Kylie May's Fourth Beach Day!

And the guest blogger tonight is.... Dah Dah Dah Dahhhhhh! Auntie Erica! Kylie's fourth beach day started off  leisurely strolling to the beach this afternoon  after a long morning nap. When at the beach, and all dressed in her rash-guard, she was ready for another first, boogie boarding! Yep, that's right! This little one had her first boogie boarding lesson today. It is a little early, but this little one loves to be an overachiever! Kylie also got to play in the sand with Ben, Olivia, and Claire! And after all that she got to go for a piggy-back ride on Grandpa's back... She had so much fun! There are so many people " Ohhhing and ahhhhing" over Kylie that she even tapped me on the shoulder and asked me, "Why are there so many people staring at me?" and my simple answer was "Because you are one loved little girl!" Grandma, Grandpa, and all the aunties and uncles cannot get enough of this precious girl. With so little time to spend together we all enjoy every second that we get to spend with little miss Kylie May! Kylie wrapped up another day at the beach full of fun, the sun, and a lot of love! She is now in bed waiting for another exciting day at the beach! We love you little one, never forget it.

-Erica

"I love my grandpa"

Sporting her rash guard and board shorts

"What? The board is supposed to be in the water?"

Olivia trying to help Kylie look at the camera.

Sand boarding

"Faster daddy, faster!"

Beach entertainment, stare at the cute baby.

Kylie is starting to figure out this vacation thing

Today was as busy a day as ever in the world of Kylie May, but that didn't stop her from finding time to squeeze in all the necessary aspects of a day at the beach! She ate, she laughed, she slept, she played...what more can a 4 month old girl ask for?

For me, the real highlight was getting to spend some alone time walking with her on the beach. She was so content just soaking in the sun, and everything that was going on around us. She watched people building sand castles, dogs playing in the water, and birds flying all over the place. I narrated everything to her and reassured her that she would be allowed to do those things too someday, but "not till she's 12 son".

When all the watching finally became too much she just snuggled close and put me on auto pilot. She let me navigate our way back to camp while she caught a few z's, and really she was just enjoying the ride. The sun was shinning (but not in her eyes), a breeze was blowing, the waves were crashing, and Kylie was experiencing the joys of napping on the beach.

The other really exciting part of today was that the Cotes arrived. Kylie got to meet Jason and Julie and their kids Ben, Olivia, and Claire who is just a few months older than Kylie. Having both Claire and Kylie as first year attendees at the beach means there was no certainly no shortage of pictures being taken today.

Tonight for dinner we all went out to eat at the Hofbrau in Morro Bay, which meant Kylie got to get all bathed and cleaned up before we went out. Now, I wasn't there to see it, but I have it on good authority that she was absolutely loving naked time tonight. Apparently, the upcoming Summer Olympics have inspired Kylie and so she was practicing her form on some gymnastics moves and found that she really enjoys sucking on her toes. I told her to enjoy it while she still has the flexibility to do so, because it's going to be pretty hard to do once she's 6'4'.

Anyway, in my seasoned opinion, I would say that Kylie is adjusting to Beach life extremely well. She is quickly learning that this is a great place to relax and have fun, and there is never a shortage of aunts and uncles who want to help keep her entertained. I'm sure tomorrow will have plenty of new firsts and adventures for our little princess, but until then, I'm going to get some sleep.

More to come soon,

Uncle Kyle

P.s. Kylie- That conversation we had on the beach today will stay between me and you, but just remember that I love you so much!

