Seagrove Beach!

We're home! Here we are in the middle of August and finally home for what should be a long stretch of time. After a summer of packing up the car and taking Kinsley to Lake Oconee (3 x's), Charleston, Savannah, Amelia Island, and Jekyll Island, we finished off our wonderful summer of travel with my family's annual trip to the Gulf Coast - and our little one turned 5 MONTHS on Wednesday! So hard to believe that she is already 5 months old! This year, we stayed in Seagrove Beach and spent some time at each of South Walton's wonderful beaches...Seaside, Rosemary, Alys, Watercolor, Grayton and also over at Destin! I must admit, in the weeks leading up to our trip, I was a little apprehensive of what things would look like with the oil leak going on in the Gulf, but never saw one trace of oil. Not one tarball, nothing. A tropical depression out in the Gulf did bring in more seaweed than usual, but I would take seaweed over oil anyday! It was beautiful. Here are some memories from our wonderful week!

From my previous post about traveling with a baby...our first stop on the way to Florida: Cracker Barrel!

First morning at the beach, and some tummy time with Uncle Danny...she's looking at him like, what are you doing down here?

Playing airplane (a new favorite) in the pool!

Later that day, she was so tired from playing in the pool - and so was her Papa!

Kinsley's first time with the sand between her toes...

...and then her first steps in the ocean.

Hanging out with daddy!

Now she is officially a "beach girl"!

First time as a family on the beach!

It doesn't get much sweeter than this...after the morning at the beach, daddy and his baby girl peacefully sleeping. Ahhhh.

I must say, I am one beach-ready-mama...baby girl on front, beach bag on back. Let's roll!

Just chillin' with my girl under the beach umbrella on a overcast afternoon later in the week.

NO OIL!!! Just the same ol' familiar, beautiful beaches.

One of our favorite places: we took my parents to George's at Alys Beach for their 35th anniversary!

Love this...big smile for her Beebe at their anniversary dinner!

At dinner with daddy!

Doesn't she look so big in the photo!?!?

Family photo opp in the Seaside square!

Kinsley with her Aunt Ang and Uncle D!

Love that little tush.

Kinsley had lots of memories on this trip, including her first trip to the ocean (photos above) and "finding her feet"...she's now contantly playing with her feet & toes and pulling off her socks whenever she is lying on her back! And then on Saturday when we got home (she did wonderfully on the 8 hour ride down - 2 "feeding" stops - and 7 hour drive back - only 1 "feeding" stop)...something pretty big happened...Kinsley rolled over. From tummy to back. Completely unaided, but I have to admit I was right there cheering her on as she slowly pushed her torso off her crib mattress with her right arm and swung her right leg up, and she was on her side...and then sloooowly, she rolled onto her back! First, she had a look of shock, like what did I just do? Then, a big smile! It was such a big step for her, considering that lots of babies are rolling over by 5 months old. But I have to keep remembering that preemie's are not on the "traditional" time table, and Kinsley is quick to remind me that she will do things when she is good and ready.

We also took some amazing photos of our whole family on the beach after dinner one night in Destin at the The Back Porch, a place that both Philip and I used to come to as kids. So neat to take our daughter there now. The sun was just setting, a storm had rolled through earlier that evening, and it was the perfect background for our family photos.

And, finally, after this incredibly loooong blog post, here are some more photos of baby girl...and her many faces from the week that kept us all smiling!