We spent most of the last month in Baja. Overall, it was a great trip, but definitely had some ups and downs. We got off to a rough start when your dad got sick right before we left. You came down with it about two days in, with a fever, runny nose, and a bad cough. The worst was the whining. Oh, man. It was not fun. Your poor Uncle Craig was with us for the first five days (they're expecting their little one in a few months) and you were making 
him re-think having kids you were being so cranky. Next, I got the cold, and so basically our first week of vacation was a disaster. Eventually, though, we all started to feel better. The whining subsided and the happy girl returned, and you had fun digging in the sand, playing in the little tarp pool that your dad made for you, and telling us all not to touch the cactus ("owee!").After about a week and a half, we drove the van to the Pacific side for a weekend at Punto Conejo. It was just what we needed to get the vacation back on track--no internet, no house chores, no running water. Nothing, really. We just hung out, walked on the beach, hunted for hermit crabs, and had a great time. You loved the hermit crabs, and we talked about them afterwards for a long time. We came up with a little sign for hermit crab, and you'd bring it up randomly for weeks after.
Driving the van was a big hit with you, and you spent hours climbing up and down the front seats of the camper van, putting the keys in and out of the lighter, the windshield wiper levers, and sometimes the actual key hole. You mostly napped in your car seat, also in the van. Thinking back on it, I'm not really sure what we'd have done without the van!
Back at the property, you were so cute helping your dad with projects, from putting in the irrigation system to building light covers out of arroyo wood. I loved how careful and intense about helping you were, handing him screws, leaning in and watching carefully, or using your own screwdriver to do work yourself.
After three weeks in Baja, you and I met up with Noni, Grandpa Rick, Grandma Loie, and all of the Kreidler/Bolands in Balboa Island. They all LOVED seeing you and playing with you, especially Grandma Loie, who thinks you are "so special" and "the smartest baby she's ever met." (I agree with her).
We had some serious sleep fallout when we got home (which, thinking back on it, happened last year after our trip in Baja, too). You got used to getting in bed with us in the middle of the night whenever you woke up, and it stuck. Our first night at home was rough, with about 3 1/2 hours of crying, throwing tantrums, sobbing "up! pees! up! pees!" before you finally gave up and fell asleep. Ugh. Thankfully, it only took you a few nights to get back on track and now you go right back to sleep in your own bed if you wake up in the night.
Here are a few more videos from just after we got home.
