Family Day at the Beach

Our first day on vacation was truly a free day at the beach with the girls. We did not do any business this day because I wanted to have some true bonding time with them both. We really lucked out because the weather was perfect the entire time we were there. It was clear & beautiful outside & it was definitely hot, but not too hot where you are miserable. Actually, I think I hardly broke a sweat during the day & the nights were so perfect, I didn't even need a cardigan. Here was the view as we walked from our condo to the beach:

 

 

Looks like paradise, right? That is exactly why we came back here - because it is one of our favorite beaches that we have ever been to. That's why it is also named one of the top beaches in the Caribbean. As soon as we got there I started taking pictures. But I have to make a couple of disclaimers. First, please excuse me in a bathing suit. I just had a baby 2 months ago & I'm technically still wearing some of my maternity clothes! Second, I carried Sophie around a lot while we were there instead of messing with the stroller, so a lot of our pictures you just barely see her feet sticking out. Sorry Sophie! Or if you see a picture of her without me carrying her, she is probably crying. She was not used to the sun because she is a winter baby & she has been inside hibernating at home. Plus, she's only 2 months old, so the beach, waves, heat, sun - all of it is a lot of stimulation for a new baby. All that said, she still had a good time even if you can't tell in the pictures!

 

 

It's not the best family picture but we are a tropical family so I was excited to get our first family picture at the beach! I am sure there will be many more taken  in our future.....

 

 

We spent a lot of time with Sadie in the water. She absolutely loved it! It was by far the best time she has ever had at the beach. The last time she went to the beach was last summer & she was a little shaky in the sand. She didn't like getting dirty & she had a hard time walking in it. This time she acted like she owned the beach! And she is so confident in the water that she would just run out there by herself - even where she couldn't touch! We have to be careful with that little girl :) One of my favorite things to do with her was searching for sea shells. I have collected sea shells at every beach we have taken her to & she has a jar in her bathroom, but this was the first time she actually helped me. She would collect them & put them in her bucket & then we would clean them when we got back to the condo.

 

In case you are wondering where Sophie was, she was relaxing under the umbrella:

 

 

I didn't know if I had swimming suit small enough for her, but luckily her cousin Zoe had one that she had passed down. She spent most of the time under cover because I didn't want her delicate skin to burn. She also napped a lot. At least she got to look at the scenery when she drank her bottle! I did take her out to the ocean a few times:

 

 

She actually got a little fussy when we first took her out there, but after I dipped her in the water & kind of bounced her around, she really calmed down. I faced the ocean with her against my chest so I could shield her from the sun & I think she enjoyed sitting there for a while listening to the sound of the waves.

 

After a few hours at the beach, we went to the pool. Sadie found a float & she went swimming with her Dad while Sophie & I lounged under another umbrella. She didn't like her wet bathing suit & swim diaper, so we let her lay around naked:

 

 

It was almost impossible to get Sadie to go in every day after lunch. She knew she had to take a nap & who wants to sleep when you have the ocean at your finger tips?! This was probably the best day we had because we worked every day after that, but it was worth the trip to see the smile on those girls' faces - I just love my beach babies!