In spite of my mile-long list of worries about air travel with a spirited 14-month-old, in late August the Little Miss and I boarded a plane to San Diego for 2 weeks of seaside bliss.  Thank the Lord, Nena (my mom) offered to travel with us…and even convinced a sweet old lady in the adjoining aisle seat that she “would be much more comfortable” if she moved to the middle seat a few rows back…the one in between two very large men.  Good thing she did because after sitting on the tarmac for 45 minutes, my nap-deprived Little Jet-Setter lost her cool and digressed into an arm flailing, voice howling meltdown.  You know, the kind of meltdown that is so bad that all you can do it close your eyes, hold on tight, and pray over and over again: “let it end, please let it end!”

And it did.  Eventually. Praise God.

After surviving the theatrics of our flight, we made it to sunny SD and launched into a fantastic vacation. Hosted by Nena and Pops, my Little Chatterbox and I spent the first week catching up with dear friends while we enjoyed the beach, the park, and all things outside (we LOVE San Diego weather!).  And then over the second week we were joined by Daddy Mike, Uncle Will, and the Little Lovebug’s fabulous Godparents, Martha and Jeff.

We had a blast!!!

Our daily visits to the beach were so refreshing.  The Little Miss is a Little Fish, and she would charge right into the water…no matter if waves were coming!  Suffice to say, swim classes will be in our future next summer.

 

The only UN-fun times were when a certain Little Someone, who will remain nameless, was restrained (against her will).  If looks could kill…

Playgrounds are our Little Daredevil’s new best friends, especially since she learned how to go down the slides all by herself.  Revelation!

The beach and the playgrounds were also where our Little Crawler officially graduated up to being a Little Walker.  And boy oh boy is she excited about it!  (And with each more confident step, this Mama made a mental note of all the items she still needed to baby-proof at home…yikes!)

Spending time with Annabelle’s Godparents, Martha and Jeff, was a special treat.  They live in Tucson now, but made the trek out to Cali to spend a few fun-filled days with us.  They even got to partake in the Little Merrymakers’s first carousel ride!

We also got to spend one WHOLE day with Uncle Will, and celebrate his birthday.  Will is a true jet-setter, and we like to live vicariously through all of his many adventures.  Hopefully one of them will bring him to NC this year for a visit (hint, hint!)!

It was a great trip…one that we will definitely repeat again in the years to come.
Thanks, Nena and Pops!  We love you!