Brit and I had a fun little outing Monday down on Balboa Island. I was in the area picking up something for Mark (Guitar Hero Drums–we have a full set now) and decided it would be fun to take him.

I love crossing that little bridge onto the island and being greeted by the old-fashioned-looking shops and adorable beach houses. It brings fond memories of my childhood rushing to mind and I could wander around for hours. We found a great parking spot and took the semi-short walk to the beach/docks. There really isn’t much sand or beach there, with all of the small private piers and the ropes anchoring small craft. But, we did find a place where he could touch the sand and the water.

He was so excited he just stood there for a couple of minutes looking at the water and trying to decide what to do. Once he figured he wanted to touch the water he walked down the incline with pretty good balance, till this:

He looked around trying to find a way to stand back up without touching the sand with his hands. After a moment he “snow-angeled” his legs and started to touch the sand, but still didn’t like it.

When he got to touch the water he started splashing. It is his water activity of choice, so there was a lot of that going on. But, he did have to drive an hour in those clothes, so it didn’t get too out of control.

As we walked back to the main street–well, I carried him this time because there was sand in his shoes and he didn’t like it–we searched for a place to grab a little lunch. A sit down place? No. $7 for a basic turkey sandwich? I don’t think so.

So, this became lunch:

I have to say, he quite enjoyed it. We did have something healthy too–an APPLE, RAISIN, OATMEAL cookie…no really, it had a whole layer with chunks of apples and raisins in it. It might have been the best cookie like that I’ve ever had.

I really enjoyed our little afternoon outing. Spending time with Brit is so fun because he has such a fun personality and is learning so much all the time. Even though I’m with him all the time I sometimes feel like I don’t spend the time with him like I should since I’m trying to get work done.

But, lately I’ve been trying to just spend those minutes engaging with him and playing. He’s so funny and makes so many faces–he started doing “O” face again and saying “Ohhhh” when he’s excited about something.

Brit found my camera in the diaper bag and wanted to know how it worked, so I turned it on and showed him how to take a picture. He took over from there…

I love his creative use of color, light and perspective.

Notice the choice of depth perception and partial view of his subject.

Not nearly as interesting, but he’s experimenting with realism here, so…

So, I’ll have a more interesting post about our weekend soon, but as I was getting photos off of my camera, I realized that I hadn’t done it in a while and had some pics that should’ve been posted long ago…enjoy.

My great friend Teresa came out just before his birthday…it was a great visit, and he loved her.

Britton is a lounger. He loves to slide down in his highchair and lean on back…

We went on a walk with Mav and Paige on his birthday…they seemed to have fun.

Earlier, Brit got to enjoy Mav’s toys all alone while Mav napped. I think he loved it!

We made the trek…to the other side of town…and went to the zoo.

It was Shanni’s idea, so we went with her and Teo and a couple of her friends with kids. The day was hot, but the company was good and Brit liked the animals a tad bit more than 9 months ago! But not nearly as much as he likes fish. His new sign is “doggie” and that’s what most of the animals were to him. He did it over and over.

Random thoughts on my motherhood…

I love my little Britty. Yes, I call him Britty. I love being his mom. He is such a sweet and loving little boy. He’s so helpful and generous with tender little feelings. He’s funny and inquisitive and quite athletic (I don’t know where he got it.) He helps me stop and just enjoy the little moments when we read a story–preferably his ones about fish or shapes or peek-a-boos.

He definitely knows what he wants–or doesn’t–and lets us know.  But, is also so easy going that we can cart him all over the valley every Saturday and he hardly makes a peep. Doggies get him really excited and he’s thrilled to sign it to us. I love watching him discover something new and try a trick over and over again. When he goes to sleep I love watching his deep, even breathing and will him to wake up so  I can hold him again.

He makes being worn out and having a messy house worth it.

And, I was excited for Mother’s Day because I got to reflect on all of the amazing to be his moms in my life and how there are so many different types of mothers. Thank you to all of the wonderful women in my life who inspire me to be the best mom I can be.

And, as much as I love Brit, I think he’s a bit attached to me too. When he’s hurt or upset or tired he likes to go to me first. To show his appreciation, he got me a movie and a game for the Wii. Mark made a delicious breakfast and dinner and cleaned up almost all the dishes. (Maybe next year he’ll actually help.)

I love my guys. Thanks for making my day so special!

Missing post? Yes. I did miss a post. Why? Well, the past couple of weeks we’ve been going non stop.

