Fun in the San Clemente Sun

Andrew decided to take his mommy and daddy camping at the San Clemente State Beach. It was amazing...to say the least!! Perfect weather, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, good food, and a fabulous group of people (they don't call themselves the Social Club for no reason!) We took the 'Tude to the beach and after some careful planning on Daddy's part, we were able to drop the back to overlook the stunningly, beautiful bluffs of San Clemente beach. Not a bad way to start and end your day!

Our view that we were forced to endure every morning and all day out of the back of the Tude! I know, it's pretty harsh on the eyes!

Some of the highlights included:

• Andrew took every nap on the beach (I know, it's a pretty rough life!). Since he tends to wake up before most people, especially the Social Club, mommy took Andrew for a walk on the beach every morning. It usually ended with the scene shown below! He fell asleep for his afternoon nap down on the beach as well! 

Coleen was usually the only one awake with Andrew and I in the morning! We solved all the problems of the world on our morning walks!

He had to get his beauty rest for his lifeguard lady love...read below!

• Andrew put it his feet in the ocean water and the beach sand for the first time. He loved the sand but hated the water. It was a little too cold for his liking.

• In an effort to get him comfortable with the ocean water, Kyle tried to sit with him in the sand and watch the upcoming waves. Andrew was not having it. He had a little minor panic attack until...cue Baywatch music...until, a VERY voluptuous lifeguard went running by. Seriously, the way this Pam Anderson wannabe ran by, it looked like she was running in slow-mo! And man oh man, did she ever catch his attention! He stopped crying, batted those baby blues up at her and literally, dropped his jaw and watched her run by. The moment she was out of sight, he went back to hating the water. What a little ladies man! What has Kyle been teaching him while I am at work? Nevermind...I don't want to know!

• We spent our days on the beach! It was GORGEOUS weather! But the hill to walk back up to camp was quite the hike! Either I am out of shape or that hill was brutal! (I am going to go with that the hill was brutal!)

• Blinkie light night was awesome!! It is the tradition of this crazy crew to have "Blinkie Light Night" where Rich plays songs on his guitar and while he sings everyone wears blinking light glasses. They made me dizzy but Andrew seemed to be mesmerized by them. The sea of blinking lights from the glasses certainly had Andrew's attention!

• A surprise visit from one of my volleyball families. It sure was great to see Coreen and Britney. Little did I know, they lived right across the street from the campgrounds. Andrew loved meeting them...but we all know he can't resist pretty girls!! I am in so much trouble!

• Our last night was somewhat terrifying! I was putting Andrew to bed and I thought I had heard Kyle go outside. I looked around, saw that the door was open. I heard scraping and scratching noises. I went out to the door and there, to my surprise, was Peppy Le'Pew trying to raid our trash can. Panic overcame me because all I could think about was Kyle coming around the corner and getting sprayed by our night time friend! I couldn't yell to warn him or I was afraid that I would be sprayed. Talk about an adrenaline rush! And alas, the whole time I was contemplating a game plan, Kyle came out from the front of the trailer. All this time I was worrying for nothing. I alerted Kyle of our visitor and imagine that...such a boy! He grabbed a flashlight and went out and terrorized the little critter away. Geez!

We had so much fun on our first trip to San Clemente! The Social Club certainly knows how to camp and we look forward to the many more years to come and memories. Thanks for the fun! 

Father's Day Fun!!

Father's Day this year had an extra special meaning to the Wallace Family since it was Kyle's first Father's Day! It was especially meaningful since the day almost didn't happen! For any of you that know how the Fire Department works, you can relate to trips that are forced to be postponed or cancelled due to shift changes. Fortunately, all the stars aligned and Kyle was able to enjoy his first Father's Day with his little boy!

 Just like Daddy indeed!! 

Andrew helped make Kyle's Father's Day extra special with a camping trip out to Vail Lake! Ever since we bought the 'Tude, we have tried to visit as many campsites as possible to break it in and to establish a routine that works for our family. Like Lake Skinner, Vail was close enough to home but just far enough to feel like a getaway. The campgrounds were gorgeous!! To top it off, we were the only ones camping! In acres of oak trees, you can see that the 'Tude sat all by her lonesome! And we didn't mind at all!! We enjoyed fun in the sun and Andrew LOVED playing in the pool. Despite lubing him up in all the sunscreen he can handle, I think he is tanner than me!! How is that fair?? Andrew also loved taking strolls throughout the campground in his wagon! (Let me just preface that this wagon was supposed to be Andrew's first birthday present...guess who couldn't wait to give it to his little boy??!!)

