Beach Boy

It's really hard traveling with a baby. You know, someone who gets whiny on the plane when their ears hurt, who wakes up early and cries, who needs regular naps to be happy and sociable... but luckily, Brian and Ethan only had to put up with me for a week! :)

Really, Brian and I were so proud of Ethan on this trip. He doesn't really sleep in the car like he used to, and his first plane trip was way too exciting for a nap, but the overtired boy was still charming and delightful (for a few minutes, anyway) when we arrived in Nags Head. He adjusted to the rented crib just fine and was a really good sport every time we gooped him up with sunscreen for the beach. (Considering his gorgeous, soft baby skin and a family history of skin cancer, we were extra careful - sunscreen reapplied every so often, a great little tent that he hung out under, and a cute little hat that covered his ears and neck (and a lot of his face when he got impatient with it!).


Interestingly enough, it was rare to find all five of us at the beach at the same time! Everyone in the small household is a naptaker (thank goodness) and so it was fairly common for one or two people to be napping or eating while others were sunning themselves. Ethan was often down for his first nap before the rest of the world was awake - not surprising considering how early he gets up! But Brian and I really made the most of our time there doing beach-like things that involved more than sunscreen and sand. We rented a baby jogger (since I like ours so much) and used that to go for a run with Ethan early one morning. We had a baby backpack there as well, and tried Ethan in that instead of the Baby Bjorn (since he's getting so darn heavy) for a walk on the beach. Besides his delight in pulling my hair as we walked, it went pretty well. :) And much of our playtime was spent out on the deck of this condo, enjoying the breeze and the gorgeous view of the ocean.



You may have noticed that Ethan is smiling a lot in these pictures. It's obvious that he is really enjoying his time at the beach, but we discovered that he almost always smiles for the camera these days! What a ham...

Ethan gets ready for the beach!

Ethan is totally excited for his upcoming beach trip, as you can see! He's going to have his first plane trip, some playtime in the sand, and he's already gotten a headstart on the cool beach gear. Every year, Brian's family heads to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. When Brian and I first met, the entire family was there for two weeks - Brian, his parents, his brother & sister, their spouses, and 4 nephews. It took a big house to contain everyone! Now that many of the nephews are older and have jobs, schedules, and lives of their own, the numbers have dwindled a bit. Ethan will be the only little boy there! We're set with swim diapers, sunscreen, a beach tent, a little inflatable (that we can obviously hold on to), a beach blanket...and a LONG list of things to pack.

We're not sure how this plane trip is going to go. Luckily, it's a short one (2 hours) and we have no connections to try to make or anything. But I know I had ear pain as a little one, and I don't want Mr. Ethan to be hurting on the way to the beach! (I asked his doctor awhile back about giving him something to make him feel better - his reply, "A pacifier." Nothing stronger than that???) I've also seen suggestions to nurse him on the ascent and descent, which is fine by me, but shouldn't he be strapped in his car seat during that time? (I mean, I'm flexible, but there are limits...) So we'll punt. Ethan is pretty impervious to pain a lot of the time, so he'll probably be just fine. Tough little guy.