Visit to Victoria

We took a great family trip to Victoria, BC this past week. It was Lucia's second trip to Canada in her 5 months on this earth. We had a great time enjoying the city and Butchart gardens. We were there from Wednesday to Saturday and spent most of the time wandering the city, eating good food, enjoying our crazy little lady, and visiting the gardens. We found a few good pastry and coffee shops for breakfast including a Danish Bakery that was impressive. We took our breakfast out to the Parliament lawn where we could sit on a bench, people watch, and enjoy view. The highlight on Wednesday was this French Bistro that we went to for lunch/dinner. It was so cute and quiet. Lucia slept for over two hours while we enjoyed the French cooking, wine, and chill setting. It was great to say the least. It felt like we were out on a date! Thursday was Butchart Gardens day. I could have spent the entire day there! I would have just found a quite bench and read a book all day long. It was amazingly beautiful. Lucia did really well there too. She loved walking around in the baby front pack and then slept for a good portion of the trip as well. On Friday, we walked around the city a bit, ate a lunch at a great place on a pier, and walked the waterfront...we got a lot of walking in. :)

It was a great trip and the weather was perfect! Here are some pictures from the week

Lucia did a nice job balancing on this massive pillow log and we found it pretty darn funny. Here she is after one of the rolls off of the log.
Lucia and I on one of our many walks in Victoria along the waterfront

And now Pat and Lucia on the same walk

Patrick and Lucia on the waterfront with the Empress in the background
The thugs at the dinner spot along the waterfront
Lucia looking cute after waking up from her nap
Butchart Gardens
Family shot in front on the sunken garden. The picture doesn't do it justice. That place is seriously amazing!
Another shot of the sunken garden
Pat trying to feed Lucy a hot dog.
A pond just in the parking lot of the gardens
Lucy out after her bottle given by Dad
Our little tulip :)
Me and the little lady having breakfast in front of the Parliament building

Fun with Grandma and a Giraffe

We had so much fun with my mom in town. Lucia loved playing with her and Grandma soaked it all in. We can't wait for the next visit. Here is video of Grandma Janice playing with Lucia. Unfortunately I only captured the tail end of the laugh attack.

Visit from Grandma Janice

My mom was up to visit this past week and it was so much fun to have her here. She loves Lucia like crazy and I love to watch them interact. Lucia definitely loves her Grandma Janice. It was amazing to see how much more can get done with my mom's help during the day. I was spoiled for the week and am now back to real life...sigh. We were able to fit in a lot of fun outings while she was up. Here are a few shots from the visit.

Family shot after church last SundayFlying Lucia
The best baby thighs to be caught on camera!
Mom and Craig at Joe Bar in Seattle
Mom and I on our shopping day. Lucia slept for 2.5 hours in the stroller as we shopped around. She really is the best baby ever! I can't believe how much she sleeps and when she is not asleep, she is so chill!
Lucy fighting off the bottle
Mom won the fight! :)

Lucia contemplating life and Craig's beard
Enjoying the waterfall at UVillage on one of the crazy hot days
Who could resist that face!

Lucia at 4 months

It is summertime and we are loving the sun, visits with family, and time outside. Lucia is growing so quickly and looks so different now. We went to her 4-month dr. visit the other day and she weighed in at 13 pounds and is 25 inches long. No major issues at the doctor's visit though we do have to get an ultrasound of her hip in Tacoma at the end of this month because, when she was born, the NICU doctor noted that there was a clicking sound in her hip. They just want to be sure that her leg is properly in the socket. I am sure it will be a quick and easy procedure. The hardest part will be the long drive down there through all of the Seattle traffic.

We have had a full summer so far and have spent the last two weekends over at Pat's parent's house. It is such a relaxing place. I love being out of the city. I'll include some pictures below from our latest visit. My mom is coming into town this week and we are so excited to have her and to show off our little girl. My mom hasn't seen Lucia since she was 2-3 weeks old, so it will be great fun.

Just two photos from this morning. Lucia loves to be outside like her mom! We were able to enjoy the fresh air and shade in the back yard before it hit the 80s.


Me with my two favorite little people!
The fam...


Birthday cake for the birthday ladies but I should note that this was no ordinary cake. It was chocolate coconut cream pie made by Sten and anything that Sten makes is amazing
The Hood Canal view from the Murphy's house. You can see the Olympics too just not in this picture.
Cousin Solveig loving on Lucia.



