Jayden's birthday weekend in LA/San Diego

It's been a CRAZY week! Last Thursday, Jayden and I hopped on a plane and flew to LA to join the SoCal fam for Yom Kippur. Andrew picked us up at the airport, and drove us to my Uncle Myron and Aunt Susan's house. All my cousins, their kids, my parents, and some family friends came over to my Aunt and Uncle's house to break the fast. Jayden was exhausted, since he didn't nap at all the entire day, but he still had so much fun playing with his cousins. He ate his 1st lox and loved it-- I guess he's a true Jew! Unfortunately we didn't get any good pictures, as Grandpa's camera died after the 1st shot =(

Part of the Goldstein clan: Gail, Adam, J, Morgan & Emery

After dinner, we put Jayden down at Myron and Susan's and I went out with Andrew and Jamie...my 1st time really going out since Jayden was born. I had so much fun with Andrew and LOVED meeting his new boyfriend and his best friend. I stayed with AG Thursday night, which was wierd because I knew I didn't have to wake up when Jayden woke up, and I was a little nervous because I had never not been there when Jayden woke up in the morning. He did great, eating breakfast and hanging out with Grandma, Aunt Susan and Uncle Myron, and AG and I came over for breakfast the next morning. Andrew had to go back to work, so we hung out a bit at the house, and then me, Grandma and Jayden all headed to San Diego.

Eating breakfast with Grandma and Aunt Susan

Playing at Aunt Susan's- they have some pretty cool toys!

Jayden and his great aunt Susan

We spent Friday hanging out in Grandma & Grandpa's hood- went to seaport village, walked around the condo complex, and played with all of my old toys that Grandma had saved from my childhood.

wherever we go, Jayden somehow manages to always find a stick

Daddy flew in late Friday night and Jayden was soooooooooooo excited to see his Daddy when he woke up Saturday morning. We spent the morning hanging out in the condo, and then went with Grandma for a walk around Seaport Village. Jayden ran around, made friends with everyone, almost kissed a bird, and pet lots of dogs. He absolutely loves to meet new people (and animals)!

Lookin' out the window in Grandma's bedroom..."hey guys, can we go out there"

walking around the village

hello Mr birdy

After Jayden's nap, Grandpa came home and we all went to Balboa park. We walked around the park (which was so beautiful), saw lots of weddings, ate snow cones, picked up rocks, sticks, and leaves, and had a blast hanging out together. Everywhere we went Jayden made new friends. He's so much fun to take places now because he just walks around everywhere and is amazed by everything.

Up on Grandpa's shoulders...a pretty cool place to be

dancing and clapping

a cool statue in the park

he loved all the colors and textures

going for a walk in the park

and of course he finds a stick

Team Mack

J with his San Diego Grandparents

following his daddy and grandpa

Uncle AG and Jamie drove to San Diego Saturday evening and we all hung out. Once Jayden went to bed we went out for dinner with some friends and then went to a bar to watch the Red Sox get crushed. It was fun to feel like an adult again, rather than just a mom, and we all had so much fun hanging out, despite the incredibly loud hip hop music.

Dinner with Joanna, AG & Jamie

Out at the bar with Jess

On Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa let us sleep in and they took Jayden for the morning. Uncle AG and Jamie came over and Uncle AG worked his magic and put Jayden to bed-- the 1st time I've ever seen Jayden fall asleep not in his crib or car seat. We spent the rest of the afternoon BBQing and eating lots of yummy food.

helping Grandpa water the strawberries

2 fresh strawberries from Grandpa's garden

Jayden's 1st strawberry

Making out with Grandma through the shower door- J thought this was SO funny

the baby whisperer working his magic

Jayden passed out after a fun morning with Grandma and Grandpa

Being silly wearing Jamie's hat

Team Mack with the SoCal fam...our low key child friendly version of tailgating

Chasing a ball- J's favorite thing to do

relaxing in Uncle AG's arms

Uncle AG trying to corrupt our son

After lunch, we left Jayden with Grandma and they spent the rest of the day playing together in the hallways. When we left, Jayden cried for about 30 seconds, and then forgot about us and had fun with Grandma. Apparently Jayden didn't miss us at all- he was having too much fun playing with Grandma.

While we were gone, Grandma and Jayden played with this pull toy for hours go up and down the halls

Such a big boy, having fun with Grandma

After leaving Jayden with Grandma, Jer, me, AG & Grandpa headed to Qualcomm Stadium to watch the Patriots Chargers game. The Pats got spanked-- it was such a bad game that we actually left during the 3rd quarter. When we got home, Grandma had already put Jayden to bed as he was exhausted from all the fun they had together!

The fam at the Patriots game

A rare picture of Mommy and Daddy without Jayden

Jeremy took Monday off to celebrate Jayden's birthday. We took him to the Wild Animal Park and were a little disappointed once we got there and realized it was nothing like we had expected. There was a petting zoo, which Jayden liked, but other than that, he wasn't too excited about being there. Oh well, we had fun, and it was nice to actually have Daddy with us on a weekday.

he always goes for the nose

lookin' at the loorakeets

chillin on daddy

Waiting in line to go see the African Safari

On the Tram

We flew home Monday night and landed in a cold SFO. All we had for Jayden were shorts and a t-shirt, so we improvised and kept our prince warm while waiting for the cab.


All in all, we had a great time in San Diego (like usual) and can't wait to go back soon. We will be seeing everyone soon for Jayden's real birthday this weekend.