The Big 3-0

I am now 30. I can no longer act young and cute and say, "I'm in my 20s!" Ha. That's okay. I embrace this year of growing older and all the exciting adventures that are in store for me and my family. Our new house should close escrow in a few weeks and this new baby boy is growing bigger by the day and Carter is learning new things at lightning speed! I love my life.

To celebrate, we spent the night at the Tides Inn in Laguna Beach. For an affordable small inn, it was actually quite lovely--we even had a little kitchen and breakfast bar in our room and could see the ocean from the window. We began our day with the breakfast buffet at Las Brisas. Oh my.... anytime I can eat bacon and Eggs Benedict for breakfast, I am in heaven.

After breakfast we went for a walk down by the beach. It was a warm day but the cloud cover never managed to truly go away. Stupid June Gloom. Oh well, at least we weren't too hot which was nice. Carter was fascinated by the trail that we walked down and loved to stare out at the ocean.

After our walk, we checked into the hotel and had a quick nap.

Then the boys attempted to swim but the water was a bit chilly (at least for Dave and me! Carter would have happily gone all the way in.)

Then Grandma and Grandpa picked up Carter and Dave and I were all alone! We went to dinner at K'ya Bistro which was so yummy. I wish I would have taken pictures of our food! We had grilled ribeye steak, thai inspired fried calamari, grilled portabella burger, lobster mac and cheese, berry cheesecake, and a brownie sundae. Yes, we ordered six plates of food. They are considered tapas or small plates but actually they were quite large and we were sooo full. We took a walk through the main street and looked at a few art galleries, sat on the boardwalk and watched the sun set, and then watched Bridesmaids at the movie theater (which actually was a really funny movie!) Then we got to cuddle and sleep uninterrupted the whole night without a wiggly toddler between us! It was lovely. Happy birthday to me!

Happy Father's Day

Dave got to kick off his day by sleeping in... for those of you with kids, you know how precious sleeping in can be! He then woke up to Carter and I tickling his back (another cherished activity). Then he played with Carter and they went swimming while I helped his mom make dinner.

Carter bought his daddy a t-shirt about "Nothing" :

I am so thankful that Dave is such a good father...sometimes even a bit jealous when Carter runs to the door screaming "Daddy!" whenever Dave comes home. I don't think there is anyone in the world that Carter loves or enjoys more than his Daddy and I anticipate it will be this way forever. I get emotional at times when I realize how lucky I am to have found a man that is an awesome husband and a fantastic father. Not everyone in this world can even find someone to fit one of those categories. How did I get so lucky!? I can't wait for Dave to meet this new baby boy and start another lifelong relationship. Did I mention how excited I am to be having another boy? I love the boys in my life!

Here is Carter and his daddy, dancing the day away:

So Silly!

Carter got his sense of humor from his daddy. He is thrilled with himself whenever he can do something that makes us laugh. Today he discovered that we thought it was hilarious when he held half an easter egg in his mouth to make a "bird beak."

The Loves of My Life

I got to celebrate the wedding of Kira and Tim this weekend and oh, how I love weddings. It makes me remember when I got married and how happy my sweet husband makes me. How could you not love a face like this?

Sigh... I just adore him.

I also adore my new baby boy, kicking and swimming and flipping around in my belly. I am struggling to come up with a name. Dave and I can't agree on anything. Carter Francis and Grayson Hunter are the perfect names ever and now we are at a loss for any more boy names (especially because for the last few months I was certain this baby was a girl!) Here is a pic of my baby belly:

Another love of my life is my sweet baby Grayson. I have been thinking about him so much lately, especially with this new baby boy in my life. I miss his face so much sometimes. I also hate the way memory works. I feel like I can remember the last time I was with him more than I can some of the happy cuddle moments that we spent together. When I feel those memories slip away, I try really hard to lay in bed at night and recover each sweet moment that we had together. Grayson, you are still a part of this family. When people ask me about my pregnancy and say, "Is this your first?" I always say, "This is my second pregnancy, third baby." That of course always ends up with me retelling your sad story but at least the truth gets told.

Lastly, the other major love of my life is, of course, Carter. He is so funny lately. I will have to get a video of him singing his favorite songs. He loves to act out songs with hand gestures. He is getting really good at them! He is also addicted to M&Ms, thanks to his grandpa! Hopefully it will help him gain some weight!

Boy or Girl?

The boy or girl question that has been tormenting me since I found out I was pregnant was solved today. Anyone care to venture a guess based on this picture? The doctor put the question marks at the arrow between the legs so that Dave could guess if he wanted to, since he wasn't at the appointment with me.