Kylie May and a Big Beach Day 128

Intimidating? maybe. Overwhelming? a little...at first. Exciting? tremendously.  These are common questions shared by many first time beach weekers.  "Beach Week".  What is it?  It has actually evolved and become a life force of it's own, but it wasn't always that way.  27-30 years ago my grandparents started taking our family to the beach for a week every summer.  Small get together with family.  Along the way it became a tradition, garnered the involvement of other families, and morphed into what it is today.  Here's what happens.  Each summer, The Johnson's and the Worthley's (long time family friends) rent a house (15-30 people usually stay in it) in a small town on the Central Coast (Cayucos, CA).  One other family (The Harris's who have turned into the Hewitt's and Cote's as well) come and join us with their families as well.  All week we play games, have big group meals, set up a monster camp on the beach (where we hang out all day), and just have a good time enjoying each others company.  It has really become one of the highlights of every person's year.  It also ends up being on of the only times all year that the whole gang is all together.  It has come to be known, simply, as, "BEACH"

Kylie had a great first "Beach" day with the whole family.  She loved getting to put her toes in the sand, sit in her Bumbo (which was inside the pac n play, inside the tent), roll around on the blanket under the umbrella, be passed around to all 20 people that were there for today (tomorrow the group grows), watch the ocean, and just feel the cool Central Coast air.

Tonight, we got home from the beach and she just seemed to look around with the look of "all these people are still here?" and then just fell right back into her routine of showing all her best tricks (smiling, talking, rolling over, kicking, making faces, laughing, etc.) to the whole gang.  It still amazes me how a whole room of people can find such good entertainment from such a small cute little girl.  the phrase "she's so cute" was muttered on more than one occasion this day.  I think it fuels her fire and she jus shows off even more when she hears that, but who knows.

The pictures will say more.

more to come soon,

Craig

Kylie May and An Initiation Day 127

She is officially initiated into a very longstanding family tradition.  Tonight little Kylie May is spending her first night at the beach house during "Beach Week".  It is quite an honor and she is humbly embracing the opportunity.  Tomorrow I'll pass on more about our big tradition, but for tonight we made the 4hour 11minute drive safely (and with no crying) so it's to bed we can be all rested up for the fun in the sun tomorrow.


more to come soon,

-Craig-

Even a Four hour car ride in the middle of the night couldn't derail this good time from happening.

I guess there's just something about showing up to your first "beach week" that brings out a smile

"Is it really real mom?" "Are we really here?"

Kylie May and a Display of Tricks Day 126

The circus was in town, but it wasn't Barnum & Bailey Bros.  Our little 3 ring circus master was running her own show this afternoon, and she pulled out all the stops.  She seems to have 3 good tricks these days: rolling over, talking (or blabbing), and grabbing stuff and putting it in her mouth.  It's like Bigfoot, a Yeti, and a Unicorn.  If you see even one of these it must be your lucky day.  To see all three though...now that would be a miracle.  Today, a miracle happened. Her ambition translated into the trifecta of tricks.

My favorite act of the day was her alligator death roll through a ring of fire (ok. maybe she just rolled over a couple of times on her play mat), but the other way sounded better.  It seems like ever since she turned 4-months old she somehow feels an obligation to do more big girl things.  I couldn't believe how easily she got herself turned from her back to her tummy and then back again.  It is just precious watching her, because she works so hard and is so determined.  She just tries and tries until she does it, and then cracks the biggest grin you've ever seen.  It's better than any lion tamer or car full of clowns.

Her other acts were reserved for Market night at Fox Dance Studio (formerly known as Shake It Up).  We decided to let her hang out there tonight while Nat was working, and she just loved it.  I think Kylie is just in her element around the music, dancing, and people.  She just played, babbled, and cooed all the way until her mama was done teaching and we headed home.  I think I decided that these type of nights are much more fun than meltdowns while we wait for mom to come home. :-) Kylie's in bed and Nat and I are enjoying some relaxation before a big drive tomorrow.

more to come soon,

-Craig-

Kylie May and a House Arrest Day 125

The Weather! Like John Daly on a golf course, you just never know what you are going to get. (I guess some have also compared that to a box of chocolates).  *disclaimer: that last statement holds true in 44 states within the continental U.S. California, Texas, Florida, Arizona excluded.  I guess Kylie forgot to read the fine print, because the optimism with which woke up this morning was quickly squelched by another predictable blistering and muggy July day in Southern California.  Today seemed like one of those days that it would be healthier to be locked in a crowded bingo hall full of magic troll laden, Marlboro totting,  entrepreneurs of the ping-pong ball dispenser rather than step outside and breath in the "fresh" air.  As a very health conscious child of a nurse and murse, Kylie did her best to protect those clean little lungs today by going psuedo agroraphobic and staying shut in. (it is very hard to talk, coo, and cry at the top of your lungs when the ole chest balloons are full of tar).

