I'm pretty impressed with myself that I'm starting this post and we haven't even been home for 8 hours... but let's be honest, it'll take about a month for me to write, upload pictures, and actually post.
Sinks in the Sand 2017: our annual beach vacation - this year to Corolla with the Trevillian/Overstreet clan. Compared to last year's sickness fiasco at the beach, this year kicked ass. There really isn't anything about a beach vacation with two 2-year olds that's relaxing (except naptime and bedtime), but holy moly it was so enjoyable. The girls loooooved the Ocean - playing in the sand, running away from waves, and searching for seashells - so much joy and happy giggles.
we made it to Corolla! Having an enjoyable outside lunch with these two
... and we made it! "Hiiii Ocean!"
getting our piggies wet
me and my girls <3
walking back to wait for our house
...more waiting... didn't the rental company know it was naptime!?
P.S. they never did nap
We finally got unpacked and settled for the week. Since it was late, we didn't go to the beach or do anything fun... until the kiddos went to bed, and we tried out the hot tub!
Ah, vacation!
First full day: bring on the salty air and sandy toes. We spent the morning searching for sea shells (SO much fun, and sadly no pictures) - it was like an Easter egg hunt. The girls would run from shell to shell and put in their bags. After nap time, we headed out for salty air and sandy toes
making the trek to the Ocean with Daddy
we made sure to make our beach treks super simple - we each had a chair and a bag and a kid
#sinksinthesand2017 ya'll
sweet, sweet girls
we replaced the playroom with one very large sand box
Cover up Daddy's feet!
Sea you soon
Our whole week was relatively breezy + not super warm. It was perfect to just hang out by the ocean wearing long sleeves. It's not-so-perfect when you have little ones with 0% body fat, since they get cold so easy, but we made the best of it! We made sure not to get them wet in the ocean until it was time to head back. And since our pool was freezing cold... we had to improvise :)
"da hot tubbbb"
After getting warmed up in the hot tub, and cleaned up in the bath tub, we cozied up with our cousins to Sing.
E, S, A, S
Day #2 - the potential "Tropical Storm Irma" started to blow in. It wasn't ever a named storm for us, just caused some wind and a little bit of rain. We spent some time at the beach in the morning.
searching for shells
oh hey, Hollywood!
When Ella was done with the beach, she would say "towel" and put her head on your shoulder. She hung out with Nana for a bit so Sydney could play a bit longer
but first... warming up before lunch & a nap
their shirts have a crab on them and say "Oh, Snap!"
how punny!
Day #3 - "Irma" day - we planned on a big, lazy rainy day, which actually turned out to be gorgeous in the afternoon.
PJs and attacking Nana!
movie time in the theater room
there was a break in the rain, so we took the girls for a stroll... look at that hot dad
and our rainy day turned into this gorgeous afternoon
watermelon cousins
The breeze and currents caused the whole OBX to be red-flagged ALL WEEK. How crazy is that!? Daniel was a little bummed, but it wasn't a huge deal because it's not like two little ones can really get IN the ocean and do much. So, if it's going to happen on one of our vacations, I don't mind it when they can just enjoy the edge of the surf.
Sydney going for her first boogie board adventure
"Eyya's turn"
the hot tub turned violent war zone
Day 4: long sleeves, tutus, and so many happy toddler squeals
perfect view
P.S. I didn't get to sit often, so when I did, I soaked it up. All 35 seconds of it.
ready to go shell hunting with our adorable sea-shell bags
sand-jumping off the mounds created by the tides
The most fun thing ever - watching these two run away from the waves... they would squeal and shout and laugh, and it was so much fun. We had such a great time on our trip because we got a first row seat to the beach through a toddler's eyes. My heart was so full, and I had a permanent smile on my face.
Daddy & E running away from the waves
<3
they did this hilarious crab-crawl towards the water, and laughed the whole time
oh, I wish you could hear their squeals!
WARNING: shark sighting! beach is closed - must go in for lunch and naps!
We had to get squeaky clean and well-rested for our BEACH PICTURES! Amazingly, our photographer was on vacation at the same time as us, in the same place, and agreed to do a session.
YA'LL
oh.my.godddddd.
THEY WERE AMAZING! They deserve their own post, so this one only gets some teasers.
After naps, we headed to Kitty Hawk to visit our favorite Brew Thru store and got our bellies filled up, just the 4 of us. It was nice to spend some time with just the girls, since a beach house with 11 people can get a little crazy.
Brew Thru Shopping
then this happened
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
I'm telling you, they are to die for. You need one more.
We got home and put our sweet girls to bed, and relaxed in the hot tub... chatting about how much fun we've had all week.
love this guy
Day #5
each family was in charge of two breakfasts. for the first breakfast, we took the lazy way out and picked up Duck Donuts. for the second, we put our girls in charge - their most favorite breakfast to fix (and well, only one...) - pancakes!
