We have officially been back from the beach a week today. It was so difficult to get back into the groove of things after the laid back pace of the beach. I miss it so much already. It is ok though because I think we brought back half of the Gulf Shores Public Beach back with us in my car. LOL. Addie's experience this time was much better. She LOVED the sand and the water. She loved just chillin' in mommy's chair. 
While we were down there, we had to eat at Lambert's Cafe. For those of you who are not familiar with Lambert's, it is a restaurant in Foley, Alabama where they are famous for their "throwed rolls." They actually come around and throw hot rolls to you. The rolls are about the size of softballs. Addie LOVED them (as you can see from the next two pictures)!
She wasn't too sure of the guy who was throwing them but she loved eating them. She ate better that night than I have ever seen her eat before. She ate so many veggies and still had room for a roll the size of her head. HaHa.
She became out little sand crab as we began setting things up on the beach for the day. She really like crawling around in the sand then putting her sandy hands all in her mouth...yum!
The first few days were were down, it was not crowded at all. Then of course, over the 4th of July weekend it was ridiculous. On the 4th Brian and I got out to the beach early to claim a spot and by lunch, there was not a free spot on the beach for miles. Things calmed down a little the next week but it was still kind of crowded.
Yes, I had to the do infamous beach pictures with the baby. 
I love this picture. These are my two most favorite people in the whole world! (And yes, "GINGER KIDS" do tan. HaHa)
While we were there Addie's hair really started to curl. Mom claims that my hair was just like that but dark brown when I was a baby. I still think she is Brian's "mini-me."
I couldn't get Addie to stop waving at all of the people behind me who were watching me take pictures. She is a very friendly child. LOL.
Can't you just see the mischievousness just wanting to come out?
She had about all of the sitting still and smiling she could take...
Now it was time to get dirty!
By the second day at the beach Brian and I had most of the kinks worked out and had a nice set up at the beach. We had our tents, chairs, Addie's pool and of course we can't forget her drumstick and ice cream cone. HaHa. She has a play kitchen at home and she is obsessed with the toy food. She takes it with her every where. It is so funny to see her go all around the house with certain food hanging out of her mouth. We are still teething so everything goes into the mouth still.
We had a blow up pool that we used at the beach. We kept it under the tent and filled it with ocean water. She loved the water but wasn't crazy about the waves splashing her so this was the perfect set-up for her. And yes, there is that drumstick again.
Come nap time at the beach, she would start telling me "nite nite" and we would go shower her off and put on her dry clothes and she would sleep in her little tent under our tailgate tent. She LOVED it. We had a little battery operated fan in there for her. She had it made. When she woke up she was ready to go again.
Well, I hope that you have enjoyed our beach stories. Maybe they haven't bored you too much. We had a blast down there and can't wait for next summer to come around so we can do it all over again. Nothing can replace the memories of taking your baby on her first family beach trip. We definitely made some wonderful memories to last a life time. I hope that we are able to instill in Addie a sense of there is a time to work hard and time to and relax and have fun. It is nice to get away from computers, cell phones and just the hum drum of very day life. Too bad every day can't be a vacation. But then again, if it were would we really enjoy the times we were able to get away?
While we were down there, we had to eat at Lambert's Cafe. For those of you who are not familiar with Lambert's, it is a restaurant in Foley, Alabama where they are famous for their "throwed rolls." They actually come around and throw hot rolls to you. The rolls are about the size of softballs. Addie LOVED them (as you can see from the next two pictures)!
She wasn't too sure of the guy who was throwing them but she loved eating them. She ate better that night than I have ever seen her eat before. She ate so many veggies and still had room for a roll the size of her head. HaHa.
She became out little sand crab as we began setting things up on the beach for the day. She really like crawling around in the sand then putting her sandy hands all in her mouth...yum!
The first few days were were down, it was not crowded at all. Then of course, over the 4th of July weekend it was ridiculous. On the 4th Brian and I got out to the beach early to claim a spot and by lunch, there was not a free spot on the beach for miles. Things calmed down a little the next week but it was still kind of crowded.
Yes, I had to the do infamous beach pictures with the baby. 
I love this picture. These are my two most favorite people in the whole world! (And yes, "GINGER KIDS" do tan. HaHa)
While we were there Addie's hair really started to curl. Mom claims that my hair was just like that but dark brown when I was a baby. I still think she is Brian's "mini-me."
I couldn't get Addie to stop waving at all of the people behind me who were watching me take pictures. She is a very friendly child. LOL.
Can't you just see the mischievousness just wanting to come out?
She had about all of the sitting still and smiling she could take...
Now it was time to get dirty!
By the second day at the beach Brian and I had most of the kinks worked out and had a nice set up at the beach. We had our tents, chairs, Addie's pool and of course we can't forget her drumstick and ice cream cone. HaHa. She has a play kitchen at home and she is obsessed with the toy food. She takes it with her every where. It is so funny to see her go all around the house with certain food hanging out of her mouth. We are still teething so everything goes into the mouth still.
We had a blow up pool that we used at the beach. We kept it under the tent and filled it with ocean water. She loved the water but wasn't crazy about the waves splashing her so this was the perfect set-up for her. And yes, there is that drumstick again.
Come nap time at the beach, she would start telling me "nite nite" and we would go shower her off and put on her dry clothes and she would sleep in her little tent under our tailgate tent. She LOVED it. We had a little battery operated fan in there for her. She had it made. When she woke up she was ready to go again.
Well, I hope that you have enjoyed our beach stories. Maybe they haven't bored you too much. We had a blast down there and can't wait for next summer to come around so we can do it all over again. Nothing can replace the memories of taking your baby on her first family beach trip. We definitely made some wonderful memories to last a life time. I hope that we are able to instill in Addie a sense of there is a time to work hard and time to and relax and have fun. It is nice to get away from computers, cell phones and just the hum drum of very day life. Too bad every day can't be a vacation. But then again, if it were would we really enjoy the times we were able to get away? 
