Brooklyn Goes to the Beach

Last week was our annual trip to Fripp Island with my dad’s family. It was also our first long road trip with Brooklyn. It takes about 9.5 hours to get there from our house, so we weren’t sure how she would do in the car that long. We decided to split up the drive on the way to Fripp by stopping in Atlanta and staying with Elijah and Leisha. It was great to see them for the first time in a couple of years! They have two super cute little girls, so that gave us a sneak peek of what life will be like once Brooklyn has a brother or sister one day. Makes life with just one baby seem pretty simple! :)

Thanks again, Elijah and Leisha, for letting us spend the night!

Brooklyn did great on the way to the beach. We tried to keep our expectations pretty low so that we wouldn’t get too frustrated, but she was quiet as a mouse the whole time except for the last 30 or 45 minutes of the trip. I think she was just tired of being in her carseat at that point.

One thing we learned after packing the car is that babies and their gear take up a lot of room! We were packed to the max. How can a 15 lb little person need that much stuff?? Looking back though, I don’t think I really overpacked. I’m glad we had more than enough diapers, wipes, etc. rather than not having enough.

We also learned that vacations with a baby are totally different. Still fun, but not quite as relaxing. You can’t just do whatever you want whenever you want. I felt like I was “on call” all week…having to come back from the beach or the pool every couple of hours to feed Brooklyn. I’m not complaining…it was just different. It was definitely nice, though, to have so many extra volunteer babysitters! We usually didn’t have a problem finding someone who wanted to hold Brooklyn for a few minutes while we took a break.

Doctor’s orders were that Brooklyn only get out in the sun in the early morning or late afternoon, so she stayed inside most of the week. She did go on her first golf cart ride and seemed to enjoy it. In fact, she was so relaxed that she went right to sleep…haha.

Brooklyn went to the pool twice and the beach once. I think she definitely preferred the pool because it was a lot less windy there. She also wasn’t a fan of her lifejacket or sunglasses…oh well. She wore them enough to get photographed; that’s the important thing, right? :)

And some other pics at the pool…

She only spent about 20 minutes on the beach…again, just long enough to get photographed. I’m hoping that she’ll enjoy it more next year!

We also ate at Dockside for supper one night like usual. The food was awesome…I could eat their she-crab soup, hushpuppies, and cornbread every day I think!

While we were at Fripp, Brooklyn learned how to grab and hold onto a toy. Of course, I had to get a picture. What a smart girl! :)

She also practiced rolling over to her tummy (still not rolling the other way yet!), sucking her thumb, and giggling. She giggled more last week than ever!

We discovered (and it’s not surprising since her mommy and daddy are huge sports fans…) that Brooklyn loves basketball! We were watching Game 6 of the NBA playoffs, and she was totally glued to the TV. It was SO funny!! Luckily, I caught it on video, so we can show it to her one day. We were all cracking up!!

 

 

Brooklyn was having so much fun that she wore herself out. She slept great at night in the pack-n-play and took lots of naps too. She slept over 10 hours one night….that definitely set a record!!

Another thing that changes when you have a baby is that you start buying souvenirs for THEM instead of YOU. Brooklyn got her first Fripp t-shirt and wore it proudly on the last day we were there.

The week went by so fast. It was great to hang out with my family and catch up with everyone. It’s always my favorite week of the year!!