Like any social butterfly though, she did insist on taking one small day trip to breastfeeding support group this morning(it's the mom's vs. the children....actually quite entertaining), but then proceeded to come home and take the longest nap of her 4 month 2 day life.  A 3 hour nap pretty much confirmed what forensic evidence has been unable to....she is my daughter.  Any girl that can nap like that must have some of her daddy's Levis (I mean genes) in there somewhere.

With minimal afternoon left (before a big dinner date) we worked on getting the house and Kylie ready for our big adventure (Beach Week 2012) coming up Friday. We cleaned (sort of), did some laundry, and got the little beachy peachy packed for Cayucos.

This evening we all donned our HEPA filter masks and headed out for a great dinner with the great grandpa and great grandma.  They have been trying to take Nat and I out to a nice Italian dinner since before Kylie was even born.  It just goes to show how having a child tends to shift priorities just a bit.  :-) Dinner was great, but definitely different than it would have been 4 months ago (something was missing before dinners where you try to shovel spaghetti in before the 4-month old on your lap reaches up and derails the incoming bite).

A major meltdown (sparked by what can only be assumed to be a very bad break up or teething) delayed the sleeping process tonight just a little, but like any trip to the DMV, it eventually came to an end and she is sleeping now.  With a little luck I might even get some shut eye myself (magic 8 ball just said don't count on it).  Sleep or no sleep, Nat and I feel blessed every day to have the little munchkin in our lives.

more to come soon,

-Craig-

Kylie May's very hot day 124

Once again I was nursing Kylie to sleep and found myself in the same boat. So this will be short and far less entertaining then Craig would have made it out to be. This morning Kylie, Melissa and I went to my parents for a quick breakfast (Craig met us there on his way home from work, it was great to have a quick meal with him too) before Tracy came over with her two little ones. We visited for a few min until my Drs apt for Kylie. She has been rubbing her ear and we wanted to make sure it was not an ear infection before we went on vacation. Everything looked great, no ear infection, juts discomfort from teething or water in her ears after bath time. She weighed in at 14lbs and 3oz, yeah, good job little one!

We came back to more play time with the other little ones, then it was time for a trip to great-grandparents pool. Craig woke up to join us on this adventure. On our way over to the pool our car said it was 106 degrees, Kylie was very uncomfortable, she is not a fan of being hot. The pool was wonderful, perfect temperature.

Back home for a nice dinner (thank you Melissa for putting it together), Craig went in for his third night in a row. He now has the next 10 days off, he is so excited for beach week! Melissa, Kylie and I walked down to the Redlands Bowl. Kylie really enjoyed the quartet that sang tonight. She still gets fussy in the evening, but we find that the bowl seems to be the perfect solution. She is so interested in what is going on she doesn't remember to fuss. Tonight Melissa walked with her during the show and she fell asleep, she slept for about 30 min then woke and enjoyed the rest of the performance. We got home a little late and I put the little one to sleep. It was a great, but very hot day. By the time we were walking home at about 10:30pm it was finally cooling down a little. Tomorrow will probably be another hot one, we will see.

More to come soon,
Natalie

Kylie 4 months, Analia 11 months, Andre 2 years

Very fascinated with the finger sucking

"You gotta teach me how to do that!"

Our princess sleeping at the bowl.

Kylie and Auntie Melissa in their fancy hats

She fall asleep nursing in the pool, she was finally cool enough to take a good nap

having fun with daddy

sporting the Mohawk

yeah for post-pool naked time