The Beach

Last week we took our first trip to the beach as a family of four.  Also the first time that Addison has been down for more than a day since before the hurricane.  We weren't sure how it would go considering the beach house is still a work in progress and Ella is only 5 weeks old...but it was wonderful!  Michael took off all week last week and we decided to avoid the Memorial Day crowd by waiting to go down on Monday and we came back Thursday.

Addy was so excited to go that she put on her swimsuit Monday morning and was asking when we'd be there until she finally fell asleep in the car.  When we got there she had to head to the beach 1st thing and she went down to the water every day except Thursday.  Would have gone on Thursday but it was rainy in the morning and we had to pack up to head home.  She LOVED every minute of it.  She loved digging in the sand, making sand castles, running around in the water and "feeding" the waves.  In case you are not familiar with feeding the waves, it involves gathering a handful of shells and running/walking into the water and either gently dumping the shells into the waves as they come up or throwing the shells at the waves.  (She is quite creative these days!)

Ella went down to the beach one of the trips.  Surprise, she slept the entire time and she spent most of the time hanging out in her carrier in the back of the Expedition.  I was going to at least put her feet in the water for a quick pic, but I figured she should at least be awake for the occasion.

One thing I think that Michael and I learned this trip is that it is way more fun to go down to the actual beach when you have kids.  In the past we'd rarely actually walk down to the water, instead enjoyed lounging on the deck at the house, but it is quite fun to run around in the water and dig in the sand.  Brown sand and water and all! 

Here is Ella hanging out at the beach (the blanket around her head keeps it from flopping around as much when she is sleeping - she is getting more neck control but she is still quite floppy)

Lots and lots of digging

Lovin' the water

Zonked out on the couch after a long day of playing