Baby's First Roadtrip

It was a big weekend for the Stinkarina. Mama, Kaya and Kelsey went to Berkeley to visit Amy for Easter. Kaya celebrated lots of "firsts" this weekend. Friday night was the first night we have spent away from Papa since she was born. Also, this was Kaya's first long car trip. She did great with the 5 hour drive. Any time she started to fuss, if a bottle couldn't make it better, her Creedence Clearwater Revival CD did the trick!Miss Holiday had lots of fun having a slumber party with her auntie Kelsey during her first night spent in a hotel room. She sleeps in a baby hammock at home so we weren't sure how she would do sleeping in the crib that the hotel provided, but, even though she woke up a few times to eat, she slept in her big girl bed all night long. She was even a good sport about taking her bath in the sink.

Saturday, we surprised Auntiebom Amy at her softball game.

Kaya was the littlest Cal fan in attendance and she had fun sitting with her Grandma and watching Cal win the game!
After the game, we got to spend some time with Amy. Kaya had only met her once before and that time they had only gotten to spend about 20 minutes together. This time, they got to spend a whole night together in the hotel room! Kaya loves her Auntiebom and we can't wait until she comes home and can play with us all summer long!
Sunday was Kaya's first Easter. The Easter bunny didn't visit our hotel room but his assistant (Auntie Kels) gave us tickets to the Dodger game on Friday for Easter and my Bunkalunks was the cutest Easter egg ever in her special little suit that Jazmin and Barbara gave her. 

We had lots of fun but we were very happy to get home and see Papa after a long, long drive. 

Kaya of the Day

We went to Corona today for a family reunion and Kaya got to meet my uncles, aunts and cousins for the first time. We watched old home movies from the 80s and I realized how much I want to document this time in her life, not only for her Papa and I to remember but for her to have when she's older. I can't wait for the day that she reads this blog and sees these photos and says "Awh Mom, why'd you make me wear those Elton John shades, I looked ridiculous!" and then I can say "20 hours, kid, 20 effing hours".

We ♥ LA!

We took Kaya to her first Dodger game last night and she LOVED it. Which is fortunate because she will be going to many, many more in her lifetime, coming from a family of Dodger lovers as she does. (Especially since it is free to take her until she turns 4) Before she was even born she had all kinds of Dodger gear and even LA bottles. It's a perfect environment for her because she loves bright lights, being outdoors, loud noises and music and being around people. She was perfectly content to sit on my lap and take it all in while everyone around absolutely fell in love with her. Dodgers won, Mama got to have a beer and get out of the house and do something fun and even Papa- who is not a baseball fan, had a good time.
 

I plan to spend the entire summer doing this:

I couldn't if I tried.

In the last week or so, Kaya has started to seem less like a newborn and more like a real, live baby. She is much more facially expressive and seems to be more aware of what is going on around her. She definitely recognizes me, her Papa and Kelsey and will move her head and neck to follow our voices. She is still a very colicky baby and screams bloody murder for a few hours everyday. I've really been having a hard time contemplating going back to work. Kaya is still nursing almost exclusively (we do supplement with formula from time to time if Mama needs a cocktail or if we are out in public somewhere that whipping out a boob would be entirely inappropriate). My maternity leave is coming to an end in just a few weeks and the idea of leaving her is horrifying to me. I'd hate to have to stop breastfeeding, I'd hate to be away from her for 8 hours a day and I really hate thinking about the possibility that a caregiver/babysitter might ignore her or treat her badly out of frustration (I reiterate- she is a VERY colicky baby and she SCREAMS for HOURS a day). So, her Papa and I decided that at this point, the best decision for our family is for me to stay home at least through the summer and then we will re-evaluate our options in a few months. It is going to be very tight financially for awhile but I am THRILLED!C'mon, look at that face. Could you leave that??

Kaya of the Day

We went to lunch on the beach today with Kels, Kirk, Jazmin and Patrick. She's getting much better at being out in public without screaming like she's being abused. Plus, she looks super kick ass in the shades her Aunt Natalie bought her.

I could get used to this.

Kaya slept through the night for the first time last night. 'Twas glorious.