Fort Macon

Friday, Arden and I went to Fort Macon to hang out with some friends on the beach. I was a little nervous about it, because I'd never taken Arden to the beach without Adam. The night before, I went to Walmart and bought one of those mirrors you mount on the headrest in the back seat so I could keep an eye on her during the drive. She could see me, and I could see her...it was great!

The beach was really nice. We arrived at the same time as the Savitz family, and Bart helped me carry some stuff to the beach. He's such a great kid! I had to make a trip back to the car, though, because I needed to feed and change Arden and grab some stuff I left in the car. There's this little sandy hill that connects the deck of the bath house to the beach, and it just about killed me. My face was red by the time I got back to the car. I'm so out of shape, plus it was really hot. Once I got back to the beach, all was well. There was a nice little group there from church, and we had a great time. Arden loves splashing in the water and eating the sand...gross! About half an hour before we left, I fed her some puree and some mini Cheez-It crackers. It was her first time eating the crackers, so I crushed them between my fingers before sticking them in her mouth. She really liked them! Then she was totally over being at the beach. It was nearly 2 p.m., and she hadn't had a nap yet. So I packed all the stuff up and got some help from Jamie carrying my stuff to the car. Again, my face was beet red. I got Arden changed and put her in her carseat. She wasn't happy about that, but she fell asleep as soon as the car started. She slept the entire way home and woke up a much happier girl as I pulled into our neighborhood. We took a shower together (her first), and then something kind of cool happened. She was lying naked on her towel, and she started fussing...it was her "I'm about to poop and it kinda hurts" fuss. I looked, and sure enough she was about to pooh. I opened the toilet lid and sat her on the potty. She poohed in the potty! She wasn't very happy about it, but she did it. I was just grateful I didn't have to clean another dirty diaper. Score! I got her dressed, and we went out to dinner with Adam. It was a great day!

I got this beach hat for Arden off of eBay. I needed something with a chin strap so she wouldn't pull it off. After these pics, I figured out how to put the strap behind her ears. She kept it on the whole time she was in the sun.

Mmm...Cheez-Its!

Lucy and Drake. Lucy wasn't happy at all at this point, but I somehow snapped a pic when she wasn't crying. She had a good time, though. She even took numerous, unassisted steps on the beach. Go Lucy!

Playing with the wrist strap on the camera.

I found this T-shirt and bloomers set at Target for $2.50. I'm not usually one to buy things that have words printed on the bum, but I couldn't pass this up. I put this on her after our shower.

We went to Arby's for dinner. Arden ate pureed something or another.