Bowie Bachman: 9 Months

At 9 months...

MILESTONES: Crawling, pulling himself up to standing on furniture, first Easter, 1 top tooth, chewing small bits of solid foods (like pancakes, scrambled eggs, cheerios, sweet potatoes and tofu), saying "dada" and "mama". 
LIKES: The bathtub drain, eating leaves and sticks, everything reading, being outside on stroller rides and for meal times, jumping in jumper, story time, touch and feel books, electronic book and radio toys, his blankie.
DISLIKES: Teething, bumping his head, not being able to catch the cats. 

Here are some photos from my ninth month...

Great weather means great daily stroller walks.

Food is increasingly fun.

Sleeping "buns up".

Continues to enjoy making a "squinch face".

Story time with Dada is the very best time.

Enjoying a day with baby North.

Bowie goes bananas for his jumper.

Mom was on spring break so we got fruit smoothies together.

It finally warming up which means we eat dinner on the deck.

We had to lower the crib due to this surprise...

Snuggles with my Easter bunny from Grandma Lynn.

First Easter card from Grandma Julie. 

Red Wing Weekend

A few weeks ago we house sat for my parents in Red Wing. We invited our friends Mark, Alyssa and their son River to join us. It was a nice overnight eating and relaxing with friends. Of course we were busy with the babies and didn't think to take many pictures but I thought I'd post a few good ones we were able to snap. 

Spending quality time with LB.

Bowie and River. The start of a beautiful friendship.

Alyssa and I walked the boys next door to the vineyard to meet the horses and taste some wine.

To the California: Desert town

The second half of our California vacation was spent in Palm Springs. We stayed at The Seguaro Hotel and spent our time shopping for mid-century modern delights and drooling over the architecture and boutique hotels in downtown Palm Springs. It was "California Cold" (rainy and mid-60s) but we still managed to get Bowie in his swim trunks for his first pool swim ever.

He loves splashing!

Even though we didn't stay at The Ace Hotel we explored their property and drank date shakes in their restaurant.

We took a day to drive to Joshua Tree National Park and stopped first at Noah's Purifoy. If you're ever in the area I highly recommend checking out this bizarre and awesome space. It is a sculpture garden of sorts made with all found materials. The space is sprawling and is a surprise to find in the middle of the desert. We were the only people there when we visited, which added another weird element to the experience. 

Finally we spent the remainder of the day in Joshua Tree. There were no shortage of Joshua Trees. Bowie especially enjoyed eating desert sand.

Can you spot the oasis behind us? The 49 Palms Oasis Hike.

On a final note we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of our dear friend Jay while we were away. I made a totem for him in the desert. He was awesome and it's still tough to think about him and the shadow his death cast over our trip. He loved mid-century modern and spending time in nature, especially places that seem a little other worldly and special, so I was excited to talk to him about our adventures. He liked the concept of "thin spaces", which are places that seem a little closer to heaven than the rest of Earth. I think Joshua Tree was a definite thin space. 

To the California: LA Baby

Our family had a fantastic and much needed vacation to California. It was Bowie's first time on an airplane and he was perfect. The first half of our trip was spent in LA- specifically Redondo Beach. We rented an Airbnb. It was a tiny studio but it had a patio overlooking the ocean and the beach. Luckily we figured out Bowie could sleep in a suitcase and we didn't have to share our bed.

The view from the balcony.

We spent our time walking from Redondo beach to Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Our friend Megan put us in touch with her friend Tony who did a fantastic job recommending local restaurants and  places to explore. The best part was simply walking along the ocean and getting out feet wet and sandy. Bowie did not like that part as much as I did.

In Manhattan beach we especially enjoyed watching the surfers and visiting the touch tanks at the Roundhouse Aquarium on the pier.

We made friends with Donna, a woman who decided to take up surfing after she retired. She insisted we put Bowie on her surfboard. Cute overload.

A major highlight of the vacation was getting to spend time with my old pal Bobby Styles. He was kind enough to make the long drive from his home in Porterville to LA to visit us. We were sad we did not get to meet his fiance and her kids but we are so happy for the excellent Bobby time. We are excited for your upcoming wedding Bobby and we love you!

PS best toasted coconut ice cream ever at Manhattan Creamery. 

Bowie likes anybody with a beard.

We also made sure to spend time on Abbot Kinney Street in Venice before "Part 2" of our trip. There we watched the beautiful people and either lusted or laughed at their crazy lives. It started pouring rain so we ducked into RoosterFish and made new friends over beers. Not many pics from that portion of the trip but I assure you a good time was had by all...

I will always bring snakes into the house.

I will never bring snakes into the house.