nor cal thanksgiving

family gather at gami and papa's, thanksgiving 2012

mama becca

beautiful mama rebecca (all photos courtesy of laurie welsh)

 When you look "mother" up in the dictionary you get everything from the "egg uniting..." to the "superior of a church community" and "giving birth to a child." But not so much about nurturing, caring for and raising a person. My sister in law, who is due in about a month with her second (I can't wait), is the latter with all those she befriends. Not only as a mother and wife, but selfless and extremely giving to her community, friends and extended family. She always over extends herself because she is willing and eager to do things to help those around her. I'm constantly in awe of her selflessness.

Her sister Jenny, her dear friend Laurie and myself cohosted an intimate gathering to shower her, last weekend at my parents home (thanks mom and dad!). It was such a lovely afternoon, with sweet people, relaxed energy and coziness all around. Here are some highlights from our rainy celebration. Congrats Mrs. Z - love you and that balu-to-be!

cousin elena and tiny milena

turquoise and yellow

amazing(!) hand picked apples and homemade apple balu-butter favors - by laurie

"balu"-ga shower invite

hostess (my mama) suzanne, where you usually find her - the kitchen

becca's sister and sister-in-law

ibarra hot chocolate bar: cinnamon, swizzle sticks, marshmallows, baileys and kaluah

feasting on fall. pumpkin pie, buttermilk pie, dried fruit, spiced nuts, fig cheese torte, apricot torte and baked brie

love for our becca

our tiniest attendee and winner of the belly measurement shower game

thankful for family

grandpa, nana and babes

i have seen a lot of people showing daily thanks this month, which is so awesome. last weekend we had the pleasure of attending one of my dearest friend's wedding. months ago it was relayed it would take place in carmel valley. i thought it might be a good time to plan for an overnight with the hubby,  a little get-away (even though a mini-someone has slept nose to nose with me for her 6 month life). as the weeks approached i knew this overnight was not in the cards. funny enough i was no longer interested in being away from my babies - even for 24 hours.

my sweet parents were on board to go to carmel with us and stay with the girls while we went to the wedding. i would pop back to the lodge to nurse when necessary. how wonderful is it to have parents and family that are able to do things like this for you and with you? we all had such a lovely time together, uninterrupted, quality togetherness that doesn't happen at home when there is always something to do, or somewhere to go. d and i decided to make a z-family-vaca out of it too, by taking the girls to the monterey bay aquarium the day before the wedding. e didn't stop talking about it for a week leading up to our departure, her favorite sea animal on the list to see: the jelly fish.

we arrived mid-day friday, had lunch and got-in to enjoy all the aquarium had to offer. every exhibit was so much more amazing than it had been in the past, when you're looking through your child's eyes at the wonder of the big sea. we saw the jelly fish, penguins, open sea, kelp forest, touch tanks, sting rays and a handful of other really cool exhibits. we got to the lodge, with two sleeping girls in the back seat, tuckered out from the stimulating day. enjoyed a delicious feast at the hotel's restaurant and saloon, before calling it a night. my parents arrived later in the evening and on saturday after exploring the village's shops and walks, spent the latter half of the day with the girls while we enjoyed the ceremony and reception. it was so nice to know the girls were having fun, getting lots of love and we were just 5 minutes away! it was so nice for them and so great for us! the ceremony was so sweet, beautiful and another testament to the importance of family. congrats carly and robert!

thank you mama and pops. the girls love you so much and so do we. xo

sea lion spotting

family vaca

so many great shark shots - hard to chose one

interactive play

nicholas the bunny

carly + robert

chase me grandpa

is it raining mama?

special walks with nana

cold morning, hot breakfast

our cozy and historic accommodations

shell beach stretch

groceries in los olivos for dinner