Fountain Girl

Cecily is a major fountain lover (so am I), so whenever we're around one, we stop and take a look. 

^^ the best is her squeal at the end ^^

Apparently, we go to lots of places with fountains. This is just from the last week or two. Having a baby makes you slow down and enjoy life more.

Crossing the Border

Last Wednesday, Cecily and I had the car for the day so we picked Levi up from work a little after 7:00 with plans to go to the mall for dinner. It was drizzly and cool, and we were all in good moods so we spontaneously decided to head to Border Grill in Santa Monica instead!

^^ silly & daddy paying the meter ^^

^^ dressing silly up as mother mary... or something? ^^

We ate a zillion chips with the best salsa then shared a chicken quesadilla and a sweet corn tamale. That chicken quesadilla was something else. Best flour tortilla I've had in my life. If you ever get the chance to go to Border Grill... go! It's delicious.

^^ our attempt at a family photo in a dark restaurant with a baby ^^

After dinner, it was lightly sprinkling and we felt like a little walk, so we headed over to the promenade. Everything was starting to close, but I really wanted dessert so we found a little crêpe café. I got a cinnamon-sugar crêpe (my favorite), and it was perfect.

Then we headed home! It was such a fun impromptu weeknight outing! Totally necessary in the summertime.

I love my little family of three. :)

At the library

Last Tuesday morning (the 2nd), Levi and I took Cecily to the Central Library in Huntington Beach. We were trying to make it to toddler story time (even though she doesn't toddle), but we got there late and the story time room was so packed that I swear it was steamy in there.

So we had our own story time! I randomly chose a picture book off one of the shelves. The title was something about Sybil and a blue bunny or a sick day. I don't know. It was a really weird book, but I like weird things and Cecily isn't picky.

^^ pretty sure those boobs up there are trying to take over the world. sorry! ^^

If it's safe, I like to let Cecily sit on the floor when we go places (during response time at the end of church, you can almost always find Silly on the floor). Even though she isn't crawling yet, I like her to feel free to explore her immediate surroundings. I can see Levi and I naturally starting to build the "cadre" for Cecily already. It's interesting to see how our innate parenting styles are coming out as Cecily grows.

Anyway, Cecily really enjoyed sitting on the floor for a bit and pulling books off the shelves. When she's older, I'll teach her how to put them back in order. ;)

After hanging out in the children's section for awhile, we introduced Cecily to the rest of the library while I shared stories and memories from all my times there as a child, adolescent, and teenager. I really love that library. It's so beautiful. I hope they never update it. It's so midcentury and cool! I love all the fountains and water everywhere. It makes me feel peaceful.


^^ these two are so sweet together. ^^



We couldn't check out any books this time because we don't have non-resident library cards yet (I'm sorry, Long Beach, but your libraries are not the best), but I bought some old Martha Stewart Living and Whole Living magazines for a quarter each... did you know that Whole Living is no more?? I'm so sad about this. I loved that magazine.

So that was Silly's first visit to the library! The first of many. Levi and I really want to help her develop a love of books, reading, and storytelling so we will certainly be back!

To the beach!

We did one of the things on our summer list yesterday: we took Cecily to the beach in Huntington. It was... interesting.

She had woken up from her nap on the wrong side of the rocker seat. So much crankiness. But we went anyway! After driving around the parking lot looking for parking forever (this whole having to pay to park to go to the beach thing is soooo weird to me having grown up a block away), we coated ourselves in sunscreen, dragged all of our crap (blanket, towel, backpack, baby tent thingie, umbrella, etc.) out of the car, and began our trek to the water.

First stop: strips at Dwight's! Of course!

^^ reaching for the strips. smart girl. ^^

I really wanted to eat on the sand because it's more fun that way so we added two boxes of food to our haul.

After setting up our blanket and umbrella (and making an attempt at setting up the borrowed baby circus tent thingie), we ate.





Cecily really liked strips (the cheese and the sauce part anyway)! She liked them so much that she didn't really let me enjoy them because she demanded bites every two seconds! Haha! This girl loves to eat! We're working on patience right now... as much as you can with an 8-month-old anyway!

After eating, we put on Silly's Esther Williams swim cap and took her to the water. By the way, I bought this suit for her last summer while I was pregnant. I couldn't resist that swim cap. She looks like a little tomato head.










^^ she looks like a squinty old man in all the pictures. it was BRIGHT. ^^


^^ "i hate it, momma. i hate it!" ^^


^^ choose "original" under the settings for the best quality! ^^

This was her second time touching the ocean, and she still hated it. Haha! Poor girl! We tried for awhile after taking pictures and video, but she kept making these miserable little groaning sounds. She looooves water, but I guess she prefers it warm and not freezing cold/filled with sand/rushing at her.






^^ "save me, daddy!!" ^^

After our "swim," she was totally over the whole beach thing so we left. I think we were there for about 20ish minutes. Haha!




^^ she fell asleep nursing in the car. she was so tired that she didn't even wake up when i put her in her car seat. this never happens! poor sleepy babe! ^^

Oh well. We tried it! Even though we live so close, we probably won't go back to the beach until she's old enough to actually enjoy it. I'm sure she'll be a total beach girl next summer. :)

A Perfect Moment

I love the late afternoon/early evening sunlight that pours through the windows in our living room, but I don't always take the time to enjoy it. One day last week, we were all home during the sunshine hour, and I really needed a break (after a 15-month hiatus, my monthly friend came back. that bitch ;).

I opened up the blinds, sat down in my rocking chair, and took my break. I flipped through a magazine while listening to a podcast. Cecily played in her jumperoo. And Levi made himself some coffee. It was such a perfect little chunk of time. So peaceful, happy, and rejuvenating.

I nursed Cecily. Levi and I had an early dinner. And then we all went for a family walk. 

^^ I love the way she holds her feet while she nurses. Sweetest thing. ^^

Perfect way to ease into the evening.

There's always money in the banana stand!

Thursday was Levi's last day at his second job for the week, and he didn't work at the salon in the afternoon so we decided to head down to Balboa to enjoy the pretty day, grab some frozen bananas, and introduce Cecily to the ocean (from a distance). We hadn't been down there in awhile, but I saw this old blog post the other day, and it got me in the mood to go.

First stop: frozen bananas. Obviously.


(btw, only about a month to go until season four hits Netflix!!!! FINALLY.)











Cecily saw the ocean for the first time:







She thought the waves were pretty cool.







Taking family photos by ourselves is hard. Especially when Cecily only wants to look at Daddy. She's pretty crazy about that guy.







We spent the rest of the day grocery shopping and made chicken curry when we got home. It was delicious. Cecily woke from a nap while we were catching up on some New Girl and Modern Family so she joined us on the couch before going to bed. Again. So hard to take photos of the three of us. That's Levi's lap on the left side.



I'd say it was a pretty good day!