Christmas in San Diego (Part 2)

I am so so glad we made the trip out to San Diego. I was bummed when work kept me from going in Sept. for Aunt Rose's wedding, but so thankful we got to spend Christmas with the Bellantoni side of my family. It was Bryan's first time in California and Jack's first time meeting his cousins and relatives which made the trip extra special to me. We arrive at Aunt Rose's and John's home and Jack made himself right at home, which really surprised me. Usually when he meets new people he is shy at first and clings right to his mama, but he must of known he was with family. He actually let us leave to grab some Mexican food after only being there for 10 minutes . That never happens!

Christmas Day we met Jack's only Bellantoni Cousins. Danica 4, Brynn 2 and Baby Michael 3 months. I thought the girls were very patient with Jack and I really got to see the difference between how boys and girls play. Jack is rough, likes to dump things out and knock things down. The girls are definitely more verbal and meticulous It was fascinating. I loved watching them play together.

Making friends with Bailey

Feeding the fish

 








We wanted to take advantage of the warmer weather in San Diego, so Monday was a beach day. We went down to Mission Bay, and played in the sand. The water was too chilly for swimming, but we dipped our feet in to say we touched the Pacific Ocean.

Sitting patiently while mommy puts sunblock on-Mission Bay Beach

The water was c-c-cold!

Tuesday, we went to the San Diego Zoo, one of my favorite places in the world. I absolutely loved experiencing it through Jack's eyes. Some of Jack's favorite exhibits were the polar bears, lions, llamas and goats. He tended to gravitate towards animals that we have books about. We have a book about Knut the Baby polar bear which is one of Jack's favorites, and we bought him a little stuffed bear at the zoo store which he loved immediately. Although he was exhausted by the end of the day, you wouldn't of been able to tell by the look of joy on his face while he feed the goats. He was surprisingly very gentle with them.

In the afternoon we all went to dog beach where Jack had a chance to play in the sand again with his older cousins.

At the dog park

Checking out the planes

All tuckered out

In the afternoon we all went to dog beach where Jack had a chance to play in the sand again with his older cousins.

Wednesday we all packed up with Gisella, Teresa and kids, and Rose to watch the Holiday Bowl. It was pretty warm day in downtown San Diego, but the kids were wonderful and loved all the balloons and music. After naps we went over to Teresa house where the kids played. And Danica and Bryan became buddies. :)

Thursday (and our last day) Rose, Gisella, and Mike took the kids to Sea World and gave Bryan and I an adult day. We again took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the beach in the morning and Sea Port Village i nthe afternoon. Jack seemed to enjoy Sea World especially the planes flying overhead!

All in all we had a wonderful trip. We want to thank everyone for that wonderful San Diego hospitality. We so wish we lived closer so we could do this every week. You are all welcome to our Maine home and cannot wait to see you all again. Whether it's on the West Coast or East Coast.