scream now...

Eating noodles...
Instead of eating his chunks of food, Kekoa now loves to drop the chunks of food on the floor!