![Life as a New Mom: Baby’s First Beach Vacation [VIDEO, PHOTOS]](http://townsquare.media/site/530/files/2014/08/Beach-Fam.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Life as a New Mom: Baby’s First Beach Vacation [VIDEO, PHOTOS]
Tuscaloosa, I am home. I am sunburned; I am tired, and I am having an unbelievably hard time getting back to work--but I am here, and my vacation was awesome. Prepare yourselves for the inundation of photos and videos!
This was my daughter's first trip to the beach, and the first time my family (me, hubs, baby) went on vacation together. We stayed with the rest of my family at Caribe Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama. I LOVE Orange Beach; as a kid, my family went like every single summer. I have lots of fond memories about its white sand and emerald ocean waves, so I was psyched about this vacay.
We left Monday, and Google Maps had us go down 20/59 until we got to Meridian. We took some highway to Mobile, then got on I-10 and on to Loxely and the Orange Beach Expressway. After 4.5 hours of driving, we were there. I couldn't wait to check in to the resort, so we went straight on to the State Beach. Toes in the sand, y'all. That's how we do.
Dolly LOVED it. I thought she would have been scared, but NOPE. She wanted to wade right in to the waves. I discovered my daughter is a total water baby--and we couldn't have picked a better place to stay: Caribe has over 40,000 feet of pools.
Just a ridiculous amount of pools: zero entry pools, lazy rivers, indoor pools, and HUGE outdoor pools. And water slides. Lots of water slides. Dolly was CRAZY about the water slide. Check out the video below of her in action--her laugh at the end is adorable.
I enjoyed seeing her have so much fun, and of course I savored the chance to just CHILL. I never really get to do that, and honestly, there is no place on Earth better than the beach for kicking back. There's something about the sand and waves that just melts my stress away. How can you be in a bad mood when you're on vacation? NOT POSSIBLE.
Your girl also got some sun--maybe too much sun, but whatever. I may be a little burned, but... WORTH IT.
My first wedding anniversary was Saturday, so my husband and I were able to go out and celebrate while my parents watched Dolly (thanks again, guys!). We went to this incredible restaurant called The Gulf--it's made from shipping containers. Look at how cool it is!
And check out the seating--it's all picnic tables and couches and sand.
Our table was literally like 5 feet away from the sea wall. No joke. Just look at that view. I could live there.
Here's a selfie because why not? (I get freckles when I tan--can't decide if I love them or hate them, but they're there no matter how I feel)
But... all good things come to an end, and Friday we packed our bags and headed back home. Dolores managed to stay awake for about 15 minutes, and then she was OUT.
She slept for about two hours, which is huge because she NEVER sleeps in the car (she gets that from me). We made it back in one piece, and now we've got to jump back in to our crazy busy lives. I have a birthday party to plan--Dolly is TWO in like three weeks, but I can't deal with that without getting all emotional and weepy, so here's a picture of her at the pool.
Now that she's old enough, I want to go back every summer. I want her to grow up like I did--and make all those awesome memories from fun family vacations. Her experience may vary--I had two sisters and a brother; she's an only child--but I think that's okay. That just means we have more time to spoil her.
BTW, you can see my awesome tan in person Saturday at the What Women Want Expo at the Bryant Conference Center. Just throwing that out there. ;)
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