California!

Audrey and I are having a wonderful time in So Cal. We miss Daddy though, of course! So far we're enjoying swimming, spending time in the beautiful sunshine, going shopping, and today we had an amazing time sightseeing around LA. I'll cut the chit chat and get right to the good stuff: pictures! WARNING: this post is extremely IMAGE HEAVY, to say the least!!!

Audrey LOVES the pool and constantly asks to get in. She wears that blue star around her waist (or carries it on her arm) whenever able... saying "I like the star! I like the star!" over and over.


Kicking!



I am starting to realize that Audrey loves water, possibly more than anything else in her little world right now (besides the people she loves of course!). She and my Dad and I found a fountain nearby on a walk we took one night...



Going out on the town with my Mom!

My Dad and I:

The J Paul Getty Museum - what an incredible place!!! BEAUTIFUL!


Such appealing clean lines... everything was so classy and clean feeling...

Again with the water!


My girl loves water, so so much... did I mention her obsession with water?!

Snack time!

Aka, coffee time for mommy...


The views from the Getty are absolutely gorgeous.





I really enjoyed walking through the gardens.







Such a happy girl! She has been so bouncy and cheerful during 95% of our trip so far! I love my sweet girl.

An awesome view of LA.

Here is the view from the entrance to the J.L Gerome exhibit, which was FAN-freaking-TASTIC!!!! I loved it and spent a long time looking at his work. The detail, usage of light and shadow, humor and political context, and facial expression were all exquisite. I could actually feel myself present in many of his paintings just by standing in front of them. Anyway... too bad they didn't allow photography, so no pics for you! :p



Driving through Beverly Hills, which I've seen before many times but it was still fun to drive through:
The House of Blues... rather unimpressive if you ask me...

Sunset Blvd.

After the Getty Museum, we checked out a very classy shopping spot in LA that is adjacent to an amazing farmer's market, which I loved very much.



We took Audrey into the American Girl store... oh my... either it was a big mistake or a very good thing, because she loved it. She kept saying "Dolly, mommy! dolly!"




Our last stop was this AMAZING farmer's market. Seriously, if I lived nearby I'd be here constantly.



I had an iced capp.... oh... my.. gosh... HEAVENLY. Yum.




"Wahhh, I'm tired and over stimulated, take me home!"

And take her home we did. Although, she ended up getting car sick and puking all over herself in the car. It was nasty.

More to come as our trip progresses! From Orange County... it's Saturday night! Omg. I need sleep.

Catching Up - Or Trying!

It has been awhile, hasn't it? I don't think I ever posted my pictures from California, *sigh*. We have certainly been busy. My free time has been tied up with some projects of my own, so I haven't had a lot of time for blogging, which is quite time consuming, believe it or not!

Audrey is growing, talking, and developing like crazy. She's such a sweet, cheerful little girl and my heart positively explodes with love for her on a daily basis. We have a lot of fun together! I must admit that we've had a bad case of cabin fever lately with the snow that keeps piling up in central Ohio. We can't wait for SPRING! Oh to take walks every day and play at the playground!


I will try to post more. I have a lot of creative ideas and would love to funnel them into this blog, but they are being funneled elsewhere for the time being. :) Meanwhile, please enjoy some pictures.

Highlights from California:

We LOVED being at the beach.

A BEAUTIFUL victorian castle turret in a hidden cove at Laguna. Thanks Noel for the tip - what a fun time we had there!

Playing at the playground:

Whale watching:

We didn't see whales, but we saw dolphins - they were so cool!!!

Audrey loved the boat ride for the first half hour, although the remaining 2 hours was... interesting.

My wonderful, beautiful parents:

Photos that my talented father took during a little photo shoot we did with Audrey:

This is a real face. This photo didn't happen by accident.

This is one of my faves. She isn't really crying, only using her wiles to get her way. So typical, so funny, so cute!

Grandma and Grandpa and one happy little monkey!

We had a GREAT time. I always love being there, spending precious time with my family and enjoying the weather. We went to the beach quite a few times and I enjoyed every second. I miss living in So Cal so very much. There are disadvantages to every location, but since I don't live there anymore I they don't bother me! :) I grew up there so perhaps nostalgia helps. Anyway. Thanks Mom, Dad, Kim, and Liz for sharing your home for two weeks with a crazy, loud, nosy little monkey. Can't wait to see you again!