Because the forecast looked a little chilly, we Amazon Prime'd wet suits!
because a girl's gotta snack!
even Darth Vader needs to eat lunch
nap-time floating
We finished up dinner and grabbed our flashlights for a little evening crab hunting - how fun!
cousins by the sea
Day 6 - kind of gloomy, but perfect for packing up, not chasing little ones in the sand, and not giving anyone a bath :)
Daniel and I snuck away after breakfast for our first (and only) walk on the beach. It was cool, cloudy, and almost deserted.
enjoyed some time solo with this guy
Then we took the girls for a little walk and found the neighborhood park. Perfect size for two year olds!
Ella getting herself up on that platform is hilarious
It was nice to sit on a bench with Daniel and just watch them play
naptime vibes
this fierce little girl cried all.week.long! being a newborn is tough.
And that was it! We made the trek home, and loved our week in Corolla. Our girls make us so happy, and made our vacation exhausting and so, so wonderful.
There's just something about squeaky clean babies, that I can't resist. Need to brighten up your day? Listen to all this laughter. Now I dare you not to smile.
Whose in the background making these two crack up? Why it's Daddy, of course.
Up next, we have a little rendition of our new favorite song - You Are My Sunshine. I have a really, really horrible singing voice, so I'm not going to lie, this is fairly embarrassing. But I can't get over Ella's sweet little voice. Ella was having a hard time falling asleep, and just needed some snuggles with Momma "in da rockin' chair". I started to sing the song to her, and had her repeat after me... and <3 <3 <3 alllllll the feels. Now, they've been asking to sing it every morning on the ride to school.
Sleep tight my beautiful little love bugs. You have no idea how much you brighten our every day.
Ella & Sydney had Spirit week at daycare. As long as it was easy, we participated ;) And honestly, we had fun doing it!
Silly hair day!
Kind of hard to do silly hair with not much hair, but we tried and also got crazy (kind of ;) with hair bows Ella had TWO pony's and Sydney got THREE!
We tried out puddle jumpers at the pool! Look at those happy, adorable faces
Tie dye day! We wore shirts from last year's tie dye day We often take evening walks, and the girls don't often hold hands, but Daniel snapped a picture of all of his girls strolling & holding hands
after our walk we went to Jeff & Kim's to visit their newest addition: Aster the kitty kat FYI- two year olds saying Aster sounds an awful lot like Asshole
On tie dye day they actually tie dyed their own shirts, and here's the result! How cool is that
Our girls have this uncanny ability to gang up on you when you're alone every.single.time.
After the girls went down, Daniel went to hang out with Franco since he's in town. Did they go straight to sleep? Oh hell no. They chatted, hugged, hit, and talked. I decided to just let them be, until Sydney hit Ella in the head with her Baby, and she cried and cried and it was time for me to go intervene.
Have you ever read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"? Similarly, this was how me going up there went:
If Mama has to go up to kiss a boo-boo, she will smell some poop. If she smells poop, she has to take Sydney out of the crib for a diaper change. If she has to change Sydney's diaper, Ella will stand there and also want out. If Ella wants out, she will want to be rocked. If Ella wants to be rocked, Sydney will also want to be rocked.
So, this mama got both of her baby bears into her lap to be rocked. Ella snuggled her little head right in, and clearly just needed to be snuggled. Sydney didn't care to be rocked, she just wanted to be a part of the action. So I obliged and soaked it in, until Sydney didn't quit squirming or singing "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee". Ella wasn't quite ready to quit rocking, but Sydney so sweetly walked over and put Ella's teddy bear into her crib and cut on Violet's lullabies, as to show her "here Ella, I got this all ready for you!". My heart was mush.
Ella was all snuggled in, her face smooshed up on my chest
The girls were born at a healthy, but still small, 6 lbz 1 oz and 5 lbs 7 oz. Kelly birthed an almost-8 pound baby a month ago, and it was mind-blowing to think that the girls were almost 3 pounds LIGHTER than that... yet, they were still great sizes for twins. They came home in preemie outfits, that were honestly a little snug. The newborn clothes were way too big. They only wore preemie clothes for about a week, and then newborn clothes for about 3 months.
Over the 4th of July holiday, Grandma Georgia went to NY and visited the American Girl store. She brought back Ella and Sydney their very own Bitty Babies. As a child, I was never lucky enough to own a Bitty Baby or American Girl doll. I remember looking through catalogs and wishing, but never had my own. So these girls are l-u-c-k-y!
The night she brought them over, they were having fun changing their clothes. I had an idea and went and grabbed some of their old preemie clothes - and they fit! How crazy is that. It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that my girls used to be this small.
Speaking of Grandma Georgia's trip to NY, she had this cool charcoal drawing of the girls done. How neat!
And apparently I didn't' take an "after" pic... stay tuned!
