Beach Trip

We just got back from the beach with the entire Buckingham clan yesterday. I didn't take a turn with the internet, so there's a lot to catch up on. I just chuckled at my last post when I read the title. While we were at the beach Eve woke up at least every 3 hours if not more. Last night she gave me a little break and slept for quite a while, though. I think she and John are both pretty worn out from the trip. John has been to the beach before, but it's been a while, so he didn't remember it. He loved the over-sized sand box, but it took a while to get used to the waves. The first day he started off clinging for dear life before we even got to the water. By the end of the day he was jumping waves in the surf and having a great time. He definitely trusts Daddy more than Mama! Day 2 was pretty much like day 1. I guess he forgot about the water. I managed to coax him in without holding him by marching...hup 2 3 4. He really likes doing that right now (also head shoulders knees and toes, and hi ho hi ho it's off to work we go). Anyway, he got to where he was comfortable rolling around in the waves with someone there, and one or two days he was ok swimming past the breakers. Unfortunately the waves were pretty strong most of the time, and very strong the last day, so we didn't go out into the waves much.
Eve enjoyed her little cabana, or at least she didn't complain about it. We had lots of fans running and she didn't seem to get too hot. Although we tried, we found it was impossible to keep sand off of her. We put her feet in the water for a few pictures. She didn't seem to mind that either.
John really loved playing with his big cousins. It was so fun watching him trying to be one of the big boys. They were so patient with him when he smashed their sand castles, messed up their board games, and pushed buttons on the DVD player. He particularly enjoyed spending time with David (5-closest in age). David kept trying to teach him house rules...hopefully some of it took. John was pretty whiney this week. I don't know if all of the people and action mixed with sun, waves, and a non-child-proof house had anything to do with it. I'm hoping. He's really sleeping in this morning, so I know he's tired. We had two double beds, so he moved between the two (and we joined in the game of musical beds), and he always heard Eve in the morning, so I don't think he got as much sleep as he needed. We're certainly glad to get back to our usual sleeping arrangements. All things considered, though, he did really well.
Eve is smiling like crazy now. It's so much fun. I haven't seen it a ton because she's been passed around so much this week, but we got some good pictures. Her neck is getting a lot stronger too. I think her hair has started to thin out a little bit (which I expected...mine and John's both did the same), and I'm starting to notice the red tint that John's hair had/has.
I've got tons of pictures, so I'll have to sort through them and post a bunch later. Now I have lots of catching up on laundry and cleaning...and my kids. I'm anxious to get back to a somewhat regular routine. With so much going on this week, and the house not being kid friendly, I feel like everyone else spent a lot more time with them than I did. I'm SO thankful for the help, but I'm also ready to spend some quality play time with them