Maybe I'm milking this vacation for all it's worth in the blogging world but these are some serious milestones! Baby's first trip to the beach is a big deal in my book! :) Before we went to the beach I ordered this beach tent. It was AWESOME and totally kept us warm despite a windy day at the beach. What I really liked about it was that B and M could be in the shade and I could still be tanning in the sun, but avoid the wind. The best of both worlds!

enjoying our beach tent!

beach tent

uncle jake and B

chillin with grammie

i had to throw this in for laughs...silly uncle kevin :)

Do you have any recommendations for good baby beach gear? Anything I can't live without? Let me know!

Blair went for her first swim this weekend in the pool! She loved it! Despite her facial expressions in the pictures below she really enjoyed herself and didn't cry once! The water was luke warm and as she was happy as a clam hanging out with mommy and daddy. She also enjoyed floating around in her new raft. I had to put her in her one piece since her swim diaper went up to her chest but tomorrow you will get to see how she rocked her bikini at the beach. :) I loved watching other mommy and daddies play with their kids in the "big pool" and I can't wait to teach B how to jump off the side of the pool. But for now I'm ok with lounging and getting her used to loving the water.

jellies from old navy

new canopy raft

daddy and baby

testing the waters with mommy

B was so funny; she would arch back and let the sun fall on her face! She like the feeling of it! Come see us tomorrow for our first trip to the beach. See what I discovered as the BEST beach gear ever!

B's swim suit: Baby Gap

We had such a great weekend. So thankful for all the soldiers who fight for our great country! M, B, and I spent the weekend at the family beach house with my parents, my brother Kevin and his wife, and my other brother Jake. The dogs are lucky that we consider them family too. :) Saturday was kind of windy but thanks to our new beach tent we still enjoyed the beach. B was a good girl and is starting to allow us more sleep. Yay! I love our "beach routine." It goes like this: wake up and nurse B, go for a jog on the beach trail with B in the BOB ( and stare at all the orange county mamas and their babies in their BOBs), come home and go down to the beach, come up from the beach and go to the pool, then go home and eat dinner! I was SO sad to leave because there are so many hands to help with B down here. I'm already looking forward to the next time... While we were down here we celebrated Jakes graduation from high school. We had friends and family over for some Italian food from a local restaurant. It was delish! Here is our little graduate...

We also celebrated my brother's wife's birthday the same night. And here's the birthday girl...

I have lots of things to tell you about from our vacation. Tomorrow you will get to see B's first swim at the pool as well as her first beach trip. She may or may not have worn a bikini! ;) If you are friends with me on FB you already know the answer to this... See you tomorrow!

Yay for our furniture that finally arrived! We also ordered a rug from Target that I am obsessed with. It was a great deal! And it looks nice in our kitchen.There are a few other things I got but let's be honest I could not post them yet because my house was in such disarray that I couldn't photograph the other pieces...welcome to mommyhood. Someday I'll show you the leopard bench at the foot of my bed and the new desk in our office. But for now...

our new sofa table and lamps

still looking for something to go above that mantel...

our cute new target rug! i love how fun the print is

i can't remember if I posted these new target chairs yet.

Once my sis-in-law organizes my home office I can give you a sneak peak of that as well :) I'm dying to get into my scrapbooking stuff again! I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend. Last year at this time I was heading up to San Luis Obispo to attend the Annual Beer Festival with my college roommates...oh my how my life has changed! This year we have the SUV packed with a baby swing, beach shade tent, baby floatie etc. and are heading down to San Clemente beach for the weekend. Much different than last year but still looking forward to it. :)

PS Monday is a national holiday. I will not be blogging. :) See you Tuesday!

Last night I decided sleep was more important than my blogging...hence the late post! Yesterday I was SO SO spoiled by a friend of mine that I used to teach with. I had lunch with her and since she was unable to come to B's shower back in February she gave me her gifts while we were hanging out. Below are the things that B received...

tutu cute!

juicy sweatsuit!? that she will not be sweating in...

her hubby picked this out... :)

these cute prints came with it!

true statements :)

you should only draw attention to your bum when your age is still a single digit number...

for next summer from aunt brandy and uncle roger!

And here is what my friend got me for my birthday...

scrap kits

gorgeous marc jacobs bow earrings...adorb!

forgot to add these to B's gift section

And she got me some darling scrap ribbon for B's baby book (when will I ever get to that?!). Thank you Letty for all my gifts...you know I love to be spoiled rotten :). Tell Carlos he did a good job too :) Tomorrow we go to the beach! I'm excited for B's first beach trip!

M says this is B's "Navajo princess" outfit because of the embroidery :)

Today I am going to one of the old elementary school's that I used to teach at to have lunch with some friends. I'll be bringing my cutest accessory ( B, of course!). After that I'll be running some errands around town. Yesterday I found an adorable one piece at Old Navy but I need to return the 6 other suits I brought home to try on. Just another day in the life of a mommy!

Sleep update: we're still not getting any... ok it's not that bad but sigh....when will she sleep through the night? She is still waking up to eat every three hours but I am glad that she sleeps in her own bed, in her own room. Her naps are SO unpredictable. I'm dying for her to sleep anywhere but on me, but I'm not willing to duke it out with her by myself. It's too exhausting. It's so much easier when someone else is around for moral support. So I guess I'm digging my own grave with this one... 

Last weekend I was able to spend some quality time with my brother and his wife. I just love hanging out with them and feel like we have so much in common! One thing my sister-in-law, Tiffany, and I share a love for is organization. I truly enjoy organizing things but with baby it is seriously nearly impossible for me to get my office organized at our new home. We are STILL living out of boxes... Luckily I have this girl...

