Aloha from Fripp Island! I’ll be honest, our trips to the beach do not look like this unless I make a point to take semi-staged photographs before we even get to the water. Such is life with a busy toddler and a mobile baby!
If we took photos once we started swimming it’s a guarantee that Caroline would have sand in her mouth and be covered in sand from head to toe because she still prefers to Army crawl everywhere, I’d have folded over swimsuit pads because they always inevitably get messed up while nursing, and Jack wouldn’t be in the photos at all because he has no time for such nonsense. I love this phase of life so very much, but things are definitely more challenging than they used to be! Soooooo, here are some photos we took in our matching seersucker and monograms before we made it to the water.
Courtney of Princess and the Pea, an adorable monogramming small business owned by a momma of two, was so kind to send me the monogrammed suits for the kids and my monogrammed baseball cap, so I had to do them justice and take photos before we started playing in the waves 🙂 If you need anything monogrammed, she’s your girl! I love matching my babies and my unofficial motto is “monogram all the things!” so these swimsuits (plus my hat in my beloved navy and white) were a match made in heaven.
These days we travel pretty lightly when we go to the beach, unless we’re planning on staying for a few hours like we did on the 4th of July (see my Instagram post here for a bunch of photos in case you missed it). We also get there very early most days so we don’t have to deal with an umbrella or tent (although I recently bought this striped Cool Cabanas beach tent that I’m obsessed with and it’s so easy to put up!). Right before these photos were taken I had actually just finished running (hats are a lifesaver for hiding sweaty hair!), so everything we had for the beach was in the bottom of my stroller. We typically play for about an hour and then head home once Caroline needs a nap or if Jack starts getting uncooperative…and I’ll be honest, we can’t go anywhere without having an issue with Jack these days. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it here but we found out that he has fluid in his ears that is likely preventing him from hearing properly, thus causing his speech delay. He will likely get tubes once we get back to Hawaii, and I’m so anxious and ready for it to happen. He is very difficult because he doesn’t listen (likely because he hears us like he’s underwater) and he and Caroline almost sound the same these days as far as babbling goes. He does have about 40 or so words right now and he really is trying to say more things, but most of his words are incredibly mispronounced and I often find myself translating for him. It’s heartbreaking to listen to him because I just want to help him but I can’t. He’s a sweet, loving boy but I’m praying that some of his behavior problems are resolved once he can hear better. But I digress…
Beach trips these days are far from relaxing but it’s so fun watching my children discover the magic of Fripp Island, a place I’ve been visiting since I was Jack’s age.
