April 2017 Fun

Wow, the girls are growing so fast and I can't keep up with documenting it all. April came and went, and writing a federal grant meant mommy didn't have much of a work-life balance for most of April and May. We did manage quite a few outings in April during the early part of grant writing. Zoe's now a talking machine, and it seemed like both girls grew a lot physically and developmentally in the past few weeks.

During our weekends in April, we visited a farm, went to the local parks and museums, had some Easter fun, and managed a couple of beach trips.

I'll let photos and videos share many of our adventures.

Hiking from home to the Bond Park Playground in early April

Enjoying a school picnic and display of art projects

Zoe yelling to the ducks at Pullen Park in Raleigh

Zoe at 19.5 Months

Zoe brushing her teeth before heading off to school

Rose at 3 years, 2.5 months

One of Rose's favorite dresses to wear to school

Playing in the water at the Durham Museum of Life and Sciences

Zoe yelling to the pigs ("piggies!") at Reverence Farms in Saxapahaw, NC
our 2017 Piedmont Farm Tour highlight

Hayride through Reverence Farms on the Piedmont Farm Tour

Taking a break from farm tour activities to swing

Our friends and neighbors hosted an Easter egg hunt in their yard, and it was so nice to walk up the street and have the neighborhood kids find Easter eggs. Some eggs had chocolate, which was very exciting for Rose. Zoe enjoyed opening the eggs and finding out what was inside each one.

Easter weekend we rented a condo in Myrtle Beach with my parents. It was nice to spend the weekend at the pool and the beach. The weather was mid-upper 70s, but the ocean was still a little cool. The girls enjoyed floating in the lazy river, and playing in the shallow pool in the condo complex. We had another egg hunt in the condo. Zoe was more interested in seeing what was in each egg rather than collecting a bunch of eggs.

Rose enjoying the beach part 1

Rose enjoying the beach part 2

Floating in the lazy river in Myrtle Beach, SC

Easter egg hunt in Myrtle Beach, SC

Zoe opening her Easter eggs

Fun in the rain after school

Fun at home, dressing up and singing "Let it Go"

First Fort Fisher beach trip of the year

Taking the Ft. Fisher ferry to get some ice cream

Stay tuned for our May update with more pictures and videos. I'm particularly fond of one with Zoe singing the alphabet. 

Rose's First Beach Trip

Over the past week, it seemed like the weather transitioned from winter to summer.  One night it was so warm we actually had to turn on the air conditioning. With the promise of nice weather continuing through the weekend, we decided to take Rose on her first trip (of hopefully many) to the beach.

We were up very early and decided to get on the road after getting Rose fed and changed. We were fortunate that she rested most of the 2.5 hour drive down to the beach.

We arrived to fairly strong winds and cool temperatures down by the water's edge.  Thankfully, we all had our hats and several layers of clothing. Rose was so comfortable, she managed to sleep for a solid 3 hours on the beach as the temperatures warmed into the 70s. The only downside was that it remained windy.  Neither Colin nor I realized the exposed areas of our skin would get sunburned.

 Rose's first trip to Fort Fisher State Park Beach, NC

Enjoying the ocean even though it was cool and windy

The few hours Rose was awake at the beach she seemed to enjoy it.  She gave us some of her adorable smiles when we talked to her and she was very relaxed.  I doubt she actually took in the ocean and the sand, but I'm guessing the sounds of the waves and the seagulls were soothing.

Since Darwin wasn't forced to go in the water, he had a great time at the beach. We took a long walk and a short walk and Darwin was so comfortable, he also managed to take a nap.

Colin and Darwin did their usual racing on the beach

Mommy wearing Rose on our long walk

Rose napping in the Moby Wrap

Darwin relaxing by the water's edge while Rose gets fed

For the afternoon nap, 

Rose got to sleep on Daddy's chest

The skies clouded up by early afternoon and since we had been up since 4:30am, we were ready to make our way back home.  We stopped to have some dinner on the way back through Wilmington and made sure Rose was clean and fed before starting the journey back.  Rose lasted about 30 minutes before she got fussy. It was the witching hour, after all.  To calm her and give us all a quiet ride back, I sat in the back seat with her and Darwin so I could help her keep a pacifier in her mouth.  The drive certainly felt much longer coming home.

Even though Rose slept a lot at the beach, she still managed to have a good night of sleep with 3-4 hour stretches. Both Colin and I were grateful for the rest! As soon as we were unpacked and bathed, we all crashed!

I'd say it was a fairly successful first trip to the beach - or at least the best we could ask for with an 8 week old.  We only hope that Rose loves the beach as much as we do and look forward to lots of trips in our future.