We feel so fortunate we were able to spend last week in Seacrest, Florida with Pa, Gigi, Aunt Heather, and cousin Eli! This was a trip we were certainly looking forward to because it was going to be our first family vacation! Another "milestone" reached =) We couldn't wait to introduce Ethan to the beach - a place that will always be dear to our hearts since that's where his (and our) journey began! We were excited to see how he reacted to the sand, what he thought of the waves, and most importantly - for his mommy and daddy to get a T-A-N! Well....let's just say mother nature had another plan! It literally rained, misted, or was overcast every.single.day. What are the chances?!
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| "I thought you said I would get a tan, Mommy"!! |
Let's start from the beginning - the trip down. I had the genius idea to drive down with Ethan by myself...because, well why not, I can do everything, right? WRONG!! Note to self in my mommy book: never do that again! Our goal the first day was to make it to Knoxville, TN (usually a 5 1/2 hour drive without baby). The plan was to stop in Lexington, KY at Grandma's house for a feeding break (served as the halfway point). I left right after our first morning feeding and thought Ethan would fall straight asleep in the car for his morning nap. He obviously knew something was different because about 45 minutes outside of Bloomington, the crying began. And it did not stop. For hours. I pulled over, made sure he was okay, gave him his paci, etc. but nothing was soothing him. Keep in mind, he's
been on three other roadtrips, but both Eric and I were present so one of us could always be in the backseat. Ethan rarely cries or fusses so when he does we know something is wrong. The cries coming out of the backseat were something I had never heard before - it was stirring up emotions in me I had never felt before! Needless to say, the day ended with us in Knoxville like planned - 9 1/2 hours later - with one exhausted momma and baby! I was terrified of Day 2 which was supposed to be a 7 1/2-8 hour trip. However, Ethan was an angel - he must've realized we were in for the long haul! I stopped about every two hours to feed him, stretch his legs, play, etc. We had several good pit stops in truck stop bathrooms and hotel bathrooms - pumping, feeding, changing - ahhh memories! =) 12 hours later we finally made it to Florida!!
I think it took Ethan a couple days to recover from the long trip because he was such a tired baby. He was sleeping 12-13 hours and taking 2-3 naps during the day for long periods of time. I guess it was a good thing it wasn't sunny outside! I was determined to get pictures of Ethan on the beach for his first vacation. One day, there was a break from the rain (so we thought!) so we headed down to the beach for playtime.
He never actually touched the sand because we had him on a sheet, but he seemed to like sitting on it! It started to sprinkle and the dark clouds looked like they could unleash at any moment (which it did a couple minutes later), but I HAD to get a picture of his little toesies in the ocean!! Eric dipped his toes in when a wave came up and well...you can see his expression!! Haha! He arched his back, straightened those legs, and was not too happy!!
While I didn't get all the pictures I had envisioned before we left of our sweet little family of three on the beach, we had a fabulous week with our family! Since Pa and Gigi live in Tennessee and we don't see them as much as the other grandparents, it was a special trip to take with them (with an extra bonus of seeing Great Grandma Ann on the way down)! We promised Ethan we would take him back to the beach one day and it would be sunny =) For now, we're so thankful for the memories we made!
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| One of the few smiles we caught on the beach! |
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| Me and Mommy |
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| Kisses for Gigi |
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| Beach Bum |
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| Having fun with daddy |
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| First Family Vacation |
We feel so fortunate we were able to spend last week in Seacrest, Florida with Pa, Gigi, Aunt Heather, and cousin Eli! This was a trip we were certainly looking forward to because it was going to be our first family vacation! Another "milestone" reached =) We couldn't wait to introduce Ethan to the beach - a place that will always be dear to our hearts since that's where his (and our) journey began! We were excited to see how he reacted to the sand, what he thought of the waves, and most importantly - for his mommy and daddy to get a T-A-N! Well....let's just say mother nature had another plan! It literally rained, misted, or was overcast every.single.day. What are the chances?!
been on three other roadtrips, but both Eric and I were present so one of us could always be in the backseat. Ethan rarely cries or fusses so when he does we know something is wrong. The cries coming out of the backseat were something I had never heard before - it was stirring up emotions in me I had never felt before! Needless to say, the day ended with us in Knoxville like planned - 9 1/2 hours later - with one exhausted momma and baby! I was terrified of Day 2 which was supposed to be a 7 1/2-8 hour trip. However, Ethan was an angel - he must've realized we were in for the long haul! I stopped about every two hours to feed him, stretch his legs, play, etc. We had several good pit stops in truck stop bathrooms and hotel bathrooms - pumping, feeding, changing - ahhh memories! =) 12 hours later we finally made it to Florida!!
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