A Little Family Vacation

Earlier this year, my mom asked me if we had any plans to go the beach. Sadly, I replied "no", and explained that we probably would not. Dan and I just sort of assumed that traveling and vacationing with a baby would be "too hard". Thankfully, my mom did not take "no" for answer :) and later asked again, if we would go if she and my dad would plan it. She is a firm believer that vacations are necessary, and I could not agree more. Even if we did not do much, getting away was important and always a little special treat. Gosh was she right. Dan and I usually try to vacation each year, and if we were honest with ourselves, were sad we had not planned anything. We happily obliged and quickly began counting down the days for our little getaway to the beach.

I think we both had some unspoken nervousness about how Noah would be away from home and his normal surroundings. This would be our first big trip with a baby... forget quickly packing the hour or two before departure, haha. Despite my slight anxiety, I knew it would be nice to get out of town for a few days and have some "assistance" where Noah was concerned, because we all know that grandparents and aunts just love any chance they can get to kiss, hold, and stroll the little guy. I was so thankful for my parents and Dan during this trip who all took it upon themselves to take care of Noah for awhile, while I got some sun, rested, or just went out to get us coffee. I feel like those moments really rejuvenated me and made me even more thankful for the amazing people in my life, all who love and adore Noah as much as I do.

We were only away for 5 days, and in ways, it was more work packing and preparing and then unpacking and cleaning, then I had realized.... But, getting to sit on the beach our little guy (who totally rocked his 1940's inspired bathing suit) and enjoy gorgeous views of the water each morning, walking around and shopping on the beautiful Cape May streets, and sipping on a fresh cup of Wawa coffee (my favorite) was just was a perfect way to "end" our summer.

Noah LOVED the pool and the beach, especially the breeze. It was definitely crazy to think about how next year, Noah would be running around and playing in (and possibly trying to eat?) the sand. We embraced this time, realizing each proceeding beach trip would be different and fun in new ways, as he grows older and more independent. Now, I don't want to paint a too perfect picture of this vacation. Yes, we definitely had moments of Noah screaming in the car when he decided he was hungry and/or bored and yes, Noah didn't always nap for as long as I felt he "should", but hey, he was on his first vacation. I guess he thought staying awake and seeing the sights was more fun then taking long naps. I must add that I was thankful for him sleeping through the night and... even sleeping in. Gosh, this crazy boy has figured out the meaning of vacation already.

One of my favorite moments of the trip occurred when we were packing up our stuff on the beach. Dan started wiping sand off of the tent and Noah, out of nowhere, just started LAUGHING and got the biggest kick out of the sand swiping. It was the BEST. Of course that meant Dan had to continue swiping the tent for 5 more minutes as we all smiled and laughed along with this precious little boy.

So that is just a little recap into our beach trip this year.

**Oh, I should also note that my husband is just the best and surprised us all by taking off work last minute and arriving a day before he was scheduled to. It was the best surprise and made me the happiest girl. It just didn't feel right not having him there, since a piece of our little family was missing, and I think Dan had realized that he missed us a little more then he had anticipated. :) I might add, the guy even stopped at Fractured Prune in Lancaster, PA and brought with him a dozen of the most scrumptious donuts. YUM.

Thanks Mom and Dad for encouraging us and helping us make it to the beach this year. We were very thankful for this wonderful time away!!

Enjoy the pictures!!