Don't mess with Andrew and his puffs!!

The lone 'Tude!! It was great having the whole place to ourselves!

Andrew also enjoyed meeting his cousins Christy and Chad who came for a visit from Texas. They came out with Gma Danelle for the day and spent time swimming in the pool. Christy is 13 weeks pregnant and Andrew enjoyed snuggling with Christy and letting Baby Dempsey know that he will be a great 2nd cousin. We can't wait for him/her to arrive!!

Father's Day was a relaxing and a fun-filled event for our little family! We can't wait to shower Daddy with lots of love in the many more Father's Days to come!

Happy Father's Day!!

Bumps n Bruises: 10 months

I can't believe it! My sweet lil man is 10 months old already! It seems like just yesterday he smiled that gummy grin for the first time or made his first coo! And now, Andrew is a fearless, adrenaline junkie, crawling machine that is pulling himself up onto anything and everything! With that, come bumps to the noggin and bruises to show! You will notice that in every picture, Andrew is rockin' some kind of goose egg or bruise! It doesn't matter how much padding is on the tables or how much I follow him around, this kid will find any surface and manage to smack his head on it! He's a rough and tough little boy I tell you!

These pics are getting VERY hard to take. Andrew doesn't sit still much these days as he is quite fond of his sense of mobility! It is amazing that I got these shots. But this one definitely depicts him saying "LET'S MOVE!!!"

Clearly, you can see he cracks himself up! He is such a delightful and lovable little boy! I am SOOOO in love!

This month has been amazing! I am FINALLY on summer vacation and reaping the rewards of spending the days with him. I am so thankful to have these moments with him. I am hoping that he will take his first steps while I am on summer vacation so that I can witness this milestone for myself, rather than from a video from Kyle. It seems like Kyle has been the one to witness Andrew hit all the major milestones, which is funny because we both thought it would be the other way around with Kyle working 72 hour shifts! Nope!! He seems to save all the action for Daddy!

I am thoroughly enjoying taking our morning walks together, eating breakfast together, and our family trips. Here are some of Andrew's favorite things this month:

• Puffs!! This little boy eats the heck out of these things and is quite territorial over them!! He loves the maple wagon wheels!
• He has a mouth full of chompers. Two on the top and two on the bottom. I think more are on the way because the hands are back in the mouth, tugging on the ears and is a drooly disaster (but a cute one of course!)
• Toast and Eggs, his new favorite morning meal!
• Watermelon: I am not surprised since watermelon is my favorite fruit and I ate so much of it when I was pregnant with him!
• Bravo TV's "superstar" commercial jingle. I admit it, I am addicted to the Real Housewives! Now that I am on summer vacation, it is time to catch up on the ole Tivo! But of course, every other commercial has the summer time jingle that causes Andrew to stop whatever he is doing and focus on the TV.  Kyle is not happy that Andrew is watching Bravo TV or the Real Housewives for that matter! 
• He is a crawling machine and constantly in 5th gear! He loves the hardwood floors and seems to get quite the momentum while cruising on them.
• He is pulling himself up onto EVERYTHING!! Thus, the bumps and bruises! I know, I know, he is a boy and this will be the first of many!
• He has belly laughs that are quite contagious!
• He babbles many words but seems to like "Ma Ma." I am not sure if he is saying this with purpose. I like to think so...Kyle is desperately trying to get him to say "Da Da!" What can I say, he is a Momma's Boy!!
• He loves the pool and water! He has learned that splashing is VERY entertaining and cracks himself at the wonder of water!
• Andrew loves paper! He loves to rip it, tear it, and crinkle it!
• He loves rides in his wagon and our daily walks in the stroller! He rides with his feet up...he must like the wind between his toes! 

Happy 10 month birthday my little man!! Mommy loves you so much!!