Beach Weather

Good morning, Baby Girl!  Please forgive me for slacking on posting on here.  Mother Nature has given us a most unusual springtime gift: a Florida cold front!  Unlike it's northern counterpart, a cold front in Florida is a welcome thing.  While it's been hot and almost summery down here lately, this week was a welcome change.  Windows and sliders wide open, morning and afternoon walks, sitting in the grass just to be outside.  You get the idea.  I'll finish up the post I started for you before these glorious days sidetracked me.  Here goes:


You and I have been inseparable for the past week.  Monday, you had your six month checkup (18 lbs...wow!)...and shots.  I detest shots.  You are so trusting and I feel like I'm betraying your trust by letting them inject you with God-only-knows-what.  And rather than calm my fears, you are having a reaction to the MMR vaccine.  Your precious little skin is peppered with mini-measles.  Fortunately, you're not running a fever, but you just aren't yourself.  Needless to say, I'll be so happy when these infant immunizations are done.  

You found the bandaid!

The day before those icky shots was a good day, however.  Sunday we woke up to a splendid beach day.  The sun was out, the air was warm, but there was a refreshing breeze.  This was all good news because I had really counted on us ending the weekend on a high note.  It doesn't get much higher than babies sitting in tide pools, sisters building sand castles and being flanked by rainbow catamarans.  We packed up a cooler full of beach goodies and spent a half hour looking for a parking spot, but it was worth it.

You wasted no time shoving a fist full of sand into your mouth.  

Seriously, kiddo.  We'd only been there for two minutes.

And, as usual, you were happy just to be outdoors.

Diggin' the sand.  Literally and figuratively.

Sydney wore floaties to the beach.  Because she wanted to "swim".  Hey, I'm just glad she's loving the water these days.  Her scaredy cat days were kinda cute when she was smaller, but it's time to get that girl a board and at least do some body surfing.

Low tide is the best!

Sunscreen and sand-covered cuteness.

Building a castle...with a moat, of course.

Perfecting "The Wave".

Her hand-me-down swimsuit was a tad on the large side.  Trying to keep it in place was a full-time job.

Licking ice cubes to stay cool.  You LOVED this!

Penny for your thoughts, Love.

I'd say you enjoyed yourself.

We've also been trying to make up for the fact that we've been slacking on "tummy time" lately.  I didn't realize it until the doctor asked if you are rolling over.  You can, but you've stopped doing it.  Probably because it's quite a chore to get those thighs of yours over.  But probably also because you prefer to sit, so I don't lay you down very often anymore.

Getting back to basics.

Summer is fast approaching.  I have a list of "must-haves" in my head so that we'll be able to enjoy it properly.  With the quiet chaos that summer vacation brings, I don't want to miss out on some of the things I have planned for us.  Soon we'll pick up a tiny wading pool for you so we can make a homemade tide pool for you to splash in.  You will also require a pool float. That water may be too cold for your momma now, but pretty soon it's the only way we'll be able to stay outside for longer than ten minutes without melting.  Too bad Target doesn't have a "frequent shopper" card.  

Baby "muscles".  Watch out.

Well, now I can get around to uploading the million pictures I've taken while we've been enjoying the cooler weather.  I hate to see it go.  You and I will be leaving this house wide open until it hits 90 outside, or Daddy tells me to turn on the air conditioner...whichever comes first.  (Who am I kidding.  Your dad will probably be over my open window obsession by this afternoon.  It was nice while it lasted.)  I'll get busy preparing for much, much more of this: