Beach Attempt #2

Yesterday Ryan took another section of the CPA exam, so he had the afternoon off. It was about time for a little R&R, so we decided to introduce Trenton to our favorite beach, one of the Montera beaches. This one is beautiful! (So beautiful, in fact, that you just have to ignore the inevitable naked old man. Remember that? He's still there! This is our third summer in a row seeing him, although thankfully, we only had to talk to him once. You have to take a loooong stairway down to access this beach, so it's pretty private, which is maybe what attracts this old guy. Not that he has any shame...)

Anyway, back to the real point of this blog. :) Trenton still gets a little nervous at the beach, but he definitely did better yesterday than last time.

Can you see him clinging to Ryan?

Check out his little legs—he's standing on tiptoe to avoid the damp sand.

But when we were up next to the cliffs, out of the wind and just soaking up the sun, Trenton started getting used it all. For one moment, Ryan and I were both relaxing on beach towels with Trenton crawling all over us, and we said to each other, "This isn't so different than it used to be." The only change was the simple addition of our sweet boy pawing at our legs.

But then Trenton discovered the joys of the beach. You know—the basics. Eating sand, chomping on broken shells, re-hydrating dry seaweed, etc.

After that, it was over. One of us had to be on baby duty while the other relaxed. Keeping Trenton from swallowing rocks takes a lot of energy!

So yes, life has changed, but it's a beautiful thing. Here's Trenton in action. Check out that face.

The World is Trenton's Sandbox

Trenton has been having all kinds of fun lately. He took his first "swim" in the pool, (only up too his waist because it wasn't warm enough yet), enjoyed sitting in some puddles at a park with water features, and most of all, learned to play with other kids! The other day my friends Amber and Katie came over with their babies, who are close to Trenton's age. We moms chatted and let the babies do their thing. Before long all three had found their way to Trenton's bedroom and played in there for a while without incident! You'd think they were big kids or something!

The three buds.

I have no idea who these little girls are, but they sweetly took a liking to Trenton.

After enjoying the water features of the park, it was time to strip Baby T down and exchange his soggy clothes (not to mention diaper!) for some dry ones. Don't be deceived by how still he is in this picture; it is an aerobic workout to change our boy's diaper or clothing.

Trenton and Daddy bonding at the pool.

Well, Trenton continues to be a marvelous eater, as you can probably tell. Random people ask me all the time if my husband is fat, believe it or not. My baby was just born to eat! I know it won't last forever, but for now he is amazingly undiscerning and will eat anything we put on his tray.

It's insane how much we love and adore this baby!

What It's All About

It's been a little while since I last blogged. We have a LOT going on. Mostly, just trying to help my husband juggle everything on his plate is a full time job!

So for now, here is the happiest boy in the world, the little man who puts all of the craziness into perspective and reminds us what life is all about.

"I'm Free!"

Most of you already know this, but I haven't made the official blog announcement, so here it is—Trenton is crawling!! He finally figured it out last week and has been cruising all over the place ever since. I love it. As a mom, having a crawling child brings its new challenges (toilet bowl brushes, phone chargers, kitchen cupboards—all within his reach), but it's also a relief because our boy is so much happier exploring the world than when he was clumsily trying to roll in his desired direction.

AND he can PLAY! It's hard to describe how you "play" with a nine-month old, but he seems to actually get it when we play little games with him. (Ryan is probably particularly happy with this development.)

More bonks and pinched fingers? Most definitely. But that also means more cuddle time for Mom. :) We love our adventurous boy.

Santa Cruz

Last weekend we spent a day in Santa Cruz with our good friends Meg and Cody. On the drive down there, Cody and Meg were so sweet to keep Trenton entertained in the backseat!

Our last trip to Santa Cruz was two summers ago, which I cannot believe. Cody was with us that time, but since then, he's gotten himself a wife and we've gotten ourselves a baby! Go us.

Anyway, this is how Trenton felt about the beach.
Something about the squishy sand in his toes...Oh wait, maybe it was the fact that his daddy stuck his feet in the freezing water! Guess he's a bit more of a Williams than I thought. (I hate cold water, a trait I inherited from my dad. :) Guess Ryan will have to wait a few more years before he gets his kite boarding companion.

Way more interested in the boardwalk than smiling for the camera...

I'm so excited for summer!!!