Exceeding Expectations

Yes, buddy, you far exceeded our expectations. In fact, so did the weather. We had a great trip. We left Saturday morning in time for your morning nap. You cried for just a minute or so, then fell asleep in the car. You slept about 35 minutes which is in keeping with what you've been doing at home, so we were quite pleased. After you woke, you played quietly in the car for a little while. You really only needed my help for about the last 30 minutes of the trip. When we arrived at the condo you were so interested in your new surroundings. Daddy set-up your jail and you went straight to it to grab your toys, then off you went to explore. Being in the condo helped us appreciate how much we have accomplished in baby proofing at home. Your Dad was really smart about rearranging the furniture so we could block your main attraction no-nos. After lunch you were down for your first nap in the pack and play since our last vacation. You cried hard for about 10 minutes, then actually fell asleep! You slept about 45 minutes. We let you cry about half an hour to see if you'd go back to sleep. Nope.

Since you'd already exceeded expectations, we just got you up and went off to the beach. With a little effort, we got our new beach tent set-up. You played inside very sweetly for almost half an hour. You touched the sand initially, ate a bit, then decided it wasn't of much interest. After about 20 minutes of playing in the tent, we headed for the water. At first you touched your toes to the shore, then picked them right back up. You weren't too sure about the wind, the sound or the waves, or the feel of the sand and water. You and I sat together at the water's edge where we got sand in places I haven't had sand since childhood. It was fun to do that again (minus the sand issue) Your Dad and I decided you might like it more in deeper water, but in our arms. We headed back to the tent to switch gear and get your life jacket on. We waded in carefully, making sure the current wasn't too much with the approaching storms. The water was colder than we expected and we know how you feel about being cold! Ultimately we all warmed to the water, we made it out past the crashing waves and let you out of your life jacket. By that point, you really started to enjoy yourself. You enjoyed finding your keys floating in the water and laughed when Daddy and I jumped waves with you or when Daddy put you on his shoulders. In all we spent about and hour at the beach before we had to head in for dinner and to get you ready for bed. At that point we knew that if it rained the rest of the weekend and we did nothing else, our trip was a success.

After dinner we put you to bed and you only cried ten minutes before you sacked out. I don't think you had very restful sleep, but we didn't hear you again until your usual 7 am wake up time. You seemed dazed the next morning, but we saw a bit of sun between the clouds and decided to walk on the beach before your morning nap. You seemed to remember being there the day before and pointed to the water like you wanted to go back in. We weren't dressed for swimming, but we let you put your toes in again. Like the day before, you picked those piggies right back up as soon as they felt the water. We had some fun chasing sea gulls and taking some pictures, then headed inside for nap time.

You didn't nap at all. We gave you about 45 minutes, then threw in the towel and headed back to the beach. This time the tent went up easily, and you continued to play well inside it. Just about the time I commented on how well you were staying in the tent and not eating the sand, you got adventurous. You began to plow our granola bar snack through the sand, then had another taste test. Your Dad and I decided it was time to head back to the water. You loved it there all over again. After another hour, we said goodbye to the beach and went to attempt your afternoon nap. No luck. It still had not rained, so we headed to the pier and to get ice cream. Your Dad and I did that every trip when it was just the two of us, so it was nice to get to go this time too. Next time you'll be old enough to try some. As we walked out to the pier we passed a puppy whose owner let you pet it. You were so incredibly tired that the puppy was nowhere on your radar (and you LOVE puppies right now!). On the pier, we watched people fishing and saw a baby fish get thrown back in the water. By the time we walked back down the pier, you were falling asleep. I stopped and danced with you to a little JBJ (Bon Jovi), and you were out. Suddenly I was one of those moms that I always shake my head at thinking they should "take that baby home and put it to bed." We had put you to bed though and you hadn't slept all day until then. So we had an impromptu stroll and you got in a 40 minute nap while I carried you. You awoke just before our parking meter time ran out, so we headed home. It had sprinkled on us a little, but then dried up. We took the remaining 30 minutes to head to the pool. The three of us played together in the water without the trouble of schlepping tents or washing sand. It was great. Finally we got you fed and down for the night without any trouble.

Monday morning was all about cleaning up and getting ready to go home. You got in a quick 30 minute nap, then we played on the swings and in the condo while Daddy packed things into the car. We headed home right about your afternoon nap time and that's when it started to rain. You fell asleep in about 40 minutes, and actually slept an hour and ten minutes in the car (your longest car nap ever). You were only a little fussy the last 30 minutes of the drive.

Your Dad and I were so grateful and so very proud of how well you did this trip. We couldn't stop talking about it the whole time. We told you over and over how pleased we were that you had exceeded expectations. Let's see if we can do that again next time!