Girls' Trip

Caroline and I took a trip to Hilton Head Island, SC from Wednesday through Sunday last week with my two best friends from high school and their children. My friend A's husband's family has a house there-- a very nice house with 5 bedrooms and a wonderful deck on the back that looks out onto a beautiful marsh. We had great weather for the most part and spent some time at both the beach and pool and even managed to relax with margaritas on the deck during the kids naps.
My friend A has three children-- SG is 6, W is 4 and V is 1. My friend L has a daughter A who is 19 months. Caroline, V, and A are each separated by about 6 months. The babies aren't really old enough that they can play together, but they definitely take interest in one another. Caroline and V even had a few conversations in baby language.

Caroline went in a swimming pool for the first time. The pools had just opened for the year and were quite cold. I had bought a little baby blow up raft that has leg holes in it. I put her in it and she was definitely shocked by the cold water but she didn't seem to mind too much. She stayed in the float and kicked her legs and was able to propel herself forward a little. She especially enjoyed sucking on the side of the raft and even managed to suck down some water and choke herself. Nothing a few whacks on the back didn't fix.

We also went to the beach. It was a little windy and chilly still for a full on beach day with the kids, so we just walked over in the late afternoons before dinner to let them run around. Of course, Caroline isn't really running around yet, so A had taken a little tarp for Caroline to sit on. I put her down on it and she immediately crawled to the edge and proceeded to put her face down to the sand. And up she came with a mouthful. The face she made was priceless, but I spent the next few minutes scooping sand out of her mouth.

Caroline was completely amused by all of the activity of the other kids. She was overwhelmed at first and just sat watching them. But, by the end, she was brave enough to get in the mix and even steal a toy or two.

It was a great trip! Hopefully, we will be able to make it an annual event.