Beach Boy

On Friday we took a small impromptu trip to Folly Beach. Christopher's best friend was in town for a week from North Dakota and rented a beach house. We went down at about 4, 5ish. I was so so so excited to take Austin to the beach. I LOOOOVE the beach so much. My beach buddy Emily left me to move to Washington STATE (what is up with that? Dumb husband in the dumber Army... ;)) so I haven't been as much and Christopher likes to go when I can't (whateverrrr).

I had so much fun with Austin. He LOVED the ocean. I was kinda scared he wouldn't like it because he was NOT a fan of the pool at the apartment, but he LOVED IT! He watched the waves and laughed when he got splashed. He's definitely my boy :) It was a beautiful evening and I'm so happy we drove down there. He sat in his stroller for a little while after we "swam" and the wind was blowing on him and he was screaming and laughing. It was so incredibly cute! My little beach bum! I am thrilled he liked it so much. And we of course got a couple shells from his first visit to the beach! Since our apartment is a beach/Charleston theme I think I'm going to frame them in a little shadow box thingy-ma-bobber.

His legs started getting cold so we headed back to the beach house and I rinsed him off in the bath (he did NOT like that...), got him dry and dressed, and we cuddled up on the couch under a blanket and watched a movie while Christopher finished playing with his friends. ;) During this time Austin ate 2 grapes like a champ. He is loooooving food.

Here are some pics from the trip. Try not to overdose on the cuteness that is Austin.

and that, my friends, is my new favorite picture :)

Please vote for us in the Top Baby Blogs. We're on the THIRD page! We used to be on the first! ;'( Austin is sad about this...

BTW I will have an awesome cloth diaper review and giveaway up ASAP. I'm having technical photo issues.

Summer Time Through A Baby's Eyes

I HEART the summer. It's my favorite time of year (Well except for last year, I hated it. But I was pregnant and didn't have AC in my house, so it was allowed). Now that we're living in this super awesome apartment we have an even super awesomer pool! It was FREEZING cold and Austin was a little less than thrilled, but we had a good time nonetheless. Once it gets closer to 100 down here instead of 85-90 it won't be as bad.

Yes I know I need a tan. Hush.

This year will be fun with Austin, but I am guessing next year will be even better. He'll understand fun Charleston activities like the aquarium and turtle releases and the beach... Playgrounds and swimming and the zoo... But there is something about this first year I hope I remember forever. Watching the world through his eyes is so neat. His laughing at some silly sound I make is so funny! His watching fish swim in the aquariums is so inspiring. The little things in life we just take for granted are not lost on babies. A goldfish, a bright color, a funny sound, a soft texture... We should all be more like babies, taking everything in like it's new and wonderful!

Couponing

I went to the grocery store this week. I bought all store brand items and my bill was STILL over $200! Thankfully it'll last us a few weeks, but still, so annoying.

My friend Elizabeth is this ninja coupon-er. She literally spends $1 instead of $50. I'm not kidding. Check out her blog, The Crafty Charlestonian and read her blog posts. She took pictures of her receipts!

Awhile back I asked her HOW IN THE WORLD do you do this? The Southern Saver's website is so confusing I couldn't figure it out on my own. However Elizabeth was moving and about to have a baby and then I had Austin, so our date to get together so she could show me kept getting pushed back because of life!

Now Elizabeth is teaching her own workshops! For only $10 I'm going to get an awesome 15 page how-to guide and learn how to save hundreds of dollars at Publix, CVS, and Walgreens, and I CAN'T WAIT!

She has couple workshops this month and is already booking up QUICKLY for next month. If you'd like to join me on the 27th or learn to save on another date, visit Elizabeth's blog for details! She asks for you to register so she can get a head count! It's so easy!