Life's a Beach

I took S on her first beach trip this week. J's family has a house on Long Beach Island, NJ (you can read about it here), but it just sold, so this was a final hurrah at the cottage.



It's a nice place. There are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom on each of 2 floors, a back porch, an outside shower, fully equipped kitchen on each floor, and it's just over a block from the beach. Who could ask for anything more?

Grania was super excited to see her granddaughter.



Even though we were only there a few days, we fell into a nice routine. S would get up at her usual (early!) time, have some sweet potatoes and a bottle, and play in the living room. She was either on her blanket surrounded by toys...



...or in her seat, being charming.



Before she crashed for her morning nap, we would head to the beach to see what there was to see.

On day 1, I took S out myself, since Grania was sleeping in (that's what you do on vacation!). We got all geared up and headed out.



S and I found a nice bench to sit on and watch high tide hit the shore.






On day 2, Grania came with us to the beach so she could see S put her piggies in the Atlantic for the first time. I was busy wrangling a small child, so you'll have to make do without pictures (Grania will send us some soon, I'm sure). S liked the sand, but hated the cold water. I don't blame her. Wait until she feels the water temperature in the Pacific!

After her wave adventure, we hung out for a while in Grania's beach tent.


S enjoyed the sand.

On day 3, it was pretty cloudy and threatening rain, so S and I just took a quick walk on the beach and watched the birdies.



Each day after S's morning nap, we'd head out to lunch on the island and do a little shopping. Mommy and Grania found a baby clothing store with some serious sales going on, and got the most adorable outfits you've ever seen. We also picked up a few things at the Irish store. Never fear, Nana and Tapa, and even Daddy, got presents too.

Here's S demonstrating her foot-chewing abilities at lunch on Wednesday.

We usually tried to head home for S's afternoon nap, then out for a nice dinner along the island. S was a super trooper. I think she got upset for maybe an hour the entire time we were there, and that's because she didn't nap well one afternoon. She usually had her last bottle the same time Grania and Mommy had dinner, and was a perfect lady.

Just for fun, I videotaped S making her squealing noises while hanging out in the living room. Enjoy!