Los Cabos, Mexico

img_5414

We spent 4 nights in Los Cabos this past weekend and it was so much fun. It’s not Hawaii but it was still a great trip for us. We flew out on 8/31 and returned on 9/4 with Labor Day free to unpack and unwind.

DCIM100GOPRO

We flew free on Jes’ United miles and stayed free with our SPG points.

img_5560

We stayed at the Sheraton Grand Hacienda del Mar, which is a HUGE property with 5 pools. KK literally swam in a different pool each day.

img_5419

I also booked a round-trip transfer ahead of time that included carseats for both kids! Score!

img_5416

Unfortunately, Peanut had a hard time on the flight over. It wasn’t horrible but the 20 minutes of waiting before the take-off was pretty painful. He cried and carried on until we were off the ground and luckily for us (and everyone around us), he fell asleep. Ugh…boys are crazy.

img_5423

The weather was warm and humid, which was nice when we were in the pool but a little uncomfortable sometimes because there wasn’t much of an ocean breeze during the day. The property was right on the beach so most of the pools had a really nice view of the ocean.

img_5425

I just drank margaritas the whole time and the servers were very efficient in taking our orders at the different pools.

img_5675

Our room had a view of the ocean and a patio to hang dry out swim suits each night. The room also had enough space for the four of us and the A/C worked really well. It was perfect for our mid-day siestas each day.

img_5628

Speaking of siestas, I actually got to take a nap on two of the days.

img_5570

While everyone was asleep and/or playing with the iPad (KK didn’t nap much), I was also able to read a magazine that another passenger on the plane gave me, sip some wine, and snack on Cheetos. So nice.

There were only two inconveniences on this trip: 1) the fridge was not very cold so we used bags of ice to help keep all the milk cold (worked out well!) and 2) there were these pesky little black bugs that were tiny and gave us bug bites in the evenings.

img_5439

Otherwise, the food was decent, the staff was really friendly, and it was SUPER empty! When they said it was low season, we had no idea how empty it would be. They also had golf carts that could take you from place to place if you wanted.

img_5608

We went to the buffet for breakfast each morning and I stocked up on beans, rice, and fruit for the baby so that he’d have lunch for the day. They also served soy milk so that Peanut could have some milk after I ran out of his lactose-free milk. (Don’t know if he’s allergic but I took dairy out of his diet for a bit to treat his eczema). The best part of the buffet was that unlimited champagne/mimosas and bloody marys was included!!

img_5606

The beach was gorgeous and very empty. Not only was it low season but they had black-flag warnings posted to not swim in the ocean because the conditions were too dangerous.

img_5651

Oh well, at least the kids were still able to play in the sand and KK found a water spout for her sand castles.

img_5485

img_5679

What a fun family trip! As expected, it wasn’t as relaxing as a typical vacation without kids but it was good enough.

Save

Baby Boy is One

dsc_7797

I can’t believe my baby boy is ONE already. Seems like yesterday I was in the hospital having the worst contractions ever from the pitocin that they gave me. Fortunately, all the pain resulted in the birth of our robust, full-of-personality, little boy.

img_2646

As frustrating as he can be sometimes with his emotional outbursts and insatiable hunger, he is also the lovable sweetheart who really tugs at my heart.

img_4773

He is definitely different from my Baby KK and I’m so glad. It’s nice to have two contrasting personalities in our little family of four. He definitely balances her serious and often-non-social side.

dsc_7773

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet boy!  We can’t wait to see what else you surprise us with this coming year.

img_4218

Save

Family of Four

DSC_7702

Ranee asked me to take some photos of her and the family last weekend and wanted to re-enact their engagement photo again – this time with Avia too. Unfortunately, it was a really pretty, sunny day in SF. Why unfortunate? Well, it makes the lighting really harsh. Luckily I shoot in RAW format and was able to tweak them a bit.

DSC_7682

This is the photo that I got of the four of them walking along The Embarcadero. I also couldn’t help stitching the three photos together. I love the progression from newlyweds to family of 3 and finally to a family of 4.

DEII6331

DSC_7685

This is my favorite photo. Avia got hangry in the middle of the photoshoot and I couldn’t help capturing the moment.

DSC_7701

IMG_3695

We also took another photo in this pose with Avia added again and this is how it came out.

DSC_7710

DSC_7717

DSC_7737

This is one cute family. Ranee always says I’m their family photographer and it’s always a pleasure to shoot for them.

Having a little fun…

IMG_2458

It’s always nice to have a random workday off. It’s even nicer when your husband can join you. We left Peanut with Mirian today while we took KK to see her first movie this morning. Later in the afternoon, we went on a little pub crawl around the neighborhood. It started at the cafe downstairs and then moved over to The Yard.

IMG_2462

We later added Peanut to the mix and still had a good time.

IMG_2522

This is basically my version of Happy Hour lately.

Eventually, every one in the house fell asleep and I was left alone with some free time on my hands. Teresa sent me a link to the CheerioChallenge and I thought I’d give it a try with some leftover puffs.

IMG_2562

This one was the hardest. Peanut is a SUPER LIGHT sleeper and my hands were not the steadiest tonight. I had 5 on his head at one point but two rolled off.

IMG_2563

Then I stacked some of Jes. This one was challenging because his arm would move up and down as he breathed.

IMG_2564

KK is probably the easiest because she is a pretty good sleeper. I just had to wait for her to get into a deeper sleep because when I tried earlier, she would wake up each time a puff rolled off her face. Heh heh.

This is what I do to amused myself nowadays.

Save

Chaotic Photoshoot

DSC_7562

We went to Teresa’s house this morning to take some portraits of Baby Hudson. It was a lot more chaotic than I anticipated but I managed to snap a few decent photos.

DSC_7566

DSC_7576

DSC_7577

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the craziness that occurred with my two kids in tow.

IMG_1563

Luckily KK was on her best behavior but it still added to the difficulty level of this photoshoot.

Baby Hudson

IMG_1253

Baby Thomas Hudson Hopkins arrived on Thursday, May 12th and Teresa’s doing great. Aaron got this precious photo of Henry meeting his little brother this morning. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20 inches at 39 weeks gestation. Woot!

IMG_1224

I stopped by after work today to meet him and I was treated to a wide-awake little guy all bundled up like a burrito.

IMG_1229
He just hung out with me while I got caught up with Teresa and Aaron.

IMG_1237

Congratulations to the Hopkins Family!!

Save