Post-Season Beach Trip | September 2016

Our little family took one last trip to Ocean City, Maryland the week of September 17-24. We rented a condo in a nice building and enjoyed the post-season rental rates along with a lot of extra space! It was a bit quieter in OCMD that week, but there were still plenty of people around so we didn't feel like we were in a ghost town. Here's a recap of our week!

Panoramic view from our balcony

First sunset of the trip!

It was the end of "Bike Week" the first weekend we were there, so it was quite noisy with all the motorcycles joy riding up and down the main strip. Victor's parents joined us for the first part of the week, and some family friends and their kids also stayed with us the first night we were there. I was so grateful to the two kids, ages 14 and 12, who entertained Max pretty much the entire time they were there! I know I took photos of them playing on the beach, but they must be on Victor's phone because I don't have them! The big kids were so sweet and patient with him, and Max felt like a rockstar playing with them.

Max and Jason, BFFs

After a big breakfast, the first Sunday was spent on the beach. It was a gorgeous day in the upper 70s, and Max had so much fun playing frisbee with the big kids. Victor also got Max his own kite and he flew it all by himself!

Louisa napped under the umbrella for pretty much the entire time we were on the beach (about two hours). Little did we know her little cheeks were getting sunburned as she slept! As the day went on (after we were inside), her cheeks got redder and redder! Poor baby!

The beginning stages of her sunburn :(  She's too young for sunscreen still.

On Monday, September 19, Louisa turned 4 months old! I've been terrible about sharing her monthly photos (I was really good about it with Max. #secondchildproblems), and I wanted to make it up to her by doing her 4-month photo shoot at the beach, so I brought her frame with her 4 month card in it.

Hanging out with Vovos

We enjoyed lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants, Bad Monkey, and if you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen Max's little dance party to his "fong," Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feelin.'"

Playing dinosaurs with Vovo

The next few days were full of clouds and rain, so we spent a lot of time inside and at the indoor pool at our condo building. We also went to the nearby outlet mall to snag some end-of-summer deals.

Vovo got Louisa this lamb lovie at Carter's

On Wednesday, I started feeling achy all over and a little feverish. I had a temperature of 100 and felt absolutely rotten! I took a short nap and was able to join the family for a trip out to the beach Wednesday evening--we had a bad case of cabin fever and needed some fresh air!

On Thursday, the sun decided to come out and we went to the Kite Fest on the boardwalk. I took photos, but they were on my Instagram Story and I didn't save them, but I think the most important photo was this one: two sleeping kids in the stroller. Two thumbs WAAAYY up! I still wasn't feeling 100%, but some ibuprofen and lots of water helped me enjoy the day on the boardwalk.

Victor's parents joined us back at the beach on Thursday evening (they headed back home for work on Tuesday), and on Friday we walked to Seacrets for lunch (another favorite spot). The kids both fell asleep in the stroller on the way there, so we adults toasted the peace and quiet with some cocktails!

Max woke up as we finished lunch, so he got to have a photo-op in the Jamaican bobsled outside.

We saw several groups of dolphins swim by the condo on Friday, and Max was happy to observe with his "nocks."

Since I was finally feeling better, Victor's parents babysat the kids while we went out for a much-needed date night at de Lazy Lizard on Friday, our last night at the beach. I had a watermelon crush and it. was. STRONG! I'm not drinking much alcohol since I'm breastfeeding, so my tolerance is pretty low...I was definitely feeling it! After dinner, we headed to Dumser's Dairyland for some soft-serve ice cream with chocolate sprinkles!

We were up bright and early Saturday morning to pack up and head home. I was feeling pretty icky again on Saturday as my fever and body aches returned, plus I developed some swollen, splotchy tonsils. No idea where that crud came from but it ailed me for the next couple of days. 

Max had a rough time with sleep at the beach, as well. I knew naptimes would be a challenge so I just resolved to have him either sleep in the car or the stroller for naps, if possible. I wasn't expecting bedtime to be a knock-down, drag-out fight every night! We tried to keep his bedtime routine as consistent as possible, but to no avail. He resisted bedtime with all his might each night (except for one). It was rough, and in the thick of it, I vowed not to go on any vacations ever again! I'm hoping things go better when we go to Ohio for Thanksgiving next month!

Even though the weather was pretty crummy and we had some germy germs floating around the family, we still had a nice time. Looking forward to next summer's trips with a 3-year-old and 1-year-old! Oh how different the experience will be!