bittersweet

the sweet part: Tim got hired with Kern County Fire Department. which is great because it's full time! he is no longer a seasonal fire firefighter. his training academy will start next Monday.
the bitter part: he will be traveling an hour away, every day, for 8-12 hours, 5 days a week for 22 weeks!! to celebrate the new job and prepare ourselves for a crazy busy season we decided to head to the beach for a couple days. i left dirty laundry, a sink full of dishes, a messy house, a destroyed front yard (we are putting in a patio) and just left. it was so fun we didn't want to come back. now that we are back i have a lot of catching up to do. laundry is almost done, house is somewhat clean (i have an almost 1 year old-it's never totally clean), and i am almost ready to celebrate that almost 1 year old little girl! we stayed in San Luis Obispo and shopped and ate one day. and we went to Avila the next day and had a picnic on the beach.
                              

4th of July

for E's first fourth of July (my second favorite holiday) we went to Santa Barbara for the weekend. Tim's mom and her husband rented a house 100 feet from the beach and invited us and Tim's two brothers and their wives and kids. we left Friday morning shortly after Tim got home and arrived about 2:30 pm. we immediately went down to the beach to enjoy the sunshine and beautiful beach. E LOVED the beach! she crawled, sat, explored, ate some sand, climbed over rocks, and smiled a grin so big i thought she was going to poop her pants (which she did).

once we got back to the house, it was a different story. E woke up Saturday morning with a runny nose. a change in the weather, maybe? then she got rosy little cheeks and a low fever. getting sick, maybe? her fever broke and all that was left was a fussy, clingy, runny nosed little girl who couldn't stop biting and drooling on my shoulder. teething. ugh, while we were on vacation. 4 hours from home and the comfort of her own bed. needless to say, the next two nights were spent trying to console a hurting, tired baby without waking up the whole house. which she did. both nights. once we got home on Monday afternoon she went right back to her sweet, happy self, with a runny nose. she went right back into her bedtime routine and slept all night. although, we kept her up an extra hour so she could watch fireworks for the first time. our dear friends, Marissa and Jake, had everyone over to their house to watch the fireworks at the bowl from their front yard. we did the same thing last year. but this year E was there, in my arms, staring in awe at the sky. not in my tummy. it made me happy and sad at the same time. i loved every minute of being pregnant with her. it was a whole different feeling of closeness to her. i was never alone. but now she is here, and she is amazing, and my life is forever changed for the better because of her.

saying hello to her bff, Stella, at Marissa and Jake's

daddy and E. my two favorite people

i couldn't get her to keep that cute thing on

so i cute off the bow and attached it to a clip



happy first 4th of July, sweet baby