Visiting California

My job wanted to sent me on a trip to Newport Beach, CA for a week long training and I wasn't about to complain! I asked if I could bring my baby along with me since a week away from him would be too much. They agreed as long as I brought a babysitter so I asked my Mom to come along too! My sister Sadie also wanted to come for the weekend and then flew back home so she could be back to work by Monday. We were all excited for a little girl-trip and hoped Austin would cooperate :).

Unfortunately, Austin got a double ear infection right before we left so he wasn't in the best of health and then the smoggy, humid California air gave him terrible allergies on top of it which turned into a really bad cough. But we did our best and had fun along the way!

The drive down was a lot of fun because we got to have girl talk for four straight hours which involved reading each others horoscopes and astrological signs, while analyzing why we all are the way we are (hehe). Austin surprised us all by doing a really great job in the car! Seriously, that never happens. We only made two stops and one of them included a pony ride gone wrong but at least Aunt Sadie had a good time haha.

He was so scared!

It felt good to get out and stretch our legs!

We were hungry once we got there so we ate at The Olive Garden which was the point where Austin decided to show his true colors and not let us eat. I had Grandma there to help though so we made through!

He did good long enough to get our drinks....

We were an hour early checking into the Hotel Ayres (which by the way is a GORGEOUS hotel if anyone is ever interested in taking a trip to Newport) so they made us wait until they had the room ready. Luckily there was a beautiful courtyard with a fountain to play in and take pictures :).

It was fun getting some time with Sadie to talk! We are both normally sooooo busy all the time.

He loves his Grandma :).

You have to take a crazy one.....

Attempting to keep the crazy guy from drowning. He would have happily jumped right in!

After we got all settled in, we headed to the beach! We decided to go to Huntington Beach because Sadie said it was much prettier but I think the only real difference from Newport Beach was that it was 15 minutes further down the road. We got there as the sun was setting which was a spectacular experience! Even though the sunset was to die for, Austin was the center of attention (as usual). This was his first beach trip and it was such a funny experience to watch!

He started out the experience with crying when we tried to get him to walk in the sand. He was so upset that his feet were getting dirty! He stood on one toe and did an arabesque with the other leg up in the air, crying for us to get it off of him. This shocked me and yet it didn't at the same time. At home he likes to play in the dirt and is always collecting rocks, but he hates getting dirty at any other time of the day. So if his food is too messy, he will get really upset and refuse to eat. I just assumed he would think the sand at the beach was the same as the sand at home...... I was wrong.

The picture right before the sand trauma began!

Once we got him to calm down and realize that sand can be brushed off and it is actually a really fun thing to play in, we tried moving on to the ocean. I thought he would be excited..... wrong again! We dragged him kicking and screaming to the shoreline!

He tried the dead fish tactic, thinking we would give up....

Then Grandma decided to just pick up the crazy kid and carry him the rest of the way.

Austin's attitude changed abruptly once he saw the ocean! I am so happy we got a picture of his face at that moment because it was priceless! Pure awe and amazement.....

I absolutely LOVE seeing the world through his eyes! Everything is new and exciting!

After that, we were no longer fighting to push him towards the ocean. Instead we were fighting to keep him out of it! He ran right for the water and wasn't afraid to dive right in! His lack of fear scared us to death and visions of him getting swept up in the current flashed through my mind. My back was killing me by the end of the night from bending over the entire time to hold his hand or rescue him. It was a happy pain though because my baby was in heaven and every time I looked out across the ocean at the setting sun and breathed in the salty air, I too was in a state of pure bliss :).

It started getting cold and we were worried about Austin being sick so we dragged him out of the ocean and "borrowed" a football from a group next to us to play catch with on the beach!

He loved it!

The rest of the trip feels like a blur. I went to class during the day and then we played at night. We had planned on going to the beach each night but Austin's cough got pretty bad and we didn't want him to get wet and cold every night so we only made two more beach trips that week. Each was just as fun as the first but this time Austin had no fears of the sand! He learned how to say "ocean" and would run right for the water, happily screaming, "Ocean!" We ate dinner each night at different restaurants but due to Austin, we found it easiest to order carry out and bring the food back with us to the hotel room. His coughing made it impossible for any of us to sleep since we all shared the same hotel room and there was even a point when we almost called it quits and headed home because we were worried it was turning into croup (my worst nightmare!). Luckily that was just an especially bad night and he seemed better the next morning. We all quickly became sleep deprived and were on the verge of tears more than once but we did our best to stay positive and enjoy the moment. It was just so hard keeping him entertained in the hotel room but it was also hard having the energy to continuously chase after him outside of the hotel room! I was at my wits end when he threw the TV remote out the 2 story hotel room window and my Mom was literally crying when Sadie's selfcentered-ness  provided a total lack of help while I was at work. And then there was the moment when Austin learned how to climb out of his Pack-n-Play and we realized we had no way to contain him at night and had to take turns sleeping with him in our beds which never ends happily....... But like I said,  we did our best!

My Mom's birthday fell in the middle of our trip so we celebrated at Surf City Nights! It was an outdoor market right across from Huntington Beach that had live music in the streets, bouncy houses that we paid for and Austin refused to go inside, and LOTS of amazing food! Seriously, the produce was to die for! I told my Mom everything was on me since it was her birthday and we went crazy buying fruit, hummus, salsa, and homemade mini bundt cakes to bring back to the hotel room and sing happy birthday with before we dived into their deliciousness! Another moment when I was in heaven :).

Grandma buying fresh produce!

I don't know why we bothered bringing the stroller because he spent about ten minutes in it and then insisted on pushing it around himself the rest of the night.

Happy Happy Birthday to Grandma! We love you!

Sampling the hummus.

 Earlier that day, while I was in class, Grandma and Austin spent her Birthday at the mall buying Austin presents ;). So typical!!

They went to the Disney Store and played in the children's section. That's where Austin scored his new favorite stuffed animal!

 On another day while I was in class, they played at Chuck-E-Cheese! They also spent a day at the Bird Preserve, looking for birds outside and exploring the museum. If you haven't put two and two together yet, Austin had a lot of fun this trip! I was just sad I had to miss out on most of it :(. I found myself daydreaming during class about all the fun things that were going on without me. But my work paid for basically everything so someone had to pay the price....

Playing around with the photo booth at Chuck-E-Cheese.

This one is my favorite!

Intently driving his car at the arcade.

I was surprised he even got on this horse because of how he reacted a few days prior with Sadie!

Wandering around the Bird Preserve.

Austin found a little stuffed bird to carry around as he explored the museum.

Pretty, huh!

The trip was a blast, but we were happy to go home. Exhausted doesn't even begin to describe it! Austin and I were missing Josh pretty badly. We Faceime'd with him each night and Austin asked for him constantly throughout the week. I hadn't realized how much I take him for granted until I no longer had him right there by my side. He is an amazing Dad and such a huge help with Austin! I would love to say we will be back at the beach soon, but I don't know if there is enough caffeine in the world for that! Maybe in a couple years?