TODDLER BEACH FASHION

 

Hawaii is two months away, but I'm already planning and packing. Partly because being organized is the only thing that makes sense when you're embarking on a long journey with a toddler. And partly because it's just really very fun.

So here is what Rosemary will be wearing on the sunny beaches of Hawaii.

ONE: Swim Cap

I shudder to think of how unhappy a baby with a sunburned scalp would be.
A sweet and snugly fitting swim cap is the perfect answer. 

TWO: Cute Suit

A super cute – but ladylike – swimsuit. Perfect.

THREE: Cool Shades

Baby aviators? Not much could be cuter – or cooler.

FOUR: Itty Bitty Water Shoes

There will be plenty of beach walking and beach running,
so very small water shoes are a very good idea.

 

Babymoon Album for Timmy

For Father’s Day I made Timmy a “Babymoon” album. I purposely made it in the same style as this album I created to document our year 2010. A simple binder at Target, clear plastic sleeves, brown Kraft paper, and bright photos. It’s simple and structured, which makes this project one I can actually finish on time. (All my other scrapbooks exist in a half-finished state.)

The album is divided into several parts. It begins with statistics about the trip, a map of where we went, and a record of our hilarious conversations. Then it advances in chronological order. 

Each day starts with our journal entries for that day. (Tim and I bring our “vacation journal” with us whenever we travel. This is a tradition we started on our honeymoon and it has accompanied us all over the world. Every night before bed, we’ll each journal our thoughts on the day, recording what we ate, where we went, and any silly conversations we had that day. I LOVE it.) 

The journaling is followed by photos, and after I gave Timmy the book we spent several date nights entering “captions” for each photo. (I found this to be more fun to do together. Also, I love that the captions are written in our own handwriting, adding an extra personal touch to the entire album.)

I love it. I’m so glad that I recorded this – before the baby comes. Our Babymoon feels like one of our last ties to “just us two” times and soon my camera will be flooded with photos of Baby Love and our hearts will overflow with memories of “family of three” times.  

Babymoon Part 4: Switzerland

The final chapter of our Babymoon 2011 adventure. When we booked our tickets - purposely choosing the option that would give us an 8 hour layover in Zurich - having a day of adventuring in Switzerland seemed thrilling. But on Saturday morning, exhaustion from a week of walking in Greece plus getting up at 3AM to catch our flight out of Athens made this suddenly seem like a VERY BAD idea. I stubbornly announced that I just wanted to spend the entire layover sleeping on the airport chairs. 

Luckily, I’m married to a man who often has VERY GOOD ideas. He procured a rental car for our brief window of time, and we set out from the airport at 10AM, needing to be back by 2:30 to catch our flight to Stockholm at 4:30. 

After some debate of which direction to head, Tim decided a sightseeing drive would be best and turned our rental car toward the Alps. We drove to an alpine village called Interlaken, a place Tim had been to before and had fallen in love with. The drive to Interlaken was breathtaking. We took a country road through sweeping hillsides in glowing emerald green. Little Swiss cows grazed contentedly, dotting the landscape and existing under perfectly blue skies. Swiss cottages and villages spread out in clusters. 

The Alps loomed ahead for almost an hour before we actually began to enter into the foothills. Twisting roads wound us higher and higher, with the views becoming more and more glorious. 

We stopped our car at a lookout point, and I emerged from my seat to snap photos of THE MOST beautiful view I have ever seen in my life. I’m not even kidding. The photo doesn’t do it justice. We finally arrived in Interlaken, after driving through many tunnels that brought us back down the mountain and we emerged into the bright sunlight and a cool lake the most extraordinary shade of teal. 

Because it had taken us two hours to get to Interlaken, and we had to be back in two and a half hours, we only had about half an hour to wander around the lake and get going. As soon as we got back in the car I hit “Airport” under the saved favorites section on our GPS (just like the rental car attendant told us to do), and fell asleep. Tim woke me up an hour or so later, asking me if I was sure I had put in the right airport. I kind of laughed and said, “How many airports could there be?! Of course I put in the right one.” But half an hour later, I wasn’t so sure. After a quick search, I learned that there were SEVEN airports in the nearby area, and we suddenly had no idea which one was the right one and we were definitely headed toward the WRONG one. Ahh!!

After a quick debate, we chose one of the airports in Zurich and prayed it was the right one. Our GPS had us getting there at 3:40, giving us less than an hour to return our rental car, get into the airport, through security, and on the plane by 4:30. Talk about stressful. As we got closer to Zurich we got stuck in horrible traffic, and we began to panic. (Ok, I was the only one panicking. Tim rarely panics, and when he DOES, you can bet I’m fainted on the floor.) I felt sick as I watched the GPS predict a later and later arrival. 

In the end, we got to the RIGHT airport at 3:45 (whew!) and managed to make it to our gate with ten minutes to spare. This only furthered Tim’s belief that there is NEVER any reason to panic.

Our whirlwind adventure in Switzerland was amazing, and definitely one of the best parts of our trip. It was a life changing experience and the perfect ending to a fabulous vacation. 

Babymoon Part 3: Outside Athens

Timmy and I love to get outside of big cities and feel like we truly experience the culture of a country when we immerse ourselves in rural life. So after our one touristy day in Athens, we were more than ready to get out and see the surrounding countryside! 

