Bay life

The beach house we have is actually right on the bay, so the water is very calm and there is a perfect little beach.  It is ideal for Charlie.  The last few days we set up chairs and an umbrella and let Charlie just run around.  He loves watching the pelicans swoop in and catch fish and all the boats and paddle boarders going by.  There are a few kids he has been able to play with also.  Justin and Charlie will play ball or dig in the sand while I sun bathe, it has been really fantastic. We travel a lot, but mostly for weekends away so this feels like a real chilled out vacation which I am just loving. 

 Just on the other side of our street is the beach, where the waves are much bigger. There is a boardwalk which means there are more people walking around and there are lots of surfers.  We walk over there in the mornings and Charlie runs straight into the waves.  He has no fear our little guy! We literally have to hold on to him.  This morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise that deserved to be shared, hence this blog post!  Enjoy the pictures.

Update

I have too much to update on here, but am currently sitting out on our terrace at our beach house and don't have it in me to write too much. So, to sum things up, I had two amazing friends come in to town over the weekend.  I really treasure the time I get to spend with them since the visits are so few and far between these days.  My sister also delivered my niece on Friday morning.  I was actually in the room while she was born, which really deserves a post all to itself.  I was so grateful to experience it, and baby Catherine is too precious for words.  Justin arrived Monday, which was the same day we checked into our beach house.  We are renting it until we go to New Orleans for the wedding.  It has been SO relaxing to be by the water.  Charlie is a beach baby for sure, it's hard to get him out of the water or sand when its time to leave.  

Some posing and swinging

I have mirrored closet doors in my bedroom at my parents.  Charlie loves standing on the bed and making faces or posing in the mirror.  It is so funny.  Isn't this such a Justin face? After approving his outfit, we headed to the park once again.  More swinging! You literally have to pull him off the swings when he starts nodding his head and yawning.

Birthday

My 28th birthday was on Sunday.  Besides the fact that I spent it away from my hubby, it was a nice day.  I have not been in California since my 20th birthday, so it was lovely to have a low key family day.  We had breakfast by the beach in Crystal Cove at a restaurant called Beachcombers.  While we waited (for 45 minutes!) for a table Charlie put his feet in the ocean and played in the sand.  We were all ready to eat by the time we sat down.  Instead of a cake, I splurged on lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes!  So yummy.  Charlie loved the maple syrup he got to try!  For the rest of the day we hung out at home.  Charlie napped and we laid out and went swimming.  We had an early dinner at my favorite sushi place Tommy's.  Charlie, again was pretty good.  He loves edamame beans and miso soup. Things sure have changed since my 20th birthday, but all for the better.  2 years till 30! Yikes!

 My new bling from GG.

 Blowing out my candle.

 And here is Charlie playing in the water.  He was so unhappy when we made him leave.

Petting Zoo

We took Charlie to Irvine Park yesterday.  I have not been in years, and they have improved it so much.  It would be a great place for a kids party, you could easily entertain yourself all day there.  We started on the playground with Charlie then took him into the zoo where he was able to get up close and personal with goats, roosters and bunnies.  Charlie was afraid of the rooster, but loved the goats.  GG and Nana came along for the fun.

There was a beautiful peacock that was walking around and Charlie decided to chase him.  I am pretty sure that is not allowed.  Nana tried to catch him, while I was the responsible parent laughing and snapping pictures.

Charlie loved petting the goats.  They were all real friendly.  My favorite was this little baby goat, Charlie was bigger then him and his name was Shrek.