Jai and I with our little ladies. Jai bought matching outfits for Solveig and Lucia. They were too cute together.
Jai and the matching girls

My rolling baby

Lucia hit a new milestone recently. She is now able to roll! It is pretty cute to watch. She doesn't have it down perfectly yet but she's getting there. She rolled first from her stomach to her back on 6/25 and then her stomach to her back on 7/6. She is much better at getting from her back to her stomach, so she has managed to wake herself up now a number of times all freaked out that she is on her stomach but can't figure out how to undo the issue. I now have her in rolling boot camp so that she can figure out how to consistently get back from her stomach to her back. It is pretty funny to walk away for a few minutes and come back to find her in an entirely different position. I know, I know, it seems silly that this is an amazing thing but we have been dealing with a stationary tiny human being and now we have an ever so slightly mobile tiny human being. :)

Here are some pictures of her in position to roll. I think that her little head hovering above the ground being held up by that little baby neck is so cute! I haven't caught it yet on video. The video below is me trying to get her to roll but she sneezes instead which is also pretty cute...at least to me, Pat, and maybe the grandparents. :)






Unrelated to rolling but still cute, here are a few of Lucia enjoying summertime. Here she is showing off those baby arm muscles

We had to get her a little baby hat so that I can walk around outside with her on the sunny days. She loves the walks.

Trip to Whistler

This past weekend we took Lucia on her first weekend trip out of state/country up to Whistler, BC. There were a lot of great times and a few stressful ones on the trip. Overall we had a fantastic time up in the mountains. Our friends Erin and Neil were brave enough to go up there with us, which made it so much fun! It was great to spend so much time with them.

We headed out on Saturday morning. The driving was the stressful part of the trip. It is a bit less than a 5-hour drive but with Lucia it was 6 on the way up and just over 5 on the way back down. She, and I can't blame her, does not like being strapped into the car seat the whole time. She is a little action lover and would much rather be out flapping those baby limbs. We arrived Saturday late afternoon and met up with Erin and Neil for dinner and hanging out in our room after dinner for beer and a bunch of junk food. Sunday was beautiful. Pat and I went to our favorite food place up in Whistler, Hot Buns, for breakfast and then walked around in the sunshine, met up with Erin and Neil for lunch with a view and then hit the gondola to the peaks. We had dinner out again and then Hot Buns again on Monday morning. The drive back got a bit painful at the border crossing. Lucia was really not happy and let us know with probably the worst crying I have every heard from her. That part was not fun but, all in all, she was a trooper. She slept most of the car rides and took great naps while we were up in Whistler walking around, eating, and on the gondola.

It was chilly in the mornings, so we dressed Lucia up in basically a baby snowsuit. She was the cutest kid in the place for sure! She wasn't overly excited about the outfit when we first put her in it but it grew on her. Here we are getting her ready to head out for the morning.



Our favorite breakfast spot, Hot Buns, has the best crepes and coffee. We really enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and drinking our coffee. Nice and relaxing!


Not the most tasty lunch ever but maybe the best view. The mountains were so clear on Sunday and this lunch spot was right at the base of the mountain!


We took a gondola trip that went up to Whistler peak and then over to Blackcomb peak. The first gondola was basically an enclosed ski lift but the gondola from peak to peak was huge and crossed a valley, so we were quite high and the view was amazing.

Pat, Lucy, and I on the peak to peak gondola
Lucy in the lodge at the top of Blackcomb sporting Dad's shades
Top of Whistler peak. It was such a beautiful day!
Lucia was not terribly excited to be all wrapped up in blankets.
Me, Erin, and Lucia on the way back across the valley on the peak to peak gondola. Lucia had quite the day and just couldn't stay awake for the last bit. She was a trooper the whole trip!
Pat, me, Lucia, Erin, and Neil on our way back to Whistler village

It was a great trip and I am so glad that we were able to go and that we had great friends to join us!

9 Year Anniversary!

Pat and I had our 9-year anniversary last week. I can't believe that it has been 9 years already though; on the other hand, our wedding feels like a lifetime away. It has been a wonderful 9 years full of many amazing and tough things and, through it all, we have grown to love and respect each other more and more. I am blessed to have a husband who loves me, loves the Lord, and is committed to his family. I am so thankful to be spending my life with Pat and am looking forward to the new adventures that will come.

Our anniversary was last Wednesday, so Pat had to work during the day. We spent the evening just chilling at home with a nice dinner.

Here is the lovely....err...crazy couple



The dinner spread...


The little lady we got to share the evening with! Best thing we have produced in our 9 years of marriage! :)