A break from the May-Gray

What a gorgeous week it has been, weather-wise. Surely it's just a break in what is known as May-Gray and June-Gloom, but we'll take it! We're missing a member of the family at the moment but that's not stopping the remaining two of us from enjoying this beautiful California weather! Actually, I should be more accurate in saying that it's not preventing Ethan from enjoying the weather, while I'm sitting at my desk working (which I am very thankful for).

The week started off perfectly...a beautiful Mother's Day. Ethan and I spent the morning at Trestles Beach with our buddies, the Mashburns, who we met in GA (they are also missing a member of their family this week). It's a short 10 minute walk down to the beach. We played in the sand, saw the trains pass by and enjoyed walking around in the tidal pool since the tide was out. Ethan had a great time...and then he hit a wall. He fell asleep just sitting in his stroller - and if you know our son, it takes either a moving vehicle or stroller to get him to sleep if he's not in his crib. He was one tuckered-out little guy. We capped off Mother's Day by enjoying a lovely Mass at Our Lady of Fatima (which overlooks the ocean) and dinner with the Mashburns. Selma's - quite possibly my new favorite pizza place! Whether or not it's truly Chicago-style has yet to be determined but it is DEEEE-LICIOUS!

The week has been pretty much par for the course for Ethan and me. Ethan gets to hang out with his best-buddy Danielle and I get to attend to the chaos known as my job. Danielle was and is a lifesaver!!! As a working from home mom, I couldn't bear the thought of dropping off Ethan at a day-care facility. Seems almost counter-intuitive (again, I know how truly blessed I am to have my cake and to eat it too). Danielle and her hubby, Greg, are another set of friends we made during our short stint in Georgia. Long story made extremely short, Danielle wound up watching Ethan for the last few weeks in GA and then accepted our offer to watch him here in California. Talk about being lucky! While I'm so glad I get to hear him squeal with laughter everyday, I'm a little jealous of how much fun they have together.

The week has been full of some fun events. Below are just a few of the exciting things happening out here in San Clemente.
The molars he's been working on for over a month have finally broken through, so Ethan isn't drooling as much (and is taking much longer naps - which are greatly appreciated).

Ethan wore his first set of sneakers - which I swear made him look 5 inches taller than he did the previous day.

Ethan is still looking for his first lacrosse game. Anyone looking to recruit a tough 13 month old??

He had his first taste of peanut butter - which he of course loved! We've found the only thing he won't eat is plain pasta noodles...I don't blame him. There needs to be some sauce!!




One of Ethan's birthday balloons got loose and is hanging out at the ceiling. Ethan swears he'll either be able to reach it, or coax it to come back down with his sweet little voice! He even climbed on Danielle for some added height...still didn't help!

Ethan found time to have a few sweet moments with his buddies Liam & Troy at the playground behind the house.
   

Jon returned home from playing in the field to find one very excited little boy waiting for him. It's hard to tell who missed who more!

After a fun-filled week, it is time for mommy & daddy to take the leap into using a brand new sitter. We didn't think it was appropriate to have Ethan join us at a bar - although he would be the coolest cat there!

As this is our second post, I will let Ethan close this one out....