Fun in the Valley

We went up North for Charlie & Christina's wedding and wedding week festivities, but we were able to do lots of other fun things while we were there. We had our last baby shower thrown by my best friend Crista, we spent lots of time in the pool, we made strawberry jam with all my girl cousins, we went to Bachelor/Bachelorette parties, we made it to Concert in the Park, the Modesto Farmers Market and even to the Merced County Fair! It was a BUSY week but so much fun! It will probably take a couple of posts to get all the pictures up but here's the first part of the week...

Dave, Me and Alison lounging in the pool. The weather was perfect!

My parents' dog Molly has recently found a love for swimming. Here is Dave teaching her how to jump off the diving board!

Strawberry jam time! This year we made about 8 or 9 dozen jars of strawberry jam. It is sooooo yummy!

Aunt Sharon, Amy, Grandma, Jessica, Mom & Alison

We missed having Sarah there to help so we found a picture of her on Grandma's fridge and had to have her represented. It wasn't the same without her!

We had so much fun at home getting to see everyone and spend some time at home before Baby L comes! More pictures to come...

It's Wedding Time!

We're heading home to watch one of our favorite couples get married! Dave's brother Charlie and his fiance Christina have been dating for a very long time and have been living in Virginia attending Liberty University. We so excited to have them both back on the West Coast and to welcome Christina into our Lockridge family! We can't wait for it to be official!!!

Here's a picture of the soon-to-be-newlyweds the day they got engaged at Thomas Jefferson's house in Montecito.

On a side note, I'm missing this girl:

She's currently galavanting around Europe doing a study abroad program for the summer. She's having so much fun and we get to live vicariously through her pictures and hilarious facebook updates. But I miss her jokes, and her smiley face and the option of picking up the phone whenever I want to talk to her. Come home Sarah!!!

Baby Classes

We are in full baby mode over here in Lockridgeland. I signed us up to take a few (ok, A LOT) of baby classes at our hospital and they have started! I heard that they were all good so I picked out a couple recommended ones and then the free hospital tour. Dave has been such a trooper through a couple of really crummy classes (Baby Care Basics? Yes, we'd like to watch a video from 1990 about how to do things just to be told that it's not entirely up to date and that's not how we do things anymore. Super helpful, thank you.) and one pretty great one. We really enjoyed "The Happiest Baby on the Block" where they showed us how to soothe a baby by using a few techniques. The best (weirdest?) part was being able to practice on a baby doll. Dave was a champ and by far the best swaddler in our class... he even had other people in the group asking his opinion! I guess we'll see how beneficial it all is once Baby L comes into the world...

Here's Dave practicing his baby swaddling technique.

Hmm, I think this is two techniques in one: the swaddle and the side laying position.

Also good for a laugh is our creepy baby. Dave picked him out, of course!

Obviously this did not happen at a class, but we've also been getting things ready around the house. We took out the car seat and guess who is letting us practice on her? Hannity! She has no idea the rude awakening that is going to be coming to her in a couple of weeks but so far she's been a great sport. She even let Dave swaddle her while our friend Angela video taped it! (The video is on Facebook. Not quite sure how to upload it here but it's worth checking out!)

We're also taking a lamaze type class with our good friends Tim & Sheri. That class seems to be pretty great and we usually walk away feeling like we've learned something and are a little better prepared for what is coming. I haven't taken any pictures there because the only thing worth documenting is our "relaxation time" and I'm pretty sure the teacher would frown on me snapping pictures when I'm supposed to be feeling like my "hands are as heavy as lead..." Haha! But you can be sure that we're enjoying walking through this stage of life with close friends and having plenty of laughs in the process.

Other than that, I'm feeling great and Baby L is growing and super active! We're measuring a little ahead of schedule but no one should be shocked that we might have a baby on the bigger side. :) We can't wait to meet him!

Celebrating Baby L in the South Bay

This past weekend three great friends helped to celebrate Baby Lockridge with all of our Southern California friends. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful shower and I felt so loved! They spent so much time doing all kinds of hand made projects like the banner that they hung (above picture) and the diaper cakes...these girls should go into business!

My mom was able to come down and meet some of our SB friends.

It was great having her there again to help us celebrate!

The Hostesses with the Most(esses)!

Becky, Angela (all the way from Colorado!) and Lacey.

Thank you so much! You did an amazing job girls!!!

The girls made a diaper cake (we now officially have diapers for Baby L!) and even got their hands on some old pictures of Dave and I. The one that got the most notice was this one of Dave's dad holding him in the hospital, they sure do resemble each other!

Group Shot!

Thanks to everyone for coming (and writing Haikus!) and helping us to love on this little guy before he arrives. You have all helped to make the South Bay feel more like home to us and we love you!

And another special thanks to Becky, Angela and Lacey- You put together an outstanding baby shower!

First Baby Shower

Last weekend Dave and I traveled up to Modesto for our very first baby shower. We feel so loved and blessed to have great families who want to help us celebrate Baby Lockridge's upcoming arrival! Special shout out to my mom and sister who worked hard to make things look great and go smoothly. Love you!!!

Sarah painted these awesome signs for the shower. She's so creative!

