The Best Kind of Time Share

So this year being a busy year of home remodeling and babies, Dusty and I decided to take my parents up on their offer and bunk with them for a few days in our favorite place, Sanibel Island. This would be our first trip to Sanibel as parents with our dearest Emma.

Upon arrival, Dusty and my parents unloaded our packed to the hills car while Emma and I headed upstairs to settle in. Dusty immediately went for a run while me, my mom, my dad, and Emma hit Jerry's for some necessities. After Dusty came back from his run, we went to one of our island favorites, Island Cow for some dinner and live music. The nights have always seemed to end quickly on Sanibel, but this year it felt even faster with a wee one.

DAY ONE:

On our first full day on the island, we took Emma to our favorite breakfast locale, Lighthouse Cafe. It was a little chilly and cloudy, so we didn't get to walk. After nap time, we took a quick stroll on the beach - Em's first time ever! We put her in the front carrier and topped her off with sunglasses and a hat. She was adorable! She seemed to enjoy the breeze and got tickled when daddy put some sand in between her toes! We decided to do a little shopping in the afternoon and headed to the outlet shops. As usual, Emma made out the best, with a bunch of cute outfits from Carter's. We just can't help ourselves when it comes to adorable clothes for our adorable baby! The night ended with dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger and two rounds of Aggrevation with the parentals while Emma snoozed. So much fun! Wish we had more than just a few days here!

DAY TWO:

We started the morning off with a quick stroll to Lighthouse Cafe. Yes, we eat there most mornings while in Sanibel. It was a little chilly, but a nice half-mile walk. After breakfast, Emma took a little nap and then off for some shopping with Mom-Mom. The real excitement came in the afternoon. We took Emma out to the beach and let her wiggle her toes in the sand. She loved it! She was so excited to put her little toesies in the sand! We got a few pictures and then decided to go for a walk towards the lighthouse. Dusty and I have been coming to Sanibel together for eight years. We have walked these beaches hundreds of times. As we walked, we thought about the many stages of our lives we've experienced as we strolled these beaches. We used to walk hand in hand talking about our future, engagement, college, jobs. Those walks and chats turned into discussions about marriage and careers and then about children. Now here we were, our first time walking as parents, hand in hand with our Emma in tow. How wonderful. Emma loved the walk. She kept her head towards the waves the entire time. I think she found the sound comforting. She stayed awake for the first "leg" of the walk and once we turned around, she took a snooze.

DAY THREE:

We took it easy on our final day on the island. My favorite part of the day was a stroll I took with Emma on the beach while Dusty was out for a run. Emma kept looking left to right, left to right. She's so very aware of her surroundings. She'd look at the water and the waves, and then up to condos lining the beach. Too cute. In the late afternoon, we dressed Emma in her little bathing suit and hat and went out for some playtime and picture time in the sand. She loves the sand in her toes! She does not love cold water! Dusty stood her at the edge of the water and let the little waves roll up to her, but the water was a bit cold. What a wonderful trip! Thank you mom-mom and pops for letting us crash your vacation!

Some things never change...on both the drive to Sanibel and the drive home, Dusty and I played our favorite road trip past-time, the Alphabet Game. Of course he beat me more times than I can count. It's because my eyes are so bad (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). We also had our typical "What would you do if you won the lottery" conversation. It's always a fun one to have when we're cruising down the road. The changes in our road trip were quite comical - the music we cruised to was quite different than the normal. Most of the time we listed to Baby Einstein Holiday Music. Our favorites were the quirky Dreidel song and Jingle Bells! We also had many more stops. Stops for poopy diapers, stops for bottles, stops to play Chinese Fire Drill, but it was all so wonderful.

Here's some more pictures from the trip:

Emma reading her Sunny Day - planning her activities for the trip!

Emma and Pops comparing their thinning hair.

Emma ready for her first Christmas.

Emma, "What!? We're going to the beach!?!"