Ry and I took a vacation – some call this a “babymoon” – to Forestville at the start of 2010. If anyone knows Forestville like I did when I went to Sonoma State, you would wonder why we would even think to vacation in Forestville. Well, it turned out that we found a gem (Thanks to my Mom and Travel & Leisure Magazine) right in the heart of wine country, and coincidentally along the same path my friends and I used to float down the river in the hot Sonoma summers. The Farmhouse Inn ‘wowed’ us as soon as we drove up. On check in, we were greeted with an intro that included the words “local bath soaps and salts” and “roast s’mores in your room.” At this point, that excited me a little more than “a selection of free wine tasting vouchers” (a year ago these words would have been music to my ears!) :) We took a day trip that Saturday to all of the big winery towns – Calistoga, Napa, Sonoma – and I think the highlight of our day trip was surprisingly the Calistoga Geyser. We joked that they shoot this off by pressing a button every 15 minutes, but we laughed and gazed and even took an excessive number of pictures of us in front of the spout – just like all the other tourists.
Our Monday nights are now devoted to our Childbirth Preparation classes – a 6-week course – where we meet with 12 other couples and an instructor from 7-9pm. Each class, we are asked to bring a pillow and blanket, as the last 15 minutes of class are dedicated to breathing exercises and techniques on the floor of the auditorium. We have actually been finding the classes to be a lot of fun, and interesting too, as last week’s class included a hospital tour and this week’s class was all about choosing a pediatrician. Next week we also plan to attend a free Anesthesia class (I can almost guarantee Ryan might know this guy by name after the last two bouts he has had with anesthesia companies!) where an anesthesiologist will be coming to speak about pain control. In a couple weeks we will be attending a breastfeeding class too – figure we might as well do it all this time around – there’s no such thing as being too prepared, right?!
Emily’s baby shower was on the 9th, and it was a load of fun seeing everyone! Kathy, Lindsey, and Michelle put together a fabulous tea party – and I am pretty sure I was the biggest loser at the can’t-say-“cute”-or-“baby” clothespin game! Who can refrain from saying “cute” at a baby shower? It’s impossible. :) I think Hannah was the winner of this game by a long shot!
Ry’s company holiday party was the night of Emily’s shower, so we rendezvoused in Dublin for a nice dinner and white elephant exchange at Poppy Ridge Golf Course. After Ryan somehow opened two Snuggies as white elephant gifts, he ended up walking away with a baguette cutting board and Christmas sequin tie that’s been in the exchange for over 15 years. I walked away with a “Shake Weight” – yes the infomercial that swears it tones your arms in seconds – exactly what I need right now, right? No. Not really.
Liam turned 2 this month!! We had a blast getting together with everyone to celebrate this big guy’s special day! It was so fun to see Liam, Emma, and both Mylies running around the house, chasing after each other. I can only imagine what it is going to be like in a year when it’s these 4 running things and then 3 more little ones making their way around the house!
I swear we are coming to the end of January’s craziness, just a little more excitement then I am done typing! :)
Mom and Nik threw me an amazing baby shower this weekend! They did a wonderful job decorating, brought in some fab food, and got some fun games together that really got everyone laughing! It was so great to see everyone! Thank you to all of my girlfriends who made the trip down/up from Sonoma, Davis, Santa Barbara – wherever you came from – thank you! It meant so much to me to have such a great crowd there, and Ryan and I are very lucky to have such great friends and family in our lives who continue to give us so much love and support. It really makes all the difference!
Looking forward to seeing the Johnson and Sullivan side of the family in two weeks at the baby shower! Thank you, Peggie and Amie, I am really excited to see everyone again and can’t wait for another fun shower!
Heading out to Fresno this weekend to visit Emily and Chris! We are really looking forward to seeing them one more time before our girls come!
Oh, one more thing! I got a little creative this month and decided to paint some pictures for Kaylah's room! They have yet to be put up on the wall, but it's a start! :)
Xoxo- Sarah
