At the beach

Today we went to Ventura, one of our favorite places for a day trip. It's 45 minutes away, just far enough to feel like we're out of town. It was Cora's first time near the water. We introduced her to the sand, but the water will wait until after she's had her shots. We took a long walk along the beach, and then a stroll through the downtown section before heading to Andria's for fish and chips (the best Stace has ever had, he says.)
Cora seemed to enjoy her bath tonight - no crying! At six weeks old, she has now reached 9 1/2 pounds. She is awake a lot more, especially in the late afternoon/evenings. She likes to spend time on her changing mat staring up at the wall decorations; I've found I can leave her there for quite a while (strapped in) and she will contentedly kick and wave her arms and look around, making loud breathing noises. Also, in the last couple of days she has really discovered her hands, and will put one or both in her mouth and suck loudly.