Pura Vida

The kids and I spent 2 1/2 weeks in Costa Rica. I haven't been on a vacation that long since I was in college! We flew out of SFO with my parents and had to leave Adam behind to finish up work before he could come meet us 5 days later. Then, on the last week of our trip the Hamanns, Tollacks, and Walters joined us.
Liliana has been dying to go in a limo, and there wasn't another car big enough to fit all 4 of us and our luggage and a driver, so when she filled up her behavior chart, we let her "choose" a trip to SFO in a limo. She thought she was so fancy. She told anyone who would listen at the airport that she took a limo there and was taking the "fancy seats" on the airplane to her grandparent's condo in Costa Rica.
The kids did great on the plane. This was Maverick's first flight and I was a little worried about how he would do because he was still recovering from his cold/ear infection, but he did fine.
For our first leg of the trip we stayed at a couple of my favorite hotels and enjoyed their wonderful pools. Then, we stayed at a a great condo that my mom found in my favorite Costa Rican spot...Manuel Antonio. We saw lots of monkeys and a couple of Scarlet Macaws in the trees. Liliana, Maverick and I went to do an adventure at a butterfly farm and learned a lot about local butterflies and crocodiles. On our way out of the park we came face to face with a family of monkeys and one monkey tried to get really close to Lila to scare her, but it didn't work. She stared that monkey down and wasn't scared a bit. (I, on the other hand, was frantically asking the tour guide to get the money to back away.)
After this portion of the trip we headed to my parent's condo in Playa Langosta. We were there for a couple of days relaxing and hitting up our favorite beach bar, Lola's, before Adam came and met us.
We had a great couple of days with my parents once Adam got there and we celebrated Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey dinner in Pura Vida fashion-- we celebrated a day later than actual Thanksgiving because the turkey hadn't defrosted, but we were on "pura vida" time and didn't really know what day it was anyway.

 The Tollacks, Hamanns, and Walters arrived after that and we had a wonderful time showing them around to our favorite beaches and spots in the area. The kids went nuts running, playing, and fighting in the sand and the grown ups had a blast soaking up the chaos with a blended drink in hand. So many memories were made. It was an amazing trip.

En route to paradise...

Groovin' to some beats at a local bar...

 Pipas in Manuel Antonio...

The three amigos on an adventura...

 Reunited with Daddy and it feels so good...

 Lots of good times at Lola's...

My mom and I went out for the world's longest and most relaxing pedicure and we came home to find that Liliana had the guys busy finishing dinner and decorating for Thanksgiving to make the condo look fancier. She had hand-made signs taped to the walls and the had strung colorful plastic wine glasses from the chandelier with phone cords. They did a great job improvising and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with so much to be thankful for.

She also had us dress up. I was a Native American and Adam was a pilgrim. Everything was her idea.

 She loves Costa Rica! 

 My sweet babies...

 The boys at a beach bar on main beach. This was Adam's favorite spot...

Beautiful Playa Penque 

Maverick is 3 months old

Maverick just keeps getting bigger! He is off the charts for weight, height, and head size. At his 3 month appointment he weighed a whopping 17.2 lbs. He has all kinds of delicious rolls of chub all over his body.

-He laughed for the 1st time right at the 3 month mark. He has laughed a couple of times since, but it isn't easy to get a giggle our of him. He is a pretty serious little guy at this point.

-He can roll over from his tummy to his back and is trying very hard to master rolling from his back to his tummy. He tries all the time and it is making diaper changes very tricky.

-He is a stubborn little guy who does not like to take a bottle! He refused it a couple of times when I left him with my parents. I bought al kinds of fancy bottles and nipples to see if that would make a difference and it didn't. I eventually had to stay home one day to determine who was more stubborn--me or Mav. I didn't nurse him all day, just pumped and offered him bottles. He went 11 hours before he finally caved. Now he will take a bottle if he is very hungry but it still isn't easy and he is not enthusiastic about it.

-The poor little guy has had a cold with a runny nose and cough for a month and a half! I keep taking him to the pediatrician every week or two to make sure it hasn't turned into an infection, and it hasn't. He is happy and sleeping and eating well, but his cough sounds so yucky and his nose is often runny. He had an ear infection in the middle of this virus that I treated homeopathically and with chiropractic care. I am anxious for him to be 100% healthy.

-For the past 3 months I have been entirely dairy free. It really upsets Mav's tummy when I eat dairy. I hope this is something he grows out of...for both of our sakes!

They love each other SO much. She couldn't be any sweeter to him and he just lights up with all of the attention she gives him. Melts my heart. 

 Nothing quite as sweet as a baby napping on your chest. Heaven. 

 Maverick never stops moving and his favorite movement is to bounce. He could spend all day bouncing in his doorway jumper. 

It is pretty crazy that I happened to catch Liliana's first roll on camera too. Here is Mav going from tummy to back. 

 Handsome boy...

 First time in a big-boy stroller!