couple more vacation pics!

back from Georgia

Grandma O. was out for a wonderful week recently. She spent lots of time with Laurel and we got some good family hang-out time. Mom, Megan and I also went and saw Julie Andrews at the Hollywood Bowl.

We took kind of a last-minute trip to visit my aunt and uncle in Georgia last week. Mom was planning on going there from her visit here and so Laurel and I tacked on a trip too! We got back Monday night and left the previous Monday. They live about an hour outside of Savannah in the glorious country. I tell ya, it was a break that the doctor ordered! We relaxed by the pool, played with Laurel, ate amazing food courtesy of my aunt and just did a lot of nothing! Couldn't have asked for a better time away. Laurel was as usual a real traveling trouper.

Going, we took a red-eye and she slept for the few hours we were on that flight. She also got her first kiss from a little boy sitting in the row infront of us:). She thought it was the best thing to stand on the lap tray and hold onto the seat in front and just flirt her little heart out. He was grabbing at her arms to play and his mom said he was being too rough and to give her a kiss. Well he did!:) It was very sweet. Upon arriving in DC, we had to catch a connection to Savannah. The airline troubles are definitely causing a lot of confusion and delays. After sitting for a bit, an attendant announced that our flight was down-sized and that we had to line up to see who got the seats. What?! So mom got in line and came back to say that she had a seat, but Laurel and I did not. That is just not ok! I had a baby with me and mom had a dog, so it's not like we could just hang out for hours. Then, they changed our gate, so everyone hauled their stuff down the corridor and got into lines again to find out about seat assignments. Mom once again went up and was told we'd have to wait to see if a seat became available. Luckily, someone did give up her seat and so we were ready to go! The flight back was similarly troublesome. Upon checking in in Savannah, I was told my flight became delayed and I might not make my connection DC. Once again, I played the baby card and got us transferred to a flight on Continental. FYI, the troubled airline was United. Anyway, we got back and forth and that's what matters in the end!

Laurel was cute as can be on her trip. She's popping out teeth like mad and actually handles it very well. She has her cranky moments, but she doesn't complain as often as i surely would! I give her some tylenol and we have some teeth gel...oh and she loves to chew on the rubber cap on the tylenol bottle. Soon, she'll have 8 full teeth. Just before Georgia, her top two broke through. While away, the two out from that and the next two in line on the bottom made their way through. Laurel also loved having animals around. There were 2 cats and a dog to catch her attention constantly. She's very gentle and just holds out her little index finger for a lick and them moves on. And yes, she does move! She now walks confidently only holding onto our finger with one hand. This leaves her other hand available for touching and digging and throwing, etc. Laurel likes to pick up a ball and throw it, then chase it, pick it up and throw it again. She is now "speaking" by saying just the first letter of things. The dogs were "Duh" and she called for them loudly all the time:). She loves balloons and they are "Bah"s. Her blankie is "Blah" and Elmo is "mo-mo". Love that last one.

But now we're back and getting to be on west coast time and back to work. August though is shaping up to be busy! We'll be visiting Alex's family in OC this weekend. The following weekend, we are going to a barbeque. We have family pictures scheduled for the 17th. Alex and I may be going to Disney on the 16th for my birthday. I know we have something on the 23rd/24th weekend which is currently escaping me. And then Laurel's birthday party on the 31st!

some other recent pics

We went to the pool last week and here's a photo of us. Aunt Megan came along and we did a little swim session. Laurel was a little cold, so we were in and out. She had more fun touching the tiles on the side and making hand prints with water on the floor than actually being in the water. We kept telling her it was a "big bath". :)

The other picture is of Laurel giving out "kisses". She knows what a kiss is and will kiss you back if you ask her for a kiss. She will also give you a kiss at random when she is particularly happy with you:). Her kisses are all open-mouthed, but they used to include tongue, so we're getting better!

Oh and side-note, Megan and I went to see Wicked...fantastic! Highly recommended.

The video is bath-time. She finds spashing most interesting when we do it, not when she splashes.

Happy 4th of July!

Last night, our little family of 3 went with the Bradley family to the Culver City High School to watch fireworks. We had so much fun! The stands and football field were filled with people and we brought blankets and had a picnic. Laurel just loves her little friend Lauren (16 months older). And Laurel wasn't frightened by the fireworks, actually quite fascinated. It was a great show. Laurel also went down to OC during the day to visit and attend a street fair with Grandpa and Grandma Velez.

We also got great news that my business partner Leora is expecting a boy! She is due in very early January and just found out the gender. Our godson, Ryder, will be a big brother before we know it!:)

Copper Willow gets big press!

A couple of new updates to our list of editorial press on Copper Willow!
A trendy online blog about all things wedding has written about us:
http://www.stylemepretty.com/2008/06/wedding-invit-4.html

We were also on the cover of the premiere issue of a new trade magazine. It was released at the stationery show in NY and I keep forgetting to put this link up!
http://verysupercool.com/2008/05/14/stationery-trends-premier-issue-spring-2008/

And much to our excitement, on the stands right now is a nice bit about us in In Style Magazine! Check out the July issue (with Anne Hathaway on the front), in the What's Hot Now section!

Here's the other mentions we've gotten lately -
http://www.copperwillow.com/press.htm

baby summer fun!

Laurel has a lot of exciting activities going on this summer! And a lot of recent adventures to report. Mid-month, we went to Disneyland with the Mauck family. We had a blast! Laurel went on a lot of rides with us - Peter Pan, Snow White, Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo, etc. Really calm, kid friendly rides, that Alex and I have grown out of, are now really fun again! Alex said it's the most fun he's had in Disney. Ryder really liked all of the Pixar rides in California Adventure because he's a fan of Monster's Inc. and Cars.
We also took a trip to OC to visit Grandpa V. for father's day and had a great barbeque!

Last week, we had a visit from Grandpa O. in the midst of his work travels. He helped watch Laurel so I could work a bit at the shop during the day instead of the evenings. We went out and bought "Rock Band", a band simulation video game which was fresh on the shelves for the Wii system on Sunday. Laurel loves to bang on the drums. We also took a trip to Home Depot (which got us out of the heat wave) and bought some baby proofing items. Laurel isn't walking on her own, but it should be any week now!

On Tuesday, Laurel starts a Mommy and Me Music class at Gymboree. I think I'm more excited about it than she will be! We also went over to the town's public pool to see about swimming classes. They're full, but the open pool hours are perfect, right in the middle of the day between her naps. So today, we went to target and bought some little swimmers diapers and a tiny bathing suit! Again, mom more excited than baby.

Laurel had a 9 month well-baby check up. She is 28" long (65 percentile), 16 lbs, 15 oz (20 percentile) and head circumference of 28 cm (65 percentile). So basically a head on a stick:). But the doctor isn't worried about the weight, I was a skinny baby. She also had a TB test (fine) and a glucose screening (prick for blood on the finger). No cries for either! Her blood screen showed low iron levels, so she gets supplements everyday. I was told it is normal for breastfed babies. Formula includes the supplement.

Laurel is now feeding herself every bit of food and loves adult foods. She's putting all kinds of baby snacks into her mouth. She loves the sweet potato puffs by gerber and the little freeze dried fruit bits. (mom sneaks some too!)

summertime!

Summertime is upon us! Fortunately, that means beautiful, mid to upper 70s weather with no humidity in So. Cal! And lots of super cute summer dresses for Miss Laurel. We've been taking more walks and trying to get out of the house. This past weekend, we were at the park for a birthday picnic. There were other kids/babies and Laurel was just fascinated. She was also still "running" around as much as she could. (She did find a large bouncy ball frightening, which was unexpected.)