What's a VaStay, you ask? It's a hybrid of a vacation and a stay-cation and it is amazing. Gabe took this entire last week off of work; we headed over to the coast for a few days (the vacation portion of our week), then relaxed at home for the rest of the week (the stay-cation portion). I would highly recommend this combination. Sometimes, after traveling, it's difficult to return to the usual schedule of life. It's such a treat to return from traveling with the knowledge that a few more days of nothingness lay ahead.

From Monday through Wednesday, we stayed at at the WorldMark resort in Seaside, OR (thank you Nana & Papa for giving us some of your points for Christmas so that we could do this for a very affordable amount!). Jada fell in love with the swings on the beach. We fell in love with the sight of our happy girl and the beautiful ocean.





"How old are you, Jada?"
"ONE!!!"

 

 

 

Snacks & Playtime with Daddy...

 

Time to go swimming! (Although it was a pretty quick swim; even a 97 degree pool seems pretty cold outdoors in April at the Oregon coast).





On Thursday, we enjoyed a fun morning at the Children's Museum. Jada's favorite activity was probably splashing in the Water Works exhibit; she is quite a fan of the splashing.



Now, we're just relaxing at home for the rest of the weekend. A few errands here and there, but the majority of the time is being spent playing at our neighborhood park, enjoying a casual dinner with friends, playing cards and Settlers, and just spending time together.

What an incredible week.

What an awesome day! Not only did Jada & I have a fun morning playing together, but she napped for 3 whole hours in the afternoon, which gave me extra time to catch up with my sister over the phone AND get some work done! How perfect.

I am so thankful for my family & friends who wished me a Happy Birthday today; I feel so loved. To top off this perfect day, Gabe & I had a wonderful (& incredibly delicious) dinner at Benihana tonight. Our amazing friend, Jessie, babysat little Jada Bear for us. What a fun treat to go out to dinner with Gabe. I absolutely loved it.

Gabe, Jada, & I spent the afternoon outside; it was such an amazing sunny day. After walking around Streets of Tanasbourne (where Jada was enthralled with the fountain, as seen below), our family headed out to Rood Bridge Park, a gorgeous park in Hillsboro. Jada was in heaven; she played on the swings, went down the slide, dug in the dirt, heard the birds (& would sign "bird" every time she heard one), smiled at doggies, quacked with the ducks and ran down walking paths. What an awesome afternoon.

Miss Jada Bear is already 15 months old. She weighs 25 lbs. 3.5 oz (75th percentile) and is 32 inches tall (90th percentile). She is a running, climbing, talking machine. Her favorite activities include learning new words, playing outside, swinging, smelling flowers, reading books, chasing after doggies and kitties, and tackling Daddy.

Gabe has this old, stuffed Hulk Hogan from when he was a kid (Yes, Gabe was a genuine Hulkamaniac). Hulk now hangs out on Jada's chair. She'll commonly pull him off of the chair (meanwhile shouting, "Hulk! Hulk!"), throws him on the ground, then tackles him. Yes, she actually wrestles this stuffed, former WWF fighter, after which, she gives him kisses. Ha ha. It's absolutely hilarious.





She loves reading stories that have animal pictures. She calls monkeys "Ooo ooo, aah, ahh", and makes a funny snorting noise when she sees pigs. She can identify fish, sheep, ducks, kitties, birdies (there's even a picture of a bird on our "Crane" brand toilet that she points out), and all sorts of animals. We are so blessed to live about 20 minutes away from the Oregon Zoo; we just bought an annual membership & I'm so excited to bring her there throughout the summer so that she can continue to see her favorite animals.

Gabe and I are incredibly thankful to be her parents; she is such a blessing to us.

Here are some fun videos of her saying a few of her new favorite words - outside, happy, fish, & Jada. :-)

Tonight, Gabe came home from work with roses for me and Jada. He even picked off the thorns on Jada's rose and placed it in her own little vase.

Wow. We are blessed girls.

I am excited to introduce you to our new and improved downstairs bathroom. Thanks to a fresh coat of paint and my awesome friend, Brianne, who inspired and supplied me with absolutely beautiful vinyl expressions, our bathroom is a bit more modern, and, if I may say, quite cute.

Here are some BEFORE pictures. Notice the lavendar paint on the walls; yes, the ceiling was also lavendar...






Now I'm pleased to show you (drumroll, please) the AFTER pictures-






If you'd like to check out Brianne's entire Uppercase Living catalogue (which I would highly recommend), check out her site at http://bhappe.uppercaseliving.net .