Spaintugal: Algarve coast and Evora

From Seville Spain, we made the journey westward to the southern coast of Portugal.  On our way I had researched areas to take boat rides along the coast and found a tiny town with a company that had good reviews.  However, they didn't do any advance booking and seemed very fly by the seat of their pants or maybe more fly by the weather and tides.  So we decided just to stop and see what happened. Well we lucked out and I was able to get us a boat ride at 12:45 about 1.5 hours after we arrived in town.  This worked out perfectly because it gave us some time to play on the beach and then get some lunch before getting on the boat. Our boat driver spoke almost zero english so it wasn't a very informative tour but it was beautiful.

When the boat ride was over we continued our journey along the coast to the town of Salema which was where we spent a couple days.  Upon arrival we checked in and then headed out again to an even smaller town where people used the believe was "the end of the world".  It is the farthest most western point of Europe and the area where lots of sailing adventures began.

The next day I had a grand idea of driving around visiting secluded beaches.  However, we were all so worn out from the driving that we were pretty excited about the idea of just hanging out in Salema and enjoying the beach we could walk to.  We woke up the next morning walked down to the beach and stayed there until lunch.  After a brief siesta we headed back to the beach for an afternoon swim.  It was nice to have a more relaxed day to help break up all of our hustle and bustle.  Jacob LOVED playing in the water and quickly got used to the concept of waves and that they could knock him over.  He would see the wave coming in and yell "here comes a big one" and then run up the shore.  So cute.  The water was pretty cold so occasionally we had to force him to sit out in the sun a while to warm up.  One way we were finally able to get him to sit was to help bury Mommy in the sand.  Then he thought that was so fun we all had to be buried. Hailey really enjoyed crawling around in the sand but didn't care so much for the cold water.  At this point in the trip I think Hailey was just so happy to have some freedom.

That evening we had an excellent fresh seafood dinner where we learned the joys of the caipirinha drink which became a staple the rest of the trip.

We were really sad to leave Salema and once again wished we could stay longer but it was time to make our way north.  Instead of a long drive to Lisbon I decided we should stop and spend a night in Evora.  On our way to Evora we made a quick stop at the winery, "Herded do Esporao", just to say that we had visited at least one.

At this point, looking back I wish we would have just skipped Evora all together and spent more time in Lisbon.  Our hotel there was wonderful and really interesting but for me that was the best site.  Ohh well.  We did get to see a chapel made entirely out of human bones.  Supposedly the monks made it to help remind the people of death and that earthly treasures are only temporary.  It was a interesting/creepy chapel.  Other than that we saw a few old Roman sites and some pretty buildings.T he next day it was time to head to Lisbon.

Hailey Month 11

Hailey's Stats

How is it possible that our sweet girl is almost 1 year old!! Where has the time gone?!

Age: 11 months

Weight: 15 lbs 11 oz. Today we weighed at the dr on the official scale with no diaper. Although last month I thought she was about 16 pounds with the not so accurate weighing on my home scale obviously she wasn't.  I can tell that she has gained SOME weight but she still hasn't crossed the 16 pound.  

Length: about 28"

Eye Color: deep blue - they are lightening up some but still very blue

Hair color: blonde- with some tints of red and some darker shades in the back  

Clothing:  Mostly 9 month 

Eating Schedule: She is eating at least 3 meals a day and 4 bottles.  She eats almost everything we eat and lots of it!

I'm still taking Hailey to the dr almost every month for a weigh in and chat about her weight.  Today we re-discussed her previous lab results and talked about her growth progress.  Even though she is not gaining weight quickly every other aspect of her seems to be great.  She has never been truly sick or on antibiotics and meets every milestone.  For now the dr wants to continue monitoring but truly believes our girl is just petite. 

Sleeping: She goes to bed around 8:30pm and wakes up around 7:30-8.  This week she has been sleeping straight through with no early morning bottle!

Other: She still has 8 teeth, 4 on bottom and 4 on top

Talking: She is getting more and more vocal every day.  She makes some consistent sounds that we could say are words but I'm still not sure she means them.  She will shake her head "no" when she's tired of something or is all done eating.  Hailey also JUST started signing "out" for when she's done eating. 

Activity:  Hailey is crawling everywhere and exploring.  She has learned to climb stairs (only a couple that we let her) and tries to climb up on stuff like her brother.  She will walk when people hold her hands and walk behind her walker toy.  I've seen her stand on her own but only for a couple seconds. 

Personality: She is still a very happy, chill baby but she has learned the art of throwing a fit to get what she wants.  Its funny to watch such a tiny baby be so vocal and persistent.The girl knows what she wants.  This past month once again Hailey traveled on an airplane and went on another trip.  It was her first visit to Spain and Portugal.  Both sets of grandparents were with us which made life easier and gave Hailey a lot of attention.  

Here is our beautiful Hailey bear: