Our California Adventures Part 4

 

I can't even say enough about how cute this boy is!  I know I am his mom and am supposed to think that but he is just so adorable.

 

Love this one...crawling away from a random boat on the sand.

 

Here he is reaching into the boat. Love those fingers.

My big boy

Hahaha cute one of him standing in a diaper and t-shirt.  I took his pant off because I didn't want them to get wet.

Great times were had!

~Megan

Our California Adventures Part 3

 

 There is something inspiring about beach towns in the morning.  They are always bustling with fisherman and people looking to stake out a prime location on the sand, and of course there are the regulars who meet up at the same spot every day to have coffee and catch up on gossip.  I have always loved getting to the beach as early as possible and when I lived in Newport (when I was 21) I would walk along the boardwalk and get the same donut every day.  The girls in my favorite shop still remember me and they adored Sullivan. 

 

On the pier again happily screaming :)

 Sweet boy.

 

 Hahaha....two things you can count on when you bring your child to the beach 

1) constantly re-applying sunscreen carefully to every exposed surface of their body

2) wiping the sand off their face and hands etc.

Its an endless cycle :)

 Wiped out under our half tent thing.  Definitely a nice thing to have on the beach with babies.  That day was breezy so I layered our clothes over him for warmth.

So beautiful!

~Megan

Our California Adventures Part 2

See those tiny sailboats.  I love them.  One day during a bike ride we saw about twenty little sailboats in the bay and in each of those boats there was one small child in a life jacket.  They were being coached by a person in another boat.  I nearly died by the sheer cuteness.  Sailing lessons?? Sounds amazing.

  Sully loved the pier in Newport. I can't help but think that he looks like such a big boy here.  Crazy how he's growing so fast.

Oh my goodness I love that face.  He is such a blessing...totally and completely in love.

~Megan

Embrace the Camera-Huntington Beach Edition

 Here we are out on the pier in Huntington Beach on Tuesday.

The weather was perfect and had such a nice breeze.

 We were both happy to be there.  Sully looks so content.

Ahhh we love California...never goodbye, always so long for now.

~Megan

1st picture of Sully standing up alone

Here he is standing up all alone with some seaweed on the beach.  Its only fitting that this "first" took place near the sea!

~ Megan

Our California Adventures

Almost to the beach!!  This street called Jamboree is always a signal to me that we are close to the ocean.  We couldn't wait to get out of the car! After the IHOP incident and the six hour drive we were all a little stir crazy!

Smiling with those teeth!

 This is the first time his fingers and toes have touched sand.  He totally loved it.  I don't know what I expected but I am so happy he is a beach baby all the way!

Sandy toes! It really doesn't get much better than this!

Testing out the Pacific.  He ended up crawling all over the sand and splashing in the water.  It was so fun to watch.

Napping baby under a palm tree near the boardwalk.

I will have to do this in parts because I am a little overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I took.  I wanted to say that I loved reading all of your comments on the IHOP craziness and it truly made me feel better with each comment I read.  Also, I already sold one of the diaper covers on Etsy!  It happened while on vacation and is going to be shipped out tomorrow!  I will be back with more from our fun trip manana.




~Megan

Back to the desert

We had such a great time at the beach! Sullivan is definitely a beach baby. He loved the sand and the cool pacific ocean water. My dad brought bikes for us to ride and he put a baby seat on the back of one for Sully. He enjoyed riding behind me most of the time. We ate fresh fish tacos under our umbrellas on the beach. We had delicious donuts and warm ham and cheese croissants in the morning. I got one of the best hour and a half pedicures I've ever had. There were so many great memories made, and nearly one thousand pictures taken. Not to mention a great video of Sully screaming and crawling on the beach. I'll update more when we're home!

Megan

First rude encounter because I'm a mom

Picture this, you are at ihop during a road trip sitting at a booth and your baby is squealing with delight in a highchair playing with a rattle. And then a older lady behind you at the next table leans in so close you feel her breath on your cheek and says "can you take the rattle away from her? See how good she is when you talk to her?"

Yes this just happened! I old her that he was a boy first, then I said no but you can move tables. Followed by me telling her to please turn around about six times because her face was this close to mine and meanwhile sully's face looked confused at the commotion, which only made me want to protect him more. So when she finally turned around she whispered the " b" word to her friend loud enough for me to hear.

I can't believe that even happened, my heart is still beating fast. Wow!

California here we come

Last night I Had to laugh because though we will only be in California for five nights, the large suitcase I packed for Sullivan and I was stuffed, really truly overly stuffed. I am not sure that bag has ever been so full. Of course I have to take responsibility for taking up most of the space, but in the bag there is a special section that has fifteen or so neatly folded t-shirts,several onesies, 6 pairs of shorts, two little pairs of board shorts, little jeans, a pair of tiny grey TOMS, and 3 little sweatpants. I'm probably forgetting to mention a couple of Sullivan's things. Did I over do it? Maybe, but one thing I've learned is that it's better to be over prepared than under. And honestly, I love these moments of clarity. Yes, even when packing a bag like I've done a thousand times before only to be reminded as I struggled to zip it up, that this time is special because I have a baby boy to consider and this will be his first trip to a place that holds a special place in my heart. A place where Arty and I were married with our toes in the sand and a salty breeze in our hair. A true piece of heaven in my eyes and I can't wait to share "our place" with him.

~megan

Welcome to the world baby Aden

Here's Kaysie so happy just minutes before Aden arrived!

Getting ready to push! By the way, isn't she the most beautiful laboring momma you have ever seen?!?

My cousin's husband, John so excited to finally see their sweet boy!

They both could hardly contain themselves, and me too! Excitement was definitely in the air!

He's here, after only two pushes and two contractions! Amazing amazing amazing!  We had the same OB and our rooms shared a wall, I like to think that our baby's will have the same special connection that Kaysie and I grew up having and continue to have.  Our bond is like the bond of two sisters.  No matter where we physically live, whether its five miles away or thousands of miles away there has not been a day that's gone by that I don't think of her.   When I was pregnant with Sully we walked almost every morning and had therapeutic talks about anything that came to mind.  We talked and dreamed together that she would get pregnant soon and how tried to imagine how amazing that would be.  One week before Sully was born Kaysie and John moved to Sierra Leone.  Just a couple weeks later Kaysie called really early in the morning and told me to get on Skype, she and John where there and broke the news that Sully was going to have a cousin.  My heart nearly exploded with joy!  Two years ago today Kaysie stood beside me while I married the man of my dreams, and today I stood by her while she brought a beautiful baby boy into the world.  I am beyond blessed for being able to witness a true miracle today.  Thank you Kaysie and John for letting me be a part of this special moment.  A moment that I will never ever forget.  I love all THREE of you!

~Megan

I just know tomorrow is going to be a great day for two reasons

Tomorrow is our two year anniversary(I love you Arty!!) and my sweet cousin Kaysie is being induced early in the morning!!!  I am so excited!

That means that July 18th is one very SPECIAL day!

This is what I did last July 18th!  See that baby bump?  I was about six months pregnant there...looking forward to being in Newport Beach on Thursday and picking up Arty from the airport Friday!!!

~Megan

Morning Light

 

 

Just a few pictures from this morning.  We started the day off going to Starbucks (my brother works there part-time) to meet my aunt, uncle, and cousin Kaysie.

 

 Saying hi to uncle Stephen!

Chatting with Kaysie :)

Sully showing his lower teeth while "talking" to my mom.

Here is the little man with my aunt Tammy.

I'd say we are off to a great start.  We did make a stop to Goodwill and I scored three great little things for six bucks.  I'll do a post on those later. 

~Megan

Embrace the Camera

Well we've been spending some time waiting with my cousin Kaysie, for her baby boy to arrive.  So far he is four days over due and counting.  I am so excited to meet him!

This was a picture taken yesterday and we were laughing at the shape of her belly because that little boy in there is moving constantly!  Soooo cute!

 

 Today I spent some time with my mom walking around the Biltmore in Phoenix.

 

He is so adorable as always.  Lately, he has been crawling so fast and climbing. He's really brave so once he climbs up something to stand, he likes to let go and test his balance.  Sometimes he stands for three to four seconds before grabbing whatever he was holding for support and other times he plops down.  As you can see he still likes the Ergo though.

Chatting with Arty this morning.  Can't wait to meet up with him in California next week!

Random silly picture in front of a J.Crew wall.  The store is under construction.

Fun times!

Sully kept looking at the fountain and trying to figure out where the birds were at since they were singing.

I hope everyone is doing wonderfully.  I am getting a haircut tomorrow and I am really looking forward to feeling rejuvenated.

~Megan

Also, please continue to pray for this family.  They brought home their sweet baby James (who is only six days younger than Sully) from the hospital after his brain tumor grew back worse after it was just removed two weeks ago.  I can't imagine the emotions and pain they are going through.  My heart breaks for them and can't help but cry with every update.  James is such a beautiful baby boy.