BEACH!!

Sorry I've been MIA. The past week has been quite busy, and I still have yet to fully recover.We took Kelsie on her first beach trip this past weekend! Our wonderful friends, the Batchellers, graciously invited us to join them on a little weekend getaway at Myrtle Beach and we had a fabulous time. It was fun to introduce Kelsie to the ocean, the sandy beach, and the pool. She really seemed to enjoy all of the new experiences and was a very good baby the entire time! The adults also enjoyed getting to spend some time together and "relax" a bit - in theory anyway! :) I, unfortunately, got mastitis while we were there and spent much of the last 24 hours sick in the bed. It was truly one of my sickest moments. I went from feeling great at the pool to having fever and shaking chills bundled up under the covers with horrendous body aches, in a matter of an hour. Thankfully, our doctor was gracious enough to call me in an antibiotic right away. I was absolutely miserable until the meds kicked in. And as soon as they wore off, it hit me like a ton bricks again and I was back in bed, but even worse. :( It was definitely a bummer to deal with that while on vacation but overall, it was still a fantastic little trip.

When we first walked Kelsie out on the beach, she was wide eyed and alert, and even let out a few big smiles as we were walking her to the ocean. When I put her feet in, she looked a bit stunned as she was trying to figure it all out but didn't whimper a bit. She was digging those little toes in the sand and was trying to stand up. I think she really liked it! :)

Toes in the sand

The first time we put Kelsie in the pool, she just took a few deep breaths, again stunned at the cool water. She didn't cry but didn't splash like bathtime either. The 2nd time, she was overdue for a nap so she wasn't too happy about the cold water for very long. However, after a good hour nap by the pool, she was ready to get back in and really enjoyed herself. She even got those little feet kicking a bit. Swimming will be a great sport for her lungs one day so we are starting her out early. :)

"Whew mommy, that is cold! Let me in slowly!"

Thats some good sleepin! :)

Especially when you wake up this happy!

Not too sure....

...Ok, I think I like it! 

Fun times!

Because Kelsie is so young, we were a little apprehensive about having her out at the beach for very long since she is too little to wear alot of sunscreen. So Nathan bought a beach tent and it worked perfectly. It made for a great place to keep her cool, let her nap, and keep her in the shade. At the pool, we stayed under the umbrella or pulled up the sunshade when she was in her float.  With CF, we also have to be aware of how much she sweats so we tried to make sure she didn't get too hot, but with the ocean breeze, that was never really an issue. And that salty beach air is really good for her lungs, so it felt somewhat therapeutic just to have her outside. Even though we do not see any direct effects from that right now (in other words, she isn't able to tell us that she can breathe easier at the beach), theoretically, that is supposed to be the case, so it felt good just knowing that.

She was doing a lot of talking

We really enjoyed our time with the Batchellers: Christian, Ashley, Brooks, and Price. They are some of the sweetest, most Godly people we know and have become such dear friends since we have moved to Pittsboro. We look forward to many more fun times as we watching our kids grow up together! Their family has a beautiful condo at the beach and we really enjoyed our stay! 

I think Price really has a thing for Kelsie... ;)

Sweet Brooks!

Beautiful view

Yay for our first family beach trip! :)