noah benjamin thompson: 8 months & a week at the beach

Just getting back from a week at the beach with 3 kids under the age of 2 has decidedly made me feel both old and in need of another vacation. It was my favorite week so far since Noah was born because we got to spend so much time together, but it was definitely a different sort of vacation that we used to have. So long are the days of lounging on the beach, reading a book and having a cocktail. Now just getting to the ocean requires a 15 minute bathing suit/sunscreen application (the Patagonia sun-lite hoodie is amazing, as is the Honest Company sunscreen) and lugging an umbrella, chairs, blanket and bag full of toys, snacks, diapers and towels to only be there for an hour and a half before packing up for nap time. We did try a nap on the beach, but it was short lived, so next year when we're only on one nap a day, we will definitely have more beach time.

Noah, Mads and Henry were amazingly well behaved and did a great job adjusting to the new house and pack n plays, but alas, they didn't get the memo that you are supposed to sleep in on vacation, so the house was entirely awake by 6 am every morning and raring to go. Thankfully there were minimal tears and no trips to the ER, so I think we can all consider it a success and are already planning our return trip. Noah was at the perfect age for the trip because he can sit up and play but isn't crawling (yet), so when we stuck him on his beach blanket he didn't go anywhere. He was rather indifferent to the ocean but liked jumping up over the waves and eating sand.

Despite the 2 tropical storms, we managed to have a decent number of beach days, and the husbands got to golf and fish. Noah and I also went for a number of walks and a few outings. The entire crew spent time at Pier Park where the kiddos got to ride a carousel and train and play in bouncy castles. Noah and Mads also saw some animals at the 'marine park' in Panama City Beach (it was a far cry from any aquarium I've ever seen).

In addition to our beach trip, Noah got to celebrate his friend Carson's 2nd birthday, have lunch with Rory, meet Allie and move up in Play 2 Grow with Alex. He has also expanded his palate by trying ice cream (thanks Dad) and starting school food, which included a lunch of chicken and rice the other day that he loved according to Ms. Jojo. I wasn't necessarily ready for him to have chicken but apparently he was ready. He continues to love feeding himself, so puffs, mum mums and cheerios are other favorites. He's also sort of learning to hold his own bottle, but he'd understandable prefer for us to do it.

I've been working on getting Noah to say "mama" but alas he is still mostly on "ba, da and ya", so "dada" has come out of his mouth a few times to Ben's delight. We'll get there soon though, and I am pretty sure his first word will either be "bottle" or "bubby" (or something similar since those are his favorite things).