Beach Trip!

It's been a fun couple of weeks! Eric finished up his final year of medical school (yay!) and we've had some time to just hang out, get things done, and then spend a nice long weekend at the beach. 

Ahhh... :-)

We decided a few weeks ago that, since we weren't moving to another city and having to spend this "residency prep" period in a hotel looking for a home, we would spend time in a hotel at the beach instead!

 We ended up going to Isle of Palms, SC, just outside of Charleston. We were able to get a 2 bedroom condo at a resort for cheaper than most of the hotels in downtown Charleston. Samuel got his own room, we got a kitchen to cook in (and cable!), we were right by the ocean, we had access to all the resort stuff (not that we used half of it!) and we were just 20 minutes from Charleston. The only downside was that we couldn't afford to stay longer!!

 

Samuel in his beach swag. Eric insisted he keep his polo shirt on for fear of sunburn. 

Samuel did pretty well on the trip all things considered. 300 miles is a long trip for 2 month old, but he only fussed toward the end of the trip (while we were in traffic and it was raining - of course!).

He wasn't really sure what to think of the beach. He primarily slept in his stroller while we laid out and read. It was pretty funny to watch him when we got him out in the sand, though (and to see his reaction to his hat and sunglasses, both of which were waaaay too big)! We also put his feet in the ocean for a bit. He didn't hate it, but he definitely was confused about what was going on!

Unfortunately, the weather was only really nice on Saturday. Sunday and Monday were colder and  pretty dreary, so we hung out in the condo and went for a walk on the beach when it wasn't raining. We also found some fun chess and checkers sets at the main part of the resort - a perfect rainy day activity. (Eric kicked my hinie, btw. He played a lot of checkers as a kid).

Sunday night we braved the rain and went into Charleston for some seafood. Samuel enjoyed taking in rainy downtown Charleston while we waited to be seated.

And we enjoyed trying a random seafood platter (seabass, cobia, monkfish and scallops in a spicy lobster broth). We also got some fried oysters. Considering I've pretty much only had 3 types of fish ever (and shrimp) and basically never eat seafood, I think that was a pretty brave meal!!

Other than growing like crazy, Samuel's been doing a lot of the same stuff the last couple of weeks. He is talking a TON, loves playing on his playmat or the floor, is actually enjoying tummy time, and sticks EVERYTHING in his mouth!

See what I mean?? He thinks his hands are the best. He also has been caught chewing on burp cloths, wipes, the bear behind him in this picture.. basically anything he can find. He doesn't seem to be teething. He just has a bit of an oral fixation right now! 

Oh, did I mention that he actually started sleeping the whole night?!? Just to clarify, to me the whole night means from when we put him down (8:30ish) until at least 7. He hasn't done it every night, but he has done it four times in the last week or so. Hopefully in another week he will have it down! :-)

He's also seriously getting on the verge of rolling over. I kept expecting him to do it all weekend. He can get on his side, but hasn't quite figured out how to get over his arm yet. It's going to be really exciting when he finally does it, but I can't say I'm quite ready for a mobile child! I love having my teeny non-mobile boy!

I know I've said it before, but I am seriously amazed at how much I love this kid and how much more I love Eric as we figure this parenting thing out together. I keep thinking my heart can't grow anymore, but then it does. I'm so grateful we are getting to have this time together as a family right now! 

My heart just grows and grows.