1st Birthday Trip: Lemon's Birthday!

You guys, today FLEW by! Today was my little baby's birthday and it just seemed like a regular day, I think I'm still in shock that she's one. And just lately, like in the last 2 days, have I felt like someone's mom, it took almost a year for that feeling to settle in.

So much happens all at once, when you have a baby, and you are thrust into this new role and no one admits that it doesn't feel normal at first, because it's a new normal for you. It takes time to become a mother, then it takes time to really feel like a mother. It is the weirdest thing and only other moms would know what I mean. 

I have loved my role as a mother but it has been hard, I'm going to just say it, and for someone that's a planner and expects things to go as I imagine them, it has been extremely difficult letting go, and trusting others, including my husband. But, I am so thankful for my parents, my in-laws, my friends, my extended family and for Ian; mostly for dealing with my craziness, helping me along the way but also for loving this baby more than anything. We couldn't have come this far without all of you. And I would like to add that our IG family has also kept me sane, offering love and support when I needed it most.

So today I am not sad, her birthday is a celebration. It is not only a celebration for Lemon but for us too, that we survived and became pretty great parents, even though most of the time I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. But, everyone is healthy, happy and we are so lucky to have each other.

 

 

We started this morning nursing on our 365th day. I never thought we would get here and I am SO proud of us!

And then I took a picture tour of our 26 foot Luv 2 Camp trailer in case anyone wants to use this company. If I were to do it next time I'd get the bigger trailer, for sure, and I don't know if I'd go with this company. I liked them but the trailer was pretty outdated and shabby and they pick it up by 10am, even though the park's checkout wasn't until 12, so we had to clean and pack up all morning.

If Lemon would have been walking, it would have been better but instead she crawled all over gross, sandy floors and was always underfoot. I didn't realize it had bunks and if I were to do it again, with another baby, I would bother with a pack n' play, we could have just bought one of those wooden tension dog gates and put it up on the bottom bunk, would have saved so much space, the pack n' play was a pain but Lemon won't sleep in bed with us.

Speaking of sleep, she went to bed around 8:30 again last night but then woke up at 2 so I tried to bring her in bed. Ian snores and rolls too much so I ended up in her pack n' play, nursing her to sleep. Then she popped up a couple more times and I had to just go out and put my hand on her so she knew I was there. Then she was up at 6:30am so was a total grump all morning, wouldn't even eat, and ended up falling right to sleep at 8:45.

View from bedroom out.

Living area (couch folds out into bed)

Kitchen

Bunks

Closet before bathroom. There was a ton of storage, which I liked.

We had 30 gallons of water for 3 nights and 4 days and we did it, we didn't run out!

Sleepy breakfast baby. We had to put on Yo Gabba while we packed up because she was just so grumpy and tired!

Asleep, thank goodness. She slept about an hour and 15 minutes but woke up tired again because I think I woke her cleaning but the guy was coming at 10!

After her nap.

Bye bye trailer! 

We decided we needed coffee and our hotel said they couldn't check us in until 3pm so we stopped at Panera because I like the big mugs! Lemon had a fruit cup, the girl loves fruit, but yawned the whole time. 

I had Ian drive by our hotel so that maybe I could plead my, "we are traveling with a one year old and it's her birthday today can you let us know when our room is ready" case but I didn't have to, it was ready!

We have stayed at the Coronado Inn for years and years now and absolutely love it. It's not the nicest but it's one of the cheapest and has a totally cheesy beachy vine that we dig. Plus it's a short walk to the harbor and super close to the grocery store we love with lots of restaurants all around (and I've been glutened at most of them!).

Happy to have space to crawl I think.

Moved the second bed a bit to fit the pack n' play.

So happy we have regular chairs to attach the folding travel booster seat I bought! No more holding and eating!

Cheese and organic sausage for lunch.

Lemon was still so tired and grumpy, maybe the gloomy weather? So we plugged the monitor in, put her to bed and sat outside. I drank a vodka drink (see mommies get to celebrate too!) and Ian worked on sanding another ring. It was cold! Then a fire truck went past 45 minutes later and Lemon was up. Ugh.

This STILL sleepy, grumpy girl wouldn't go back to sleep, even with cuddles, so we walked to the harbor so she could get even more tired before bed. And of course we had to snap birthday pics! (We took some with my real camera too, I will include those in my year post!)

We knew there was a Cold Stone on our walk and thought Lemon needed some birthday ice cream. Ian got chocolate peanut butter something, of course, and I shared my strawberry and banana with Lemon.

As we headed to the store to pick up some water, the sun came out so we stopped for more photos. Lemon was thirsty so I stepped away from the people, found a gorgeous, secluded spot and nursed my one year old.

We watched Wall-e while make gf spaghetti in the room:

Ian wanted to get Lemon a watermelon, one of her new favorites and put a candle in it, so we did. Then she scarfed it and didn't even touch her spaghetti. 

Mine was delicious though (even though I may have been a bit drunk!).

And you really take for granted not, continuously available water so we all took long, hot showers, it was awesome!

I always tell Ian to start calming Lemon down before bed but then I find them doing stuff like this!

So, now it's 8 and Lemon is falling asleep on me just like the past two nights. We tried putting a movie on and putting her in the pack n' play to watch and then fall asleep but she didn't, she cried even though we are in the same damn room. Sully baby.

So today was a big day for our little girl but was kind of uneventful (and there wasn't a lot to take pictures of). If we wouldn't have been able to check in to the hotel we might have gone to the zoo or something but we were all just so tired and kind of happy to no longer be camping, even though waking up right on the beach was amazing and I'm glad we did it!

Happy birthday to my baby girl. I will do a birthday post later when I have time to get my thoughts/words in order and am not so exhausted. We love you more than anything and are so happy you are ours. I love that we get to be on this amazing trip together, to celebrate this past year for all of us. We are so lucky.