Family vacation

We had a beautiful drive to Fort Bragg last night. We are spending a whole week here, celebrating our 4 year anniversary and having a family vacation. We are staying on a couples property in their beautiful cottage. 

When we arrived we unloaded our car and headed straight to the beach. It was about to get dark and there was a beautiful mist coming up on the shore. I love the fresh smell of the sea. This is one of my favorite places to be with my two loves.  

Grandma Worcester

Grandma Worcester came to town for a short visit. They are in the process of moving from San Diego to Toronto Canada. She flew from San Diego to visit us and then was flying straight to Toronto. She said she did not want to miss this stage of Owen crawling. 


Owen had a wonderful time with her! He got to show her how he loves to play in his room, how fast he can crawl and how much he loves her. We are glad she could stop by in the midst of a busy move. See you again in June Grandma Worcester! 

Back home

This is what our bug has been doing the past couple of days. Even as I type he is asleep across my lap. While we were out of town he got pink eye and an upper respiratory infection. We are both home resting and having a sick day. I always seem to get whatever he gets. I can't keep myself from kissing his sweet lips and he can't keep from rubbing his slobbery face on mine.


We were awake at 5:45 this morning. Owen could not sleep with all of his congestion. We sat on the chair in the living room rocking. He finally went back to sleep but by then I was awake. There is something romantic about being awake while the early riser sleeps. Paul and I sat quietly chatting on one half of the bed while Owen was sprawled out on the other half. There are not many mornings that Owen is sleeping and we are awake, he is normally our alarm. We enjoyed sitting together watching our sweetheart sleep. 

Glen eyrie

Paul, Owen and I have been in Colorado Springs on the beautiful grounds of Glen Eyrie this past week. Owen and I flew and Paul drove a 15 passenger van with the college students. We are here for a spring break conference. 


Paul works full time for a college ministry called Christian Challenge. I also work with the students but now I get to do both, be a mommy and spend time with the students. It is a fun environment to raise Owen in. The students love him and he has a great time with them. I'm sure he will have more and more fun as he gets older and can run around with them. Brittany, in the picture above, has become one of Owen's best college friends. :) 


Isn't the castle beautiful? Paul and I were so excited to stay in it. Each room is unique with its own charm and beautiful views. My sister and her husband had the most amazing view from their room. See that very top round floor of the castle? That was their room! It had those huge windows all around, with tall ceilings and a big king size bed in the middle, very romantic.


Owen loved his new sling. It was pretty cold several of the days so he would cozy up and peer out form a warm little spot. He got sick part way through the week so it was nice to tuck him in and carry him close. I love wearing my little bubba. "Extending the oneness of muma and baby for just a little bit longer", as Jodi put it in her blog post about babywearing. 


Owen and I, and another friend with her baby, fly home tomorrow morning. I'm a little nervous about Owen's ears since he has been sick. Hopefully he has been on the medicine long enough that he will be ok. We are excited to get home and get ready for Paul's mom coming into town on Monday. 

Shore do love you: Owen's nautical baby shower

Planning Heidi's shower made me think of my baby shower. My sister and friends did an amazing job, I was so loved. I was 32 weeks pregnant at that point. They did a nautical theme to go along with what we were doing in Owen's nursery. I have the messages in a bottle (pictured above) that everyone wrote to him that day on his shelf. I am still not quite done decorating his nursery, I guess I got distracted after the little guy arrived. 

It is crazy thinking back on when I was pregnant, wondering when he would arrive, what he would look like, how our life would change. He has only been here 8 months but I can hardly remember what it was like without him. 

The ways we have changed

The ways we have changed...

We used to listen to the radio when we were in the car. Now we sing "baby beluga in the deep blue sea.."

We used to eat at the same time. Now we take turns. 

We used to think baby drool was yucky. Now Owen gives us big open mouth slobbery kisses right on the lips.

We used to have to set an alarm to wake up. Now our little bug wakes us up bright and early to play. 

We used to buy adorable baby things to save for someday. Now we get to use those things.

It used to be just the two of us. Now we're three. 

Our life has changed and we couldn't be happier. 

Instagram

Do you have the Instagram app for iPhone? I just got it a few weeks ago. These are a few of my favorite iPhone photos I've put on there. A friend sent me a text the other day saying, "Christy!!! Instagram is like facebook but with just the good stuff! Pictures!" If you have it or get it my username is alwaysmewithyou. 

Strawberry cream cheese bars

 

This is one of the best deserts I have made so far. They have a sugary crust and tart berry inside with a little creaminess from the cream cheese. I found the original recipe on Pinterest, one of my favorite places to find recipes because you get to browse all the delicious looking pictures first. The original recipe did not have cream cheese and as my sister says, everything is better with cream cheese.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Bars

adapted from Smells like Home

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 large egg

2/3 cups of cream cheese

4 cups strawberries, chopped

4 tsp cornstarch

Combine 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder and flour. Mix in salt and lemon zest with a fork. Mix in the butter and egg until it forms crumbs. Spread a little more then half of the crumb mixture in a greased 13x9 inch pan. Press down firmly on the crumbs in the bottom of the pan to form the crust.

In another bowl, stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Mix in the strawberries. Pour the strawberry mixture over the bottom crust. Add small scoops of cream cheese over the strawberries (about half a table spoon size). Spread the remaining crumbs over the top of the berries. Bake for 45 minutes. The top should be slightly golden brown when done. 

I made these twice. The first time I served them right out of the oven and they were warm and gooey. The second time I let them cool and they were easier to cut into bars. I preferred eating them hot out of the oven but the presentation was better after letting them cool. Either way they are really delicious.