A local mall has regular concerts/shows during the summer and we went to see one of our very favorite bands. L had a wonderful time with a few friends and some keys.
L's friend E.
Then last week we headed to Miami for a week. Brad had a conference and L and I were lucky enough to tag along.
We flew out Friday mid-afternoon after doing all that last minute packing and going to pick up those few items that are needed, and even though we got off to a rocky start (it's always hard to carry 6 pieces of luggage, a toddler and a stroller) L fell asleep on the plane and the flight was very eventless.
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on Friday evening around 5:00, made the trek to the rental car counter, drove to Miami Beach and by the time we got to the hotel it was after 7:00. We looked at the restaurants in the hotel, tried to decide which was most kid-friendly, decided on one by the pool and set out for it.
When we got downstairs it was closed! We weren't bothered though, and decided to go for a walk around the pools. There are several pools at the hotel. There are shallow pools for sitting in, small pools for gathering around, several whirlpools, even one circular pool with a cabana in the center. At the far end of the resort, however, there is a PERFECT kids pool with a graded entry, waterfall and a slide! L and I made plans to return and we decided to check out the ocean.
Now... L has a sandbox and she hates it. She won't touch the sand. I don't think that she likes the way it feels, so we knew this was coming. She did NOT want to walk on the sand. She WOULD NOT walk on the sand. So we carried our baby girl and took a walk on the beach. When we were through, we decided to order room service and call it a night.
Saturday morning we woke up early. Brad went to his conference and L and I realized that we'd forgotten the swim diaper! We walked to Walgreen's and picked a few up and headed back to change into our suits. L had a fantastic time swimming in the kid's pool. She had such a fantastic time, in fact, that after we ate lunch with Brad, we both slept for three and a half hours. What a great day!
After our nap we headed to South Beach for some dinner. We can't seem to find a lot close to our hotel and everything in the hotel is very expensive. It was a short and fun drive though (Brad decided that the way to drive in South Beach is to "drive crazy.")and we ate at a place called "cafe des artes" which had outdoor seating and good margherita pizza.
After eating we headed back to the hotel to get some photos and to take another walk on the beach. Brad and I both love the ocean. It's so peaceful and even though California is still definitely our vacation destination of choice, Florida is quickly becoming a close second. (Florida is way closer but waaaaaaay too hot :o)
Anyway, the view of the pool area from a balcony at our hotel. This is the largest pool and you can see the boardwalk and the ocean on the other side.
This is one of the buildings on the property.
L and I on the balcony.
Then we walked down to the beach. Notice the cargo ship in the photo. L insists that this is a "choo choo" but will eventually give in that maybe it is a "bo."
L was looking at the sand and was still not sure that she wanted anything to do with it.
and... because we knew she would like it eventually I set her down. Notice that she's got as little skin touching the ground as possible.
She eventually decided that she was okay with it.
Then she turned her attention to the water!
and she was happy!
We walked along the beach, enjoying the view of the Miami Beach skyline and the being near the ocean.
We found shells.
...and finally we headed towards walking in the water. L was nervous at first. She wasn't sure she wanted to actually touch the water.
and of course, we continued down the beach. Look at these tiny footprints!
It was so wonderful!
Sunday morning Brad went to his conference and L and I decided to celebrate father's day by going back to the beach. At first we went in our clothes, but decided fast that it was toooooo hot to not be in the water. L had a BLAST! She was timid at first but got her ocean on pretty fast. Her favorite thing to do (and mine) was just sit in the shallow water and let the waves come in. After getting plenty of sand everywhere and taking a dip in the kid's pool (after showering off of course) we came upstairs and had lunch. What a morning! We had the best time and L and mama again took a nice three hour nap.
Sunday night we headed back to South Beach for some more good eats. We ate at "Puerto Sagua" and enjoyed some fried plantains (YUM!) and yellow rice. We also were able to snap a couple of photos of the area.
I was full and happy after that meal.
We celebrated the rest of father's day by just hanging out in the hotel. I don't think L went to bed (wait, went to sleep... she went to bed well before then...) before ten a single night. It makes for a great nap but a crazy evening!
Monday morning we were able to meet up with some friends who were attending the same conference we were. It was so nice to see some familiar faces and it gave me the confidence to shoot some photos. By Monday morning L had given up any fear that she once had about sand or sea and as soon as we arrived on the beach she headed straight for the water (or "wowo").
To this point L was mostly playing in the water, but her buddies W and C were very interested in the sand. L learned some things from them!
We then visited the footwash and headed to the kid's pool to refresh ourselves. Then it was lunch and a nap! We got some food in from a local Mexican restaurant on Monday. Nachos never tasted so good!
Tuesday it stormed. It stormed and stormed. I was worried about what we would do, but our friends C and W met us in the lobby of the hotel and the kids just ran around and did their crazy thing. If C and W weren't there... I don't know what I would have done!!!
Wednesday followed our (by then) regular pattern. Beach in the morning, followed by the kid's pool and then a nap. That evening we ended up swimming again in the evening with Daddy, who hadn't gotten much swimming in at all poor guy, but that was his last day of work and Thursday was open for fun!
Thursday morning we headed to the beach, only this time Brad came along which significantly changed the dynamic. I hadn't even really thought of building a sandcastle but that was first on the list.
There was a bit of a hiccup at first when L rubbed her eye with her sandy fist.
...but it was easily remedied with a bottle of water. I love her sandy rear end in this photo.
Then the work began in earnest.
L and I collected seashells for the wall.
and L and daddy build several fortification walls around the castle.
L did eventually raze the town, but it was great while it lasted!
After we had had enough sand we again visited the footwash/outdoor shower and headed to the kid's pool. There was a giant slide at the kid's pool that I had been too chicken to try, but Brad was more than willing to go down with L.
We then dried off, and headed inside for a nice long nap.
After a nice evening in Coral Gables we came home and went to the beach one last time.
A storm was moving in but was still quite aways away.
I tried my best to keep her out of the water.
She kept going back to it.
We had a wonderful trip.
I'm pretty sure I'm the luckiest lady on the planet.
Our trip home was easy and uneventful. L did not sleep and in fact caused quite a scene on the plane at the beginning of the flight, but then calmed right down and sat like a big girl the rest of the trip. We were happy to be home in our own beds and looking forward to the next trip.
See you next week!
