Beach Day

Today since Justin left early this morning and My family was all at a wedding I decided to pack up with Davis and head to the beach. Growing up whenever I needed some cheering up I would drive down Kanan road and sit at the beach. It was the perfect way to relax and just get a clear perspective on life. So that is what we did, we sat and relaxed. The weather was beautiful it wasn't warm to go in the water but it was sunny and quiet. The waves were beautiful and there was no wind at all. I could have sat there forever. It took Davis a minute or two to get used to the feeling of sand on her feet, and sure how to deal with it at first. She warmed up fast and was truckin around in no time. She walked with me down to the water where she proceeded to wave at everyone who walked by. There was this adorable mom there with her kids and Davis sure liked them. She waved and smiled made them laugh. The mom was a great lady and we had a wonderful talk about being a mom and all the joys it brings. As we were talking I was watching Davis be so cute and happy and I fell in love with her again. This year has been very good and very challenging, and she has made all of it better. It was fun to be at the beach with her and watching her have as much fun there as I had growing up.

So here is a full recap of the day:

Beach

Figuring out the sand

Loving the sand

Running and walking everywhere

Getting very close to the water and being very brave

Being cute and waving to everybody around

Getting to know a cute family

Chasing seagulls

Feeding seagulls cheerios

chasing more seagulls

cuddling with me while watching the waves

and of course making everyone around smile

Falling asleep about a minute after getting in her car seat

took a 2 hour nap (she hasn't done that this whole vacation)

I could do this everyday!!!

Here is the view from one of the turn offs on Kanan road.

Love

Sitting watching the waves and having my baby girl close is heaven.

Cuddle bug!

Just the two of us

Plyo training on the beach. She has start some time right.

Her and this seagull had a ten minute stare down. The seagull blinked first for sure.

The cute family that was so sweet to me and Davis.

Davis was waving at the family behind me. Look at those eyes!

Sand in the toes

Love

She was just looking at the sand on her feet. This is when she was unsure about what to think about it.

This was a good day, we might repeat it tomorrow.

The cake

Final Product on the table with the balloons.

next time I will use better icing to pipe on the face.

For Davis' first birthday I wanted to have a really great cake. When we knew we were going to be in California for her birthday I started to price out cakes. I wanted a really cool Minnie mouse cake because the theme was mickey mouse clubhouse. I was more than shocked at how expensive it was to have a professional cake made even just to feed 10-15 people. So that was when I decided that I would have to channel my inner cake maker and do it myself. Over the last two months I have been gathering the right tools and things to do it. I practiced using fondant once even though my plan was to practice a lot more. So after my practice cake I just looked at the design and tried to picture what I

wanted and how I was going to do. In my head I had the exact plan and steps of how I was going to construct this cake. The night before I made all the cake, stacked them and frosted them. The next morning I got up early to finish it and start the hardest part. I was so surprised at how smoothly each step went. I took my time and made sure that I followed the steps that I had in my head for two months. It did take forever though, I was shocked how long it took me to make it start to finish. So I got all the fondant on and Justin with his artistic capabilities put the face on for me. I must it turned out great, and when Davis saw it she actually started to squeal because she could recognize that it was Minnie. I am so proud of what I was able to do with no training and very little practice. It just made the whole day and party so fun. And yes it was good red velvet cake with chocolate fudge filling.

The girl turned 1!!

Yesterday was Davis' first birthday. I really can't believe that it has been a year already with our little angel. This year has brought many a new experience for our little family. Some good, some bad, some easy, some hard. I will tell you this though, that all of them were made better because of her. I have loved seeing her grow and develop this whole year.

We are here in California with my family for the holidays which means that they got to be apart of her first birthday. Justin's Parents also decided to drive over from Arizona to be a part of the festivities. The day started out great with her waking up in a great mood (which is actually pretty normal for her.) We sang to her right when she woke up. Then Justin and Davis went with his parents to Santa Monica while I was here making her cake and getting ready for the family party that night. They had a great time there, they danced to music, hugged dogs, and chased pigeons. While they were out I worked for hours on her cake, I had no idea how long it was going to take but it was worth it. I had a vision and surprisingly I was able to bring that vision to life. We had a lot of fun with all the family especially the cousins Ava and Seth.

We opened presents, she got clothes, books, blocks, and a little bike thing that she can ride around the house. Luckily her legs are long because they actually touch the ground. It was a great time. After presents we did the whole cake thing. I was looking forward to seeing her dig in and go crazy, but like the girl that she is she gently poked at it and ate it slowly. It was so cute and so Davis.

She is an absolute dream to have and a blessing to our family. She has the ability to bring happiness to whomever is around her. A gift that I hope I can help her cultivate and appreciate as she grows. We love her so much.

One year stats

Height: 31 inches (95+ percentile)

Weight: 19lbs 11ounces (45 percentile)

Head: 17 inches (50 Percentile)

PICTURES TO COME... STAY TUNED...

Merry Christmas!

We had our ward Christmas party a couple weeks ago while Justin was in Hawaii. I was so excited to have Davis see Santa for the first time. I was also sad because Justin was going to miss seeing his little girl sit cute and peacefully on Santa's lap and smile. She has never had a problem with people or animals so I figured that Santa was no problem. We waited in line and played with other kids and talked she was happier even than usual which is hard for her because she is pretty much perfect all the time. We walked into the room and walked up to Santa... She took one look at him and was not having any of it. I kinda froze because freaking out was not part of the plan. So I gathered my thoughts and threw her on his lap snapped a picture and bolted. Luckily they had someone there taking pictures so it all took a split second. I walked away mortified that my child was the one that didn't like Santa, but as I walked down the hall I heard another terrified cry coming from the Santa room. I feel bad but I am glad someone else had a Santa melt down too.