I am trying to catch up with all the photos posts that I’ve planned, so I am hoping once they are all done, I will be more current on things and events. The way Alexis naps, cooking and cleaning have to go by wayside, as I try to get at least 10-20 minutes of blogging during each nap. Sometimes I luck out, sometimes I can’t even get that. That’s life.

So for a few days/weeks you’ll see older photos and posts from when Alexis was 2.5 months and on.

Here we go:

We live relatively close to the beach, about 15-20 minutes to the closest public beach, or more to some other fun ones. Right now, when Alexis is small, beach trips are limited due to many factors. Up until now we couldn’t really take her anywhere without a major meltdown in the car seat. We got a new convertible car seat and another one coming for 2 week trial review, so we’ll see how she does then, but I am very hopeful. Another reason is this is Florida, which means 8 am and it’s too hot to go anywhere with a small baby. So when we can do baby sunscreen at 6 months and swim in the ocean is when I can expect to go back to weekly beach trips. Lexi is like mama, she LOVES water, so I am excited to see how she reacts to the ocean. The key will be to make sure she is comfortable in the heat. My plan is to get a beach tent plus 2 strong battery operated fans plus baby sunscreen plus early mornings and a lot of nursing sessions to keep her hydrated. I am crossing my fingers that will work.

Anyways, our first trip was selfish. We really really wanted to go to the beach, even if just for a few minutes and a few photos and the sunset. Thankfully, Alexis was doing just fine that day and handled the car well and I actually managed to get her to sleep sometime during the walk to the beach. Looking at these pictures, she was soooo little… It’s only been 2 months and she’s a different baby.

The day we went was unfortunate: very windy and kind of chilly, so I held Alexis close and shielded her from the wind and the sun. We spread a blanket on the sand and sat shoulder to shoulder, relaxing for the first time since the birth of our daughter. It was nice to not be so focused on things and just lay back on my husband’s chest with our 2.5 months old baby girl in my arms. It’s a shame there isn’t a picture of the both of us, but I am still trying to get the hang of doing self-portraits while juggling a baby. Eventually, I’ll go back to being able to include our whole family into the picture, not just one of us + Alexis.

She eventually woke up and I nursed her leaning against my hubby’s back. It was getting colder so we pulled out her adorable terry hoodie from My O Baby that she only manage to wear once.

And then the fuss train arrived and Andrew strapped her into our Nordic carrier (btw, I just noticed that it’s on sale for only $79  and this is my favorite carrier, so I wanted to point that out in case someone is looking)  walking around singing to her while I took pictures of the beach and people around.

There was some prayer group at the beach or something along those lines, raising hands in the air and chanting. It’s amazing how the beach changes with seasons and times of day. During season, the beaches are crowded with tourists, and at sunset the locals come out, summertime comes and you won’t see a soul on some of the beaches, those are my favorite times to go.

Finally, the sun went down and we rushed home. For the next week, we’d remember how nice it was to get out and go to the beach and feel normal again. It only gets better from here on out.

A month or two later, we took another trip to the beach, however by the time we got in the car and got there, the clouds gathered and the wind picked up indicating the inevitable Florida shower, so we had to quickly pack back up and go home. It was just as I closed the car door that the rain starting pounding on the windshield.

I feel so blessed to live near the beach. I cannot even begin to imagine the fun times to be had when Alexis is big enough to swim and play in the water. We got a sneak peak of what it’s like to have a “beach daughter” with Gabby (and another one here) and are looking forward to repeating it with Lexi.