Greetings from California!

We are enjoying our trip in California so much! Our little buddy has been such a good travel companion. Starting with the long haul flight over here and being such a good little guy on the plane to getting through the jet lag and late night dinners with mom and dad; he gives me confidence that I can take him anywhere. Well, almost anywhere.

So far we've had busy days catching up with friends, beach and pool days and some lazy days at our apartment too.  There is a major heat wave down here right now- take that Australian winter!

We're looking forward to a fun wedding to attend to in a few weeks in the Carmel/Monterey area and getting to visit with Decker's Grammy and Papa and Great Grandpa Nick. We will also be back in Monterey at the end of the month for a special someone's high school graduation and getting to see more family. We're so lucky we got to be down here during all these celebrations.

Wishing everyone a happy Friday and a sunny weekend ahead. Enjoy the random pictures from the iPhone camera roll below.

Getting all his energy out in the ANZ lounge in Auckland before the long trip across the pond to LA

Checking out the clouds

Decker and Quinn at the park and ignoring my request to "look over here"

OC Great Park

First Ferris Wheel ride and checking out the seatbelt. Check out his new 'kicks' too- he looks like such a big boy with his new Nike's :)

Easter Sunday bike ride in Newport

Happy Easter!

We rode bikes down to The Wedge in Newport

Happy hour with Edith, Corrie and Heather at Spectrum

Why did I move away from here again? Love taking walks in CDM

Decker trying to feed Quinn

Zoomars petting zoo, San Juan Capistrano

So fun watching D chase after all the poor guinea pigs. Notice how this one is trying to hide under a bench! hahaha

Bedtime shenanigans  

Happy baby shower Heather!

Me with the beautiful Mommy-to-be

How amazing is this back patio overlooking the water in Newport? I was so in love with the coastal decor at this house where the shower was held. 

These two have my heart!

Watching seagulls on Balboa Island, Newport Beach

Talking a walk around the island

Family photo op

Can't keep this kid out of the water!
 (Salt Creek Beach)

Who needs a nap?

I used to love Daylight Savings come fall -time because that meant turning back the clocks 1-hour thus, getting an extra hour of sleep in the mornings.

I quickly learned this morning that when you have a baby in the house that extra hour of sleep doesn't happen.   I rolled over to see the clock reading 5:30 AM this morning when Little Mister decided it was time to start the day. I quickly scanned my brain for all the tips that I had skimmed through in the baby sleep books that I hate on adjusting your babies bedtime schedule leading up to Daylight Savings. I remembered nothing. I rolled over trying to ignore the little noises coming from the crib, hoping he would go back to sleep. 

I swear I spend 75% of my waking hours trying to figure out this kids sleep patterns. Since my mom was here we have him down to 1-nap a day which is so much easier! Yes, it gives me less breaks during the day but it's so much easier having the afternoons to go do something and for longer periods of time. You know what I mean if you have a baby that will only sleep in their crib. I used to have a 1.5/2 hour time slot during the day where I could sneak out to run errands in between naps. SO frustrating. 

Don't get me started on perfecting the perfect sleep environment. Trust me, before I had a kid, I never wanted to be that mom that had to tip-toe around the house when my kid was sleeping. But so help me, if the neighbors dog barks too loud or one more douche bag drives by my house with their muffler sounding like a dump truck driving by.... 

I'm going to admit this on this blog post because looking back it's funny but I haven't told anyone but my husband that I did this. One of my neighbors has this dog who, when let outside, barks and barks and BARKS. 

For hours at a time. 

I'm sure we've all had an annoying neighborhood dog but since I'm at home during the day and trying to get my kid to take good naps (please see above), it pissed me off! So I decided to write a note expressing my annoyance. It was a nice note that I neatly placed in their mailbox but looking back, it shouldn't have been so passive - aggressive. The funniest part about the note was that since I'm the "foreign" one around here, I wanted my note to seem like it could have been from any ole neighbor so I wrote the note using "Australian English" adding a "u" to neighbor (neighbour), etc. If I didn't do this, I was so afraid that this particular neighbor would notice that I was the American that wrote the note. Ha! Anyway, the note did the job. Uggghhhh, I've turned into that neighbor. Or should I say "neighbour"? 

OK, off to bed because I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get that extra hour of sleeping in tomorrow morning. 

One!

Hope everyone's have a good week so far. We're having a great time with my mom and step-dad out here visiting. It's been nice for me to have a little break from the little man; for all you mom's out there, you know what a treat it is to run to the grocery store- kid free. 

Our little peanut turned 1 at the end of February and while we decided not to have a big party, we definitely did some celebrating. Special pancakes were made for breakfast, a trip to the wildlife park to pet some kangaroos in the afternoon and we ended the day with cake and presents. My brother and sister-in-law were here visiting so the wildlife park was a fun thing to do with them too. 

Amazing how fast a year goes!

I could just squeeze him!

Loving his birthday pancakes. I was so excited he kept his "1" hat I made him, on his head!

Such a cute face but I'm a little embarrassed about this cake. That green icing looks toxic. I'm going to take the blame for that one :)

... but Decker doesn't seem to care. He loved his first taste of birthday cake.

Bondi Coastal Walk. Check out the color of that water!!!

Bondi Icebergs. Who wants to have a pool party? 

Bondi's Campbell Parade

Taking the train after a long day at the beach.

Exploring the art galleries in Paddington with Kandyce

Paddington ally in between terrace homes.

A beach found at the Royal National Park

Decker's Birthday Trip to Symbio Wildlife Park. You can't see it, but there is a Joey in the Mama's pouch!

Valentines Day inspiration

We're not big on Valentines Day in this house-I'll pass on the huge teddy bear, red roses and box of chocolates, thank you very much (but I still expect a card!). However, I am a sucker for heart shaped things, cupcakes and anything pink.

I found some cute little ideas for Valentine's day inspiration on Pinterest that seem easy to recreate and make for a simple celebration.

I made these Valentines Day felt fortune cookies last year for some friends. It was fun to handwrite little notes inside each one and I made them just big enough to put a few pieces of chocolate inside too!
Pinned from: http://dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/creative-valentines-day-ideas.html

I'm obsessed with garland and this simple string of hearts is a fun way to decorate your house without going overboard.
Pinned from: http://dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/creative-valentines-day-ideas.html

I'm going to try and do this with Decker's little hands and have him give it to his Daddy for his Valentine's Day card.
Pinned from: http://whetzelfamily3.blogspot.com.au

YUM! Can't wait to make these Brownie Cookies with Salted Caramel Creme Filling. Found these on my friend Emily's blog- Thanks for the idea for a yummy dessert.
Pinned from: http://beautiesandthefeast.blogspot.com.au

I love the heart shape of the strawberries and of course-cupcakes are always a good idea.
Pinned from: http://thecupcakedailyblog.com/strawberry-shortcake-cupcakes/

Simple and sweet cards that are easy to make and fun to receive. 

  Pinned from: http://www.realsimple.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

Reflections

I am a horrible blogger. There I said it. Apparently I don't know what consistency means. But it's my blog and I can write when I want? OK moving on...

Decker at 11-months

After putting little Decker to bed tonight I jumped onto Facebook and Twitter (yeah, so that happened today. I am now on Twitter! Can someone please tell me what this nonsense is all about? I think I need to watch a YouTube tutorial on how to operate this site and why.), to catch up on all the important news from around the world. While on FB, I saw a post from one of our old neighbors come up on my newsfeed; I clicked on her profile and just scrolled through some of her pictures and thought about how I met her when she was just a newborn and now she is a stunning, young lady. My sister and I used to babysit for this tiny baby and her older sister; both girls are now in college. It just got me thinking about how time really does fly!

Decker will be turning ONE (*tear*) at the end of this month and I know all mothers probably say this, but- I can't believe how quickly a year went! Most likely it was because I was in a tired haze from the lack of sleep I got in the first 5-months due to being a new parent with a baby that didn't sleep through the night right away. But I got to thinking about how our lives have changed and how Decker has taught me so much about myself and I guess, about life.

Looking back at how I was as a person before Decker, I sort of feel like I was this selfish, impatient person rushing around speeding through events to make life "happen". This little boy is a complete blessing (I think this word is so annoying thanks to everyones overuse of #blessed hashtags on Facebook and Instagram... isn't there another word we can use? For this posts purpose, no). But seriously, Decker has made me slow down, enjoy the simple things about growing, love and life. He's taught me to be SO patient and to let him be "little". It has been so amazing watching this tiny, helpless baby grow from a dependant little peanut to a very busy toddler.


He's also allowed us to understand what's it's like to run off of little sleep.

But going back to my old neighbor, when I was thinking back to when her mom brought her home from the hospital as a newborn, to me-I can remember it clearly and it seems like it wasn't that long ago. I mean, I was in Junior High School so it was a long time ago but you know what I mean.  Then I thought about how Decker's 1st year flew by. And it got me thinking how I only have 18 more times to celebrate another year with him under my roof. That is assuming he goes away to college after high school and that he doesn't hate his parents and want to get emancipated at 15.

Eighteen! That's not a lot of time. Life is crazy. And by crazy, I mean it goes by too fast.

Kevin's Grandpa Frank turns 99 years old this year. I bet if you asked him about his life he would tell you it went by so fast.

In closing, I feel so lucky to be a stay at home mom to this little boy. The time I get with him is irreplaceable. Don't get me wrong, there are days where I want to run away buuuutttt... I'm so grateful for what I have and the opportunities I've had thus far with my life and my family.

Cronulla Beach, NSW, Australia

Don't forget to slow down once in a while, look around you and find the simple beauty in the things right in front of your face. You don't have to be living on the beach or in a high-rise apartment with an amazing view, even though that does help a little. :) Enjoy the little things because before we know it, we will be 99 looking back saying, "my life went by way too quick."

Kisses!

Cheeky little monkey