Tiffany and baby B ;)

 This is where Tiffany comes in. She and my brother have started their own company in addition to their day jobs called Grace Interior Organizing. Tiffany is a full time nanny in Manhattan Beach and has become incredibly good at organizing other peoples' things. I'm planning on giving her a run for her money starting with our home office...

Make sure you check out her very new blog here. She has some great ideas that I want to try for re-purposing and re-cycling everyday household items. Don't forget to go to their facebook page and like them! 

And if you missed their GORGEOUS wedding here is the link to some photos from that for fun. :)

On Saturday B was dedicated to the Lord. It was a very sweet service with family. She was an angel all day and of course had a mini meltdown during the dedication. My brother prayed for B to chose a life that is glorifying to Christ...it was very sweet. Afterwards we had everyone over to our house for a BBQ. Here we are...

daddy mommy and baby

aunt tiff, uncle kev, daddy, mommy, and B

our little family

our big family

our big family again!

auntie and uncle

aunt lisa met B for the first time! 

It was a fun weekend filled with lots of time spent with family...which is how we like it! I can NOT wait for memorial day weekend...san clemente beach with the family again! yippee!

Last night M and I went on a walk to the top of a local mountain (hill) with a huge group of other mommies and daddies. We had SUCH a good time! We pretty much took over the trail with all of our strollers. I called it a stroller renegade and M said it was a "brigade." Renegade, brigade...what's the diff? It was totally what I needed after a crappy Wednesday. M admitted that it was what he needed too. He loves fellowship with other couples our age and getting out of our little world of the three of us. I loved seeing other families in action with their little ones. It really gave me some perspective that there really is no one right way to raise a child, and that pretty much everyone is dealing with or has dealt with the same issues we're going through with a newborn baby. God definitely knew that I needed to get some perspective and realize that B is not going to fit into a box like I want her to. Some days are easier than others but I think I need to have an overall understanding that she will reach her milestones in her time, not mine. Plus I know the Lord is using this time of trial to grow me in my relationship with Him. And it's working! I am in a state of constant prayer..."Dear God, please help B to sleep more than one hour at a time tonight..." ;) But really I have found myself asking for patience, wisdom, strength, trust, contentment etc.

Tomorrow B is getting dedicated to the Lord. When she knows and understands who Jesus is she will make the conscious decision to get baptized but until then M and I are making a public claim to raise her up in a way that glorifies Jesus. To teach her who her creator is and how much He loves her. Afterwards we are having a BBQ at our house. It should be a good weekend with friends and family!

While I was at the baby shower last weekend one of the hosts caught Blair's smile on camera. I was pretty happy because I have yet to get a big grin on camera! I've captured a side grin here and there but nothing like this...

this is what I usually get...

Oh Blair...I can't wait for you to be more consistent with your smiles! Among other things...consistency with nighttime sleep, daytime naps, etc. Yesterday was "one of those days." When will I learn that I can not stay at home all day and have a "good day?" I have to leave the house and run one errand or visit a friend every day for my sanity. Otherwise I start to go stir crazy and get bored/lonely/feel unproductive/ feel sorry for myself...need I go on? Being the mommy of an infant is SO hard! I just feel like every day is Groundhog's day where I wake up and everything repeats itself.

Today I am getting out and going on a walk with some mommy friends which should be good (morning AND evening!). I also plan on spending some time with my mom which always makes me happy. I'm thinking about nailing someone down once or twice a week so I can either get out and run errands or get some things done around the house. Maybe a certain mom or mother-in-law will be interested? Subtlety is not my strong suit...

Have a great Thursday!  

I need to come up with a new moniker since I'm not currently wearing any of these outfits to work... I'll take suggestions! :)

So I can't take credit for this outfit at all. I've had this dress for a year and have worn it before but never really knew how. That is until I attended a baby shower last weekend and a young college aged girl had it on in this exact way. I thought it was darling and raced home to recreate her look. I am pretty good at copying but not so good at coming up with things on my own. This is why I heart Pinterest! :)

dress: anthropologie
sweater: forever 21
belt: forever 21
shoes: nordstrom

PS this dress is perfect for nursing! unbutton and voila! dinner is served! :)

I went to a friend's baby shower last Saturday for her soon to be born little girl. Her sisters and mom hosted it and it was STUNNING! I knew it would be beautiful because these girls have mad skills. I think they invented half the things on Pinterest! Here are a few of the details below...

i died a little when i saw this sequined table cloth...so so girly!

each place setting was different and had homemade chocolate cookies inside the baggies

the arrangements were picked from her moms garden...so sweet!

the gift table couldnt be missed with this sequined skirt!

a cake fit for a princess! complete with vintage looking lace (also homemade!)

the mom to be and me

Hope you found some ideas to take away from this lovely shower!

I had such a great Mother's Day weekend! Saturday I went to lunch downtown with a friend and then spent a little quality time with B shopping around. Later that afternoon I went to a baby shower for a sweet friend (pictures from that tomorrow). It was SUCH a great day because I got to spend time with B but also time alone with good friends. The best of both worlds!

cupcakes i bought myself :), the mission inn, a mama to be, and B

On Sunday M let me sleep in and he watched B downstairs. Then he told me he had a surprise Mother's Day gift for me but I had to go get it with him. We ended up at Best Buy and I walked out the door with a new iPad!!! I was VERY surprised because while M spoils me, this is above and beyond! I also got a cute case to boot. :) After that excursion we went to M's parents house for brunch and then my family came over to our house for a BBQ. B was so so sweet and had a busy day but was on her best behavior!

great aunt julie, little Landon, first cousin removed ilene, and B!

new grandmas!

tutu cute :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day! I couldn't have asked for anything more :) See you tomorrow for one of the prettiest baby showers EVER! Seriously.