 
We spent one day taking a ferry to a nearby Greek island. The island of Aegina wasn’t quite what we expected, but Tim enjoyed driving down narrow, uneven country roads in an old rickety jeep and getting lost and I enjoyed eating fresh pistachios and seeing olive groves bump by… but I especially enjoyed the ferry ride with air conditioning and a strawberry slushy. 

We spent the rest of our trip in a little seaside village, Napflion. Our hotel was luxurious and cozy, hugging the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Our time in Napflion was relaxing, and we purposely only planned one major activity for each day. 

One day we drove to the ruins of an ancient theater in Epidaurus. Tim enjoyed climbing on high walls and I enjoyed photographing a Greek dandelion and meeting a Grecian lizard. 

We also accidentally drove up a mountain and were astounded by the gorgeous views. 

The best, most exciting part of our stay in Napflion may have been the first day we discovered a little gelato shop that also carried sorbet – sorbet is dairy free! We visited that shop many more times before we left three days later.

Another day was spent visiting a ruined fortress that once boasted huge walls hundreds of feet tall and fifteen feet deep! 

It was also our “beach day” but the weather was rainy, so we just drove for several hours on a winding road that clung to the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Greece is gorgeous when it’s raining, and the air feels steamy and fresh. I didn’t get my day of splashing in the sea, but we did make sure to at least put our toes in for a picture.

(top left: the Bema, bottom left: the Christian church)
 
On our way back to Athens we stopped at Ancient Corinth and got a glimpse of the city we hear so much about in 1st and 2nd Corinthians. It was insanely exciting to walk down old streets, full of history – the same streets the Apostle Paul traveled. We got to see the building that was the Christian church (!!) and also the Bema, where Paul pled his case before the Corinthians and Roman rulers.

Our last night in Greece was spent at the Sofitel Athens, a luxurious hotel located IN THE AIRPORT. That is possibly the most genius idea ever, and it worked perfectly for us as we had to catch a 6AM flight the following morning. 

Up next… Switzerland! 

Greece: Day One - Athens!

Since we flew into the Athens airport at 12AM and finally got to our hotel at 2AM, my first true glimpse of Greece was Sunday morning. We stepped out of our hotel room into a crowded street smothered with extreme heat and extreme sunlight. The air felt electric, surging with currents of sweltering warmth. We bought tickets for a “hop on, hop off” bus tour (our favorite way to see cities) and began our “touristy day”. The big red tour bus took us all around Athens, stopping at The Temple of Zeus, the National Gardens, the Olympic stadium, the Acropolis and Parthenon, and more. 

The bus would stop, and we would hop off, excited to explore each stop. We walked and wandered and climbed all over Athens that morning. The landscape was so arid and the air was so hot, even in the shaded gardens.

After assessing the situation and my swollen feet (thanks to the heat and pregnancy), we wisely took a break mid-day to return to our hotel room and rest. After a cool shower and quick nap we set out for the Acropolis. Of course, like everything in Greece, reaching the Acropolis required a long walk up many, many stairs. (My poor feet!) Once we reached the top, the views of Athens were stunning. 

We spent a long time wandering around the gorgeous ruins, taking in the detailed architecture and marveling at the history found in a place like this. In America, our oldest buildings are brand new compared to ancient buildings created in 500 B.C.! If you look closely at the columns, they are actually huge circular disks stacked on top of each other. Incredible.

Day One ended with dinner at street café. I had the only thing I could eat on the menu, a Greek Salad: tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and basil mixed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. (This would prove to be the first of many. Greek Salads were just about the only thing I could ever find to eat for the entire vacation. I’m surprised I can still face a cucumber…)  

Babymoon Part 1: Sweden

Sweden is bright and clean and green and crisp. The sunlight is strong and radiant and the air tastes fresh and cool. Morning comes early as the sun makes its appearance around 3AM. The Swedish people are friendly and beautiful and their language sounds like a series of smiles.

 
We spent about 24 hours in Sweden, staying at a sweet little hotel near Stockholm. On Saturday morning we woke up early and explored the downtown area, marveling at the beautiful architecture.  

We also visited a Renaissance Fair type village called Skansen, recreating what life was like in Sweden in the 1800’s. We suddenly found ourselves immersed in Swedish culture, and I feel like Skansen gave us a good glimpse of true Sweden. There was even a small zoo, stocked with Swedish wildlife – fuzzy moose, seal, elk, and bears. 

 
Timmy always keeps me entertained, and he had a blast climbing up buildings, posing for silly pictures, and attempting to use old fashioned stilts. He was, of course, a natural. (I, on the other hand, was not.)

 
Lunch was found at a Thai kitchen downtown and we did a little shopping to find a Swedish board book to bring home for Baby Love. 

 
Sweden uses krona for their currency, and one US dollar is equal to about 6 krona. This means that something like a $30 meal will cost 180 krona, which tends to take you by surprise upon first glance. Their money is so colorful and whimsical. (See the little boy riding the goose?) 

 
I was surprised to see that there are dandelions in Sweden. I love dandelions and seeing this cheery yellow fellow in the grass made me feel right at home. 

 
We were in Sweden again a week later, but only to spend the night and then catch our flight home early the next morning. At 10PM it was still bright as daytime outside and I was once again awakened by an early sunrise. I left Sweden with an impression of nonstop sunshine, which isn’t too realistic as this phenomenon is completely reversed in the winter months. 

But still, Sweden gets a five star rating from the O’Briