Stinky starfish

T cleaning his sea treasures

Yesterday I took full advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and took T over to Santa Cruz for a few hours before work. We went to a new beach this time, not our regular stomping ground at Twin Lakes. We went to a small beach called Live Oak which is near The Point off of 41st, it is a small little inlet in the middle of a quaint neighborhood, not very busy, close parking, and on this particular day there were tons of seashells and other sea treasures for us to collect! We even found a bright pink starfish - it was half hidden under the dry sand near where we were sitting, and was still soft and its little fingers reactive so after I took some quick pictures I had T "save it" and put it back in the ocean where it belongs. I don't know how long it had been out of the water, and not sure if it was too late for our little starfish friend but I hope it made it. And boy was that little guy stinky!

On days like this when I can visit my favorite place, the beach, enjoy the salty air, sun, relax and watch T run around the sand and splash in waves, I can't help but feel just overwhelmingly blessed and truly lucky to be able to experience this with my adorable, amazing son. Being his mommy gives me the greatest sense of joy and pride.

Also, I realize that, once we do have another baby, these day trips will become fewer and far between...just not as convenient and easy to pull off on a whim as they occur with one child. Recognizing this just helps me to appreciate the one and one time I have with T, the special bond we have together just the two of us, and how precious he is.