Mom and I rode together. We split the trip down with a night in Jackson. Claire did so well in the car! We flipped her car seat around so that she could watch movies. I brought toys and snacks and we hung out in the backseat. We stopped when we could for her to get out and stretch her legs for a few minutes. We found a McDonald's with an outdoor patio that was perfect for us! She's not a car napper, but 30 minute naps seemed to be sufficient since she wasn't exhausting herself with playing all day. She was wired and crazy in the hotel at Jackson. She didn't want to fall asleep, but ended up going down around 10 and was up at 6:30.
Once we got to the beach on Friday, we unloaded and dressed to go out to the beach for the afternoon. When she first saw the water, she hesitantly walked down to it and said "whoa" the whole time. She was perfectly content sitting on my lap and watching the water. Annie and Michele got there later in the evening to play for a while and then Aunt Mary got there in time for us to enjoy a dinner at Red Fish, Blue Fish. Claire didn't want to sit in the high chair and was crazy at dinner (she was very tired and we were approaching bed time), but we all enjoyed a delicious seafood meal and then headed home for bed.
Saturday was perfect. We all slept well and got up to enjoy a delicious breakfast together. Without rushing, we put on swimsuits and sunscreen and loaded up the beach gear in the wagon. We were on the beach by 9:30 with very few other people. The highs were in the high 70's with a little breeze and calm, clear water. Perfection!
For Claire we brought: beach blanket, small umbrella, sand toys, personal toys, snacks and water. She wore swimsuit, cover up, sun hat, crocs, and sunglasses. She really didn't like the sand to be on her, so she was content staying on the blanket, a chair or a raft. I joked that we could leave her on the blanket, run up to the condo, and she would stay right on that blanket. She loved walking out into the water (carried) even though it was COLD! Claire and Annie played together so well and I got some good time with the women in the fam! The two baby girls and I went in for lunch and nap time for Claire. Michele came in to make lunch for her, mom and aunt Mary to enjoy on the beach. We joined them after a great 2 hour nap by Claire. We joined them back on the beach and stayed out until time to get ready for dinner!
We got dressed and ready for Peg Leg Pete's. We took some mother/daughter pics during our 2 hour wait! This night was a rough because dinner went way past bedtime and Claire was acting up and Annie was so tired. Annie slept with Michele this night, and for good reason because Claire was up a lot crying and coughing and ended up sleeping with me.
Sunday morning, Michele and Annie had to go home. The day on the beach was practically the same as Saturday, just missing Annie and aunt Chele. I went in at lunch to feed Claire and lay her down, and my mom let me go out and enjoy beach time without her while she stayed in during Naptime!!! I napped. Best gift. Again, we stayed out until dinner. We stayed in the condo to eat up extra food so that we had less to take home. We began to pack up. Claire had another coughing fit, but after some Zarbees, she slept well.
We left by 8:30 on Monday morning after one more walk out on the beach. To say that Claire dos well would be an understatement. I don't think she cried once. There was a little whining, but nothing bad. She watched Sesame Street and Mickey. We had toys and snacks. We still stopped every so often to walk around and eat. She messed her diaper 3 times that we had to make special stops for. One place that was great to walk around was the visitors center in Lake Village! So nice and perfect for a busy toddler to roam. We beat all nasty weather and missed any heavy traffic. It was a smooth 12 hour ride. We made it to Russellville around 9. We left to come back the next morning and again, she was great!
I think the greatest thing we ever did was flip that car seat around!!!! (All the praise hands!) I was so proud of how much Claire enjoyed this trip!
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