The pictures from the day wouldn't be complete without a special one of our favorite niece (or actually 2nd cousin, but niece sounds so much better/easier) Ashley! She was the entertainment for the afternoon and seemed to enjoy one of her first big girl parties.

The obligatory picture with the cake. Super cute and super good!

The dads and Dave (oh wait, I guess he's considered one of the dads now too? Almost??) were allowed for a few minutes of picture taking and then headed off to the shooting range for some "man fun". Here we are with Dave's parents.

And with my parents.

This is the Harden side of the family that was able to make it.

This is my Aunt Lori, cousin Lindsey, Grandma (Dad's mom), me, Sarah, Mom.

Me, Grandma (Mom's mom), Mom & Sarah.

More of the Underwood (Mom's) side.

Jessica (cousin Tim's gf), cousin Julie, niece Ashley, cousin Amy and Aunt Sharon.

Another one of Sarah's precious signs.

We had a great afternoon in the backyard and enjoyed our time together. We received a lot of very special gifts and it makes us even more excited for Baby Lockridge to come! Thank you to everyone that came out to make the day so special for us and for all your hard work. We love you all and can't wait to celebrate with you when Baby Lockridge decides to come into this world.

This weekend was also special for two other reasons:

*Mother's Day! After a couple year hiatus, we were able to see both of our mothers on Mother's day. What a great treat to be there to celebrate the two most amazing women we know! We love them both and are so lucky to call them Mom! Happy Mother's Day!!!

*It was Dave's parents 35th wedding anniversary! 35 years. It's hard to believe in this day and age but his parents have been together for 40 years now and married for 35. What a huge accomplishment to celebrate! They're both great role models for us to watch and aspire to. Happy Anniversay Mom & Dad!!!

Aloha!

We took off on April 22nd for our last big trip before Baby Lockridge comes. Honolulu for 10 days!!! Here are the highlights of our adventures...

On the plane ready for some beach time and sunshine!

On Sunday we hiked to the top of Diamond Head. It was a pretty good hike (so many stairs!) but we both made it and we're impressed with the great views.

We enjoyed a couple days exploring the North Shore. We visited Turtle Bay, stopped at a couple of beaches on the side of the road, saw some sea turtles and then found this great roadside fruit stand where Dave got a coconut and I got some fresh pineapple. Yum!

We hiked back to Waimea Falls and swam in the lake up to the waterfall.

One of my favorite things about Hawaii? Banana and macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup!!! We watched an episode of "Man v. Food" on the Travel Channel and he went to a place in Waikiki and ate a plate full of frisbee sized pancakes. We checked it out and apparently that's just the size of their pancakes...Good thing we shared!

Another highlight was our visit to Spitting Caves. Dave has a coworker who lives on the island with his family and they took some time out to show us around the local places. This is a cliff that sucks water back into a little cave and then "spits" it out. The goal was to time your jump to the exact time when the cave is spitting so that you get a really soft landing.

It was a good 40+ foot cliff, into pretty turbulent waters and then a climb back up the 40+ ft cliff. Dave and John did it twice!

Dave timed it perfectly and apparently it really was a pretty soft landing. (I obviously abstained from the cliff jumping this trip, so I was the official photographer.) Also, you can't see in the pictures but there was a huge sea turtle right by them as they waited for the waves to push them back on the rocks. I was yelling and pointing trying to get them to see it but it was a bit loud. It was so close they probably could have reached out and touched it!

On the climb back up. They both came back excited, a bit out of breath, dirty from the climb and looked at each other and said, "Let's do it again!"

Another highlight for me? There were penguins at our hotel! When we checked in we were upgraded to a better room in a better tower and our balcony overlooked these penguins. You'll have to take my word for it-- they were so cute!

We didn't let a flat tire slow us down. Here is our fun yellow jeep and Dave taking action and changing that big tire. I'm so glad to have a husband who knows how to fix things. We weren't there for long before we were up and running again.

Another highlight: the Outrigger Canoe Club! John and his family are members of a private beach club in Waikiki. They invited us to spend a couple of days at the club and Dave got to go outrigger canoe surfing twice. The first time they went out in a four man canoe and got to ride some of the biggest waves of the year.

Our last day in Hawaii we drove up into the rainforest and found this great look out spot overlooking Waikiki and Diamond Head.

It was one of the best vacations ever! A great mix of relaxation and adventures. We did a lot of things that we didn't get pictures of (like Dave stand up paddle surfing!) and we also got cleaned up and went out to a nice dinner every night. With the help of friends we found some great places off the beaten path and loved every minute that we had together. Thanks to the Akana family for their hospitality and Aloha spirit!

We came home just in time to mark the official 7th month of pregnancy and the 3rd trimester! Woo hoo! Ready or not Baby Lockridge is coming!!!

Babymoon Here We Come!

Ok, so Dave told me I'm not allowed to actually call it that but how can I resist?! We're off for a weeklong vacation to Hawaii-- our last big trip before baby Lockridge comes into our lives. Hope you all have a great week. We'll be kicking our feet up here...

This is from our last trip to Hawaii...this year's picture will include a baby bump. :)