Green Drink!!

Every morning, I love making my green drink first thing...it's like my 'coffee' I guess, which I know all you coffee drinkers would cringe at that. I make it with flaxseed, kale, brewer's yeast, water, banana and JP+ complete. It only took Livy one taste and she is hooked! She will attack Damein or I if she sees us with it in our cup! She's starts bouncing and squealing trying to get to it! You can see her green mustache in these pics.
Another sweet thing I love about what she does right now is when she gets really excited or is having tons of fun, she lets out a fun little girly squeal. But she has her soft side as well, and in that regard, one of my favorites is when she is in the ergo and getting tired, she will often lift her head to look up at me and just give me a sweet little smile when I look down and kiss her nose. LOVE!!

Little Miss Spunky

Livy has quite a spunky personality, and although that has been evident since birth, it seems that it is become all the more clear as she gets older! She is very vocal and very LOUD! Sometimes her singing and babbling is so loud it hurts our ears! Seriously! We love it about her though. It is clear that she is quite an extrovert and loves to have a lot of fun! For those of you into Myers Briggs, Damein and I both currently think she is closest to reflected the personality of the ESFP. A professor we had in seminary always said they had the most fun in life.

Along with her spunk, she has such a sweet demeanor and everywhere we go, about 9 out of 10 people stop to talk to her or comment on how cute she is. She usually stares intently at them, studying their every move, or gives them a sweet little smile. She has been really great about letting other people hold her and play with her. She truly radiates joy, and I think radiates joy to those she is around. It is certainly true of our home, and that was something I prayed for before she was born. That God's joy would radiate from her life and pour into others.

First things First

Livy:
I am enjoying exploring my new home...well as much as Mommy will let me :) I like getting into boxes and bags while Mommy is unpacking. I never knew I had all these books and toys and shoes!! The shoes are coming in handy because I love standing up as much as possible these days. If I had my way, I would skip this whole crawling thing and cruise around on two feet! You can't say I'm not trying...it is not uncommon to find me in a 'downward dog' yoga position trying to stand up on my own. I've mastered standing up when I have things to pull up on, especially in my crib! So, when we are out and about, it's nice to have some shoes on in case I want to stretch my legs and stand up a bit.

I am still crawling as my main mode of transportation...more of the wounded soldier crawl, but it works for me. I like to get up on all fours and rock back and forth but flatten out on my belly when I start crawling. It works for me, except for the little blister I'm getting on my big toe, which I push off on when I crawl.

Mommy:
One of our very favorite things Livy is doing these days is giving us kisses. It is seriously the sweetest thing ever!! Now, she doesn't just give them out carelessly. When she is feeling especially loving or sometimes when we ask she will look right us, make an 'O' with her mouth and lean in for a kiss. There have been a few times when we are playing and she will lean in to kiss me just because! Melts my heart to see her pouring love onto us that we've poured into her! Damein realllyyy melts when she gives him a kiss; it's so cute to see her love on her Daddy!

We also love seeing all the 'soul' Livy has! She loves music and rhythm! When there's music she gets her body moving to dance and if there isn't music, she will make some by singing! She uses voice fluctuation as well, it is hilarious! I guess it makes sense, as Damein and I both love and listen to music often and sing to her as well, especially at bedtime or naptime.

She has been 'babbling' a lot more these days and does often do a 'dadadada' rendition. She definitely understands a lot of what we are saying when we refer to 'mommy' or 'daddy', as she will look at one of the other of us when we make the reference. We've worked on some sign language, and she can understand 'milk', 'eat', and 'more'.

Livy has mastered the art of drinking from a sippy cup, and she doesn't mess around! She LOVES water and drinks lots of it! Although she is still primarily nursing, she is exploring tons of new flavors in solid foods I have been making for her. Some of her new favorites include pumpkin, beets, mushrooms, purple cabbage, nectarines, and plums. I usually introduce 4-5 new foods a week at this point, because I want to introduce her to as many wonderful fruits and veggies as possible at this age as she is so open to new flavors and foods! I have really enjoyed guidance and ideas from a book called Feeding Baby Green.

She has 2 top and 2 bottom teeth now and so close to having 2 more top teeth pop through!
A video is attached here of Livy playing peek a boo! She is full of surprises every day as we watch her grow! This is one of her newest things, along with saying 'hi' and waving!

Slowly Settling In...

Well, I'm happy to say that we have progressed in our unpacking and organizing from what these pics show...but we still have a good ways to go:) Slow and steady wins the race, right?! I hope, since I get small pockets of time during Livy's naps to unpack! But I have a great view to enjoy in between all the work!
We ended up finding a home that was exactly what we were praying for and more! It was quite a process because the housing market is struggling so much out here, the rental market is booming, so it is very competitive. We were wanting to settle in the Eastlake area of Chula Vista, and we found a house there that fit our needs and had a breathtaking view!! We have a good sized back patio and back yard, which is fairly unusual, and it is lined with palm trees and other tropical plants. Interestingly enough we have several beautiful rose bushes in the front of our house, as well as a hibiscus tree, which I love!
We do have a guest bedroom for all of you planning to come visit, and it sports a really good sized balcony with an amazing view! :) We also have a loft that is the perfect size for mine and Damein's offices and books, which is super helpful! We are so thankful!
Some pics above show how we are functioning in the midst of the mess right now with our kitchen, living area (equipped with gate for the little mobile one!), guest bedroom, balcony, and office.
Once we get this mess situated, I'll post new pics!

Del Mar

Another beautiful day of beaching, landed us at Del Mar while the Brandts were visiting. I love Del Mar because they not only have beautiful beaches but also grassy areas and playgrounds, which make for a nice variety for the kiddos!
So, the water here is freezing! Livy just looks at us like we are crazy when we let it wash over her little feet. However, Damein and Matt braved the cold water and loved it...happy for them :)
You can see the kiddos conked out after a fun-packed day...

Jamba Juice

One of our favorite hot spots in the neighborhood is Jamba Juice! Holla! My fav has been Apples and Greens...a yummy smooth, not that different than my kale green drink I love for breakfast. Livy also digs it, as you can see here. I think Kuyper did too, but I'm pretty sure he was more intrigued by his cup than the smoothie! We had to make at least a few stops at JJ while the Brandts were here!

Nomadic Living...

As I mentioned previously, the Brandts had the privilege of moving around with us quite a bit while they were here, but thankfully it was the last of our moves! I have lost count of how many places we have lived in the last 10 weeks! We have become masters at making a 'home' out of any place and have been sooo blessed by the graciousness of God's people who have given relentlessly to us. Thank you!!
Here are some fun pics of us...in some of our 'homes'.

Coronado

Another fun outing while the Brandts visited was a Sunday evening trip to Coronado. This is by far one of my favorite places here so far! It is a quaint little town with beautiful beaches off the coast of San Diego. As you cross the bride into Coronado, it's hard to know what to feast your eyes on! You have the bay with all the sailboats, the ocean with cliffs piercing into it, palm trees, mountains, downtown San Diego, it is just amazing! We spent a relaxing evening in the sand and water with the kiddos, leaving just after the breathtaking sunset.
Livy loves keeping herself busy with whatever she can find, and although she seems to be a waterdog in general~in the shower and the pool~she isn't quite sure about the cold water of the ocean out here yet!
Kuyper on the other hand took it all in to the max! He had sand in every crevice of his body...literally! It was soooo fun!

Point Loma

Our dear friends (basically family) Matt, Ashley, and Kuyper Brandt came to visit for just over a week recently! Matt was out on business, but got to spend quite a bit of time with us, but Ash and Kuyper hung out with us the entire time. It was sooo fun! They are truly such a blessing to our family!
They got to experience a bit of our nomadic living, as they lived in 3 different places with us while visiting, the last one being our home we finally got to move into...however, boxes were everywhere! We were eating out of baby spoons part of the time, as we tried to sort through everything and find what we needed!

One of the highlights of our time together was visiting Point Loma, which overlooks San Diego. There is an old lighthouse there that has been perserved on the inside to replicate what it would have looked like for the family that lived there decades ago. I have always wanted to go into a lighthouse and finally got to! The views were breathtaking!