A couple of weeks ago Chapman and I packed up and headed to the beach for his first beach trip. We went to Fernandia Beach {on the east coast of Florida} to meet up with Debbie, Mrs. Corky, Cynthia, and her girls. Britt had to stay behind and work...poor thing! It's a 5 and a half our drive, so I was nervous about making the trek alone with Chapman. We go to Birmingham all the time {that's a 2 1/2 hour drive} and he is an angel, but I'm not sure he would make it 5 1/2 in the car with just the two of us. Thankfully I was able to bring one of Cynthia's girls' friends with me. I picked her up on our way out of town and she entertained Chapman the whole way there!
SO much stuff...and Debbie already had the pack-n-play and umbrellas there!
And we're off!
We made it!
Going to the beach with a baby is not for the faint of heart. Gone are the days of taking just a chair and a cooler! It took a village to set everything up each morning. We put Chapman in his stroller to take him down to the beach, and that made it much easier to transport all of the necessities!
I wasn't quite sure what to bring for Chapman to sit in on the beach. My dear friend, Ashley, told me she was taking a blow up pool with a canopy to the beach for her little girl...so I did the same. The pool was a life saver. We put just enough water to fill the bottom, and Chapman loved sitting and splashing around with his toys.
He also loved putting his toes in the ocean. There were so many jelly fish that we didn't go in very deep, though.
Speaking of the ocean, whenever Chapman got tired I would wrap him up in a towel and walk up and down the beach with him until he fell asleep. The sound of the waves crashing put him to sleep in less than 5 minutes every time, and then he napped in his stroller. I am so glad he was able to nap on the beach so we did not have to go back and forth to the condo all day long!
Sweet baby toes during a nap.
Chapman was so excited to try out his new swim diapers and head to the beach!
I didn't know how he would react to the sand. As it turns out, he really liked it--so much that he ate it! He did so great entertaining himself.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the beach with Chapman. It was so fun to watch him explore and take it all in. He loved looking at the waves! I kept telling him how amazing God's creations are when he would just stare at the ocean.
I was not alone in keeping Chapman happy and entertained at the beach! Between 3 other adults and 3 little girls, Chapman did not lack for attention. See below what I mean!
Little boy, you are lucky to be loved by so many!
Frannie loved sharing your first pool experience with you. You really like the pool!
We didn't venture out much for dinner--instead we ate this! And we {er, I mean Corky} worked on this Times Square puzzle...I helped on the very last night, though!
We went downtown on our last night to eat at Cafe Karibo. I can't get enough of this little ham!
I was sad to leave this view on Saturday morning...I could live at the beach all summer. {Hint, hint Britt!}
Apparently Chapman wasn't happy about leaving the beach either. This is what he had to say when we got home!
I can't wait to take him back to the beach in August and see how he likes it when he's a little older and on the move!
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