Baby "Pistachio" Blog: Ocean Memories

And now onto Brianna's first time visiting the Atlantic Ocean (well unless you count when I was pregnant with her, but somehow this one just seems different). After visiting all of our friends and family in Maryland, we drove three hours east and headed for our reunion in Ocean City, Maryland. I apologized to Bree ahead of time for any feelings of being overwhelmed....I have a lot of extended family that were excited to see Bree!! Some of them met her when she was a tiny little thing, and others haven't gotten a chance to meet her at all, so it was very exciting for all of us. This year we stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Boardwalk...what a beautiful room, hotel, and view! We had views of the water all around our room (we were lucky enough to get an end unit, so we could see the ocean out of one side and the bay out of another). The room was HUGE! The shower had three shower heads and the room had its own private hot tub. Talk about a beautiful treat for a new mommy :) Each night, I treated myself to a wonderfully deserved soak. The reunion was a lot of fun as it always is. My family does a mixture of together family time stuff (dinners and breakfasts) and then random outings that are split between which ever family members are interested. So it's a great mix of togetherness without too much togetherness. Jason and I decided to take Bree on a walk with some family members on the boardwalk. We introduced her to Fisher's Carmel popcorn, Thrasher's french fries (heart attack in a bucket), and Candy Kitchen's red Swedish fish (of course she's too young to enjoy any of these treats, so her mommy and daddy had them for her). We also got two little onesies which Ocean City prints on them (of course they were cut super small and she was only able to wear each one a handful of times, but it's the thought that counts). Jason and I love stopping at the Dough Roller for some amazing pizza and chicken parmigiana subs. So wish we had a Dough Roller up here in Connecticut. They have some of the best pizza ever! Another day, Jason and I took Bree to play some putt-putt miniature golf with a few of my cousins. Jason did great carrying Bree around in her Moby wrap. She did great for the first half of the course, but got a bit fussy on the second half. Nice thing is that the place is swarming with kids who all make loud noises, so you couldn't hear Bree cry and fuss over the noise of the other kids. Jason and my cousin were having a nail-biting competition carried over from last year's reunion. Ironically, I almost beat my cousin, but then decided to throw my game at the end. Even with carrying Bree around, Jason took first place this year. I think next year's trip is the tie breaker. The most awesome part of putt-putt was that Jason took Bree out of the Moby wrap for the last hole (the one that if you make a hole in one you win a free game - the hole that nobody really makes). Well, he held her in his arms and wrapped her hands around the club handle. He swung her and the club (despite her screaming the whole time)...and what would you know...hole in one!! Apparently, our little baby is going to be a pro at miniature golf! Jason, my family, and I seemed more impressed by the shot than Bree did. One of the other fun things about the weekend was when my cousin brought out some old family videos of her and I singing and dancing at past reunions and vacations. I must admit the 80's and early 90's were not good in the fashion sense, but definitely worth it in terms of having a good laugh! I'll have to get some of the videos burned to DVD for safe keeping.

I was very impressed with Brianna the whole weekend. She did great with the large crowds. She still napped like normal, played with all my cousins, and didn't seem to fuss at being passed from family member to family member. The only time she really fussed was when Jason and I put her in the pool for the first time. Now, I'll have to say that the pool was definitely on the cold side. We tried on two different occasions. First, Jason took her in and I stayed by the side taking pictures. Jason got her into the water and had her little feet and legs in the water without any screaming. He then slowly dipped her a bit more into the water, and that's when she lost it. Not liking it at all! Funny thing was that as soon as we took her out of the pool and wrapped her in a giant towel, she calmed right down and started playing. The second time, I tried taking her in. I decided to sit on the pool step and held her there. She immediately started fussing, but nothing horrible, all until a random kid decided to jump into the pool and one tiny little drop of water splashed on her face. After that, no more pool!! Bree screamed and cried, but again quieted right down as soon as I wrapped her in the towel. So after that, Bree and I sat on a beach chair and watched Jason and my cousins play with the football in the pool. I can't wait until next year, when Bree will be up and walking around, interacting more with her cousins and family members! I absolutely love these reunions and am beginning to love them even more as I watch

Here's a collection of pictures from this trip!