On our Christmas vacation, after
spending the four days in L.A., we headed to Palm Springs to meet Alex's mom and sister. We all stayed together at
this rental house. The house was totally tricked out--with a huge pool, a waterfall, a hammock, a fireplace, and toilet seats that automatically opened when you walked into the bathroom (seriously, they had sensors!). Bonus: Crazily enough, it was actually cheaper per person than a budget motel.
We took Toby swimming for the first time. He sort of loved it for a few minutes...and then decided he
hated it. :)
One morning, I took a quick shower and came outside to find Toby and Alex playing "helicopter."
I have to say, it made my heart swell a little bit :)
Here's the Toby-eye-view!
Toby loved chilling with his grandma. And check out the mountain views! The desert is so gorgeous. (We heard a freaky story about a now-infamous tourist couple who took
the tram up the mountain and then decided to stroll back into town. "It's just a short walk," they figured. "Doesn't our hotel look close from up here?" All they had was a pack of chewing gum, and no maps or hiking gear. Five days later, they were rescued.)
Right before Christmas, we thought it would be cool to take a family photo, inspired by these
old shadow shots. It didn't really work, but we tried!
Another morning, we went to
Ruby's Diner, and Toby tried mashed banana for the first time.
Despite a valiant attempt...
...he was not impressed. (His expression cracks me up.)
Another afternoon, Alex, Toby and I snuck off for a couple hours and went to the
Ace Hotel & Swim Club, which has a rad pool and is amazingly family- and dog-friendly.
Alex immediately got a beer and parked himself by the hot tub.
Toby and I hung out on deck chairs...
...and dipped our feet into the gorgeous pool. Everyone there was really friendly and chatty; it felt like being at a party. :)
And on the walk home, Toby fell asleep in the stroller...
...and since he'd wake up if we stopped moving, we had to keep going...
...so we walked in circles around a cul-de-sac...
...over and over...
...for a half hour...
...ahhh, vacations with a baby! :) It was a wonderful, restorative trip and made us much more confident about family travel and, honestly, parenting in general. Sometimes it takes a break in your routine to show you what you can do. Thanks so much for reading! Have you been to Palm Springs?
A couple other favorite things: Renting fat-tired
bikes, everything on the lunch menu at
Cheeky's, and the local speciality: delicious date milkshakes. Any other tips, my lovelies?
This holiday, we went to Los Angeles and Palm Springs to visit our families. Despite my computer breaking and Toby needing stitches (more on that later!), it was one of those great, boisterous trips where everyone's excited, and you return home happy and refreshed. I'd love to share a few of the highlights, if you'd like to see...
On our Christmas vacation, after spending the four days in L.A., we headed to Palm Springs to meet Alex's mom and sister. We all stayed together at this rental house. The house was totally tricked out--with a huge pool, a waterfall, a hammock, a fireplace, and toilet seats that automatically opened when you walked into the bathroom (seriously, they had sensors!). Bonus: Crazily enough, it was actually cheaper per person than a budget motel.
We took Toby swimming for the first time. He sort of loved it for a few minutes...and then decided he hated it. :)
One morning, I took a quick shower and came outside to find Toby and Alex playing "helicopter."
I have to say, it made my heart swell a little bit :)
Here's the Toby-eye-view!
Toby loved chilling with his grandma. And check out the mountain views! The desert is so gorgeous. (We heard a freaky story about a now-infamous tourist couple who took the tram up the mountain and then decided to stroll back into town. "It's just a short walk," they figured. "Doesn't our hotel look close from up here?" All they had was a pack of chewing gum, and no maps or hiking gear. Five days later, they were rescued.)
Right before Christmas, we thought it would be cool to take a family photo, inspired by these old shadow shots. It didn't really work, but we tried!
Another morning, we went to Ruby's Diner, and Toby tried mashed banana for the first time.
Despite a valiant attempt...
...he was not impressed. (His expression cracks me up.)
Another afternoon, Alex, Toby and I snuck off for a couple hours and went to the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, which has a rad pool and is amazingly family- and dog-friendly.
Alex immediately got a beer and parked himself by the hot tub.
Toby and I hung out on deck chairs...
...and dipped our feet into the gorgeous pool. Everyone there was really friendly and chatty; it felt like being at a party. :)
And on the walk home, Toby fell asleep in the stroller... 
...and since he'd wake up if we stopped moving, we had to keep going...
...so we walked in circles around a cul-de-sac...
...over and over...
...for a half hour...
...ahhh, vacations with a baby! :) It was a wonderful, restorative trip and made us much more confident about family travel and, honestly, parenting in general. Sometimes it takes a break in your routine to show you what you can do. Thanks so much for reading! Have you been to Palm Springs? 
My darlings, I'd love to share a couple photos from our Christmas vacation. California was a great place to travel as a family. As a new-ish mom, I was a little nervous about such a big trip with the baby, but the warm weather made things soooo easy and fun; Toby loved all the action (and avocados), and we could take walks on the beach while he napped in the stroller.
One afternoon, we went out onto the Venice pier. I was impressed that the surfers were going strong in December--the water was freezing that day!
It was really nice to be out and about with nothing to do.
Guess what Toby got for Christmas? His two front teeth!
After a while, we stopped so I could nurse Toby next to a bunch of guys playing basketball. Of course, he wanted to watch the game afterwards. :)
Whenever we're in L.A., Alex always wants to stop by Stronghold, an hipper-than-hip store with selvedge jeans, Filson bags and friendly salespeople. Toby loved rolling around on the rug and trying on the hats. (He looked awesome in a fedora:)
Bonus: They have free whiskey, so you can pour yourself a drink!
Late that afternoon, we met up with our friends Michael and Caroline at the restaurant Gjelina. We sat in the back garden and got pizzas and salads.
I love this photo of Toby. Doesn't he look like such a player? :) He's like, "Yeah, I'm chilling in the arms of a beautiful older woman, no big deal." 
Now we're secretly fantasizing about moving to L.A. :) It's such a fun place, and we can't wait to go back!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from (sunny!) Palm Springs. I can't wait to catch up next week, and I wanted to say a big thank-you for everything this year. It has been a pleasure having you here, and I feel so grateful and lucky to have such wonderful readers. Hope you have a fabulous holiday. Love, Joanna (and Alex and Toby) P.S. Where are you spending Christmas this year? It's so funny to have a warm California Christmas after growing up in Michigan!