We (Sprout Shell) participated in the Baby Celebration LA the 25th and 26th and it went pretty well. We learned a lot, made some good contacts and are looking forward to working with a few more stores. Yay! We’re excited for the fun things that have been happening lately. Unfortunately we didn’t make it in the StartUp Nation Leading Mom’s in Business competition, but we do thank you for all the votes and support!

The day after the expo my aunt Teri and I drove with Brit up to Utah for my sister Shaela’s wedding. It was a long drive. Brit’s never gone all in one day before, so I think he did really well.

It was pretty busy the first couple of days getting the business things taken care of, then we had a bachelorette party and a “rehearsal dinner” with the wedding party and immediate family. It was fun meeting Ethan’s parents and sisters. Shaela and I even have in-laws with the same names…Karen and Dennis.

The wedding day was crazy as they usually are. But, it turned out beautifully…

Ethan and the cutest ring bearer ever!

Cake and bouquet

Nice cake feeding

Mark tried to get the details that are important and sometimes get over looked.

Congrats! We love you!

The next day we drove up to Burley, Idaho to visit our friends Ashley and Jason who moved there in January. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere. But, it was a nice little old-fashioned town. We had a great visit just hanging out. Ashley and I went to the Walmart to get dinner and got to  catch up a little bit. Hudson and Britton are only 2 weeks apart (Brit’s older) but they didn’t interact too well. Oh well, maybe next time.

After the whole night we didn’t even get a picture! (Another reason for not posting-no pictures lately) We were happy we got to see them though. Miss you guys!

Saturday night we had dinner with my good friend Holly at her house. I haven’t seen her in forever and  it was so fun to catch up. (Again, no pictures. we totally slacked!) Thanks Hol

We were happy to see everyone and spend time out of the ordinary and visit with friends.

Brit is getting so grown up. He tries talking all the time now and finally does signs for milk and dog. He’s definitely got that one down. It’s fun seeing him learning so much and trying new things. He is all over the place now and we have to watch him constantly though. But, he said “hi daddy” the other day when Mark got home. Mom? never. Oh well.

PS–his hair is curly now!

We have a natural on our hands. Brit loves to make people laugh. He does little things over and over again if we laughed the first time he did it. Then he comes up with new things he thinks will be funny. Whenever he has a new audience he tries his tricks out on them too. He has the most expressive eyebrows and eyes I’ve ever seen on a baby. Another trick–his head bob. He bows his head and does a little bob. He’ll do it over and over as long as he’s getting a laugh. Lip smacking–another new one. And, he says ‘mmmmmm’ whenever he eats something he likes.

Last night he had tears rolling down our cheeks because he had such a silly expression. Then he kept doing it as we laughed. After a while he started laughing too.

This morning’s hilarity. Man, that headband must’ve tasted good.

So, this past weekend we drove up to Utah for my sister Shaela’s bridal shower, Mark’s Mission Reunion, and unfortunately didn’t make it to our other Big Event–Hudson’s birthday party! Sorry buddy, we hope to see you soon! On the way up we ran into a big snow storm. Yes, this is April. Not fun. Luckily it was only about 30 miles that we had to go through the major part of it.

We had a nice time at the reunion, but he wished there were people there that he actually served with and knew better. His mission president and wife were so nice though.

The shower was fun. We had a beach theme and our house was packed!

Another hair cut. His grows super fast. First one from Aunt Shaela. He was really good the whole time.

The girls. Me, Mom, Chezney, Shaela.

Brit with Grandma and Aunt Teri. He loves them both a lot.

And, Brit got to see his cousin Spencer for the first time since they were like a month old. Brit wasn’t too interested in playing, but there were no major incidents to report.

We also saw how much house you can get for so little money in out of the way places. Shaela and Ethan just got a house that’s huge for under $170! It is really far from much cvilization other than all the other new houses by it, but still. It still, it makes me a little jealous. Congrats guys!

Brit is getting better at walking and can almost go across the room now. He lets go of things and tries venturing off on his own. He can even turn a little bit.  It’s still fun now, but I’m sure pretty soon I will be wishing he still needed to be carried everywhere.

What a busy week we’ve had, and it’s sure been fun!

At Brit’s 1 year doctor’s appointment he was declared to be in fine health and just fine in his development.

Stats? Not too different from those I posted last week…I guess I’m getting good at judging. He does weigh a little more… 8 lbs 13 oz. He’s at or below the 10th% in height, weight and head circumference–which is like 3 or 4% but, he hasn’t deviated too far from his curve so the doc isn’t concerned. He may be in his rear-facing car seat till he’s 2, but fortunately he doesn’t mind it much…especially since he still loves his froggy musical toy that’s attached.

His Grandma Karen came to visit too and was so fun to play with. They had a great time reading his books, playing with his farm animals and spending time together. Mark and I even got to go hang out with friends without Brit for the first time. Brit was sleeping, Karen was falling asleep and Mark desperately needed a hair cut…can you say 2 1/2 months! so we ventured to our all-night hair salon aka Kristie and Jared’s. Whenever we’ve gone out without Brit before it’s been to an event or something…not like we’d get a babysitter to just go hang out. But, it was nice.

Then we got to go out again on Friday night…we went to dinner AND an actual movie in the movie theatre! That’s been a while. Thank you Karen!

Saturday we loaded all our goodies up and headed to the park for Brit’s Fishy Party!

Brit’s favorite thing about his party? The balloons!

The spread, consisting of all things fishy: Goldfish, Swedish Fish, Shrimp, Fishy shaped PB & J, Fishy shaped sugar cookies, and of course, his Fish cake!

About the extent of his interest in the cake…boring!

What’s a party without some swinging?

Brit and his Kristie

Buddies Paige and Mav

Grandma! Yay!

Fun Teo!

Thanks to our true and wonderful friends who came and shared the day with us. I appreciate you more than you know.

Sadly Grandma had to leave us the next day. Thanks for everything! It was great having you around.

A year ago we got the most amazing and precious gift. At 10:32 pm Britton was born and we learned about true joy. I can’t even believe  it’s been a year already.

Born 7 lbs 1 oz.  19 1/4 inches

Now 18 lbs 4 oz. 29 1/4 inches

He was so happy and cheerful today. Like he knew it was his birthday and it was a special day. Even without a morning nap–apparently he’s a big boy now–and an hour afternoon nap–an even bigger boy–he was still sweet and excited and had lots of fun.

He loved his bath toys…and books

Then we had lunch with Mark at Sharkey’s–he loved his quesedilla and black beans. Then we went to Crumbs for him to pick out his birthday cupcake. He picked a vanilla one with a raspberry cream cheese frosting.

Then we went to the party store and he got a balloon. I’m pretty sure that was his favorite present.

We went over and played with Mav for a while and then went on a walk.Well, Brit got to play with Mav’s toys while he slept.

We had pasta for dinner and he loved it…sorry no messy face pics this time.

Time for cake! He’s never had any before, but likes other sweets. So I thought he’d love this….

Not so much. All he wanted to do was pick all the sprinkles off. He took bites when I gave them to him, but he had no interest in eating it himself.

We had such a fun day. We’re so happy that he is in our lives and we get to be his parents. He is such a sweet angel! Thank you to everyone for the well wishes. He appreciates them all.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Seriously, he ate his whole portion and half of mine too. He kept doing his scrunchie face in delight.

I think this is Brit blowing kisses.  He really likes to do it now, almost as much as bye-bye. Those poor red cheeks are getting better. I finally took him to the doctor on Friday because I was concerned it was an allergy or a virus or something serious because it started to spread onto his forehead and side. This was only the 2nd time he’s been to the doctor other than his “well-baby” visits. I really only take him when I think there’s something wrong…but alas, both times they came up with nothing. Doc just said it’s dry skin, put lotion on it. Like I hadn’t been. But, we got new stuff, and it appears to be working. They’re just a little rosy now.

Brit’s also decided to become an escape artist. He’s still in the early learning stages, so this is as far as he got. Seriously–how did he do that? He wasn’t very happy about it either. He was getting very upset the longer I took to get him out. But I couldn’t not get a picture…

This week he’s getting better at saying “this” or “that” and pointing to what he wants. Makes it so much easier when he refuses a bite to know what he wants. Though, he’s getting a bit of an attitude too. When he’s mad he lets me know and loves knocking things onto the floor. Especially his drink.

Mark and I have noses and mouths now. Still eyes sometimes, but noses are the most fun. And, a while ago Mark came up with the fun game of clapping his shoes together and making a loud sound. Brit laughed his head off…lots of fun. Now, Brit tries to do it with all shoes. He picks them up all the time and tries clapping them. Even his own. Awesome. At least he’s not trying to eat them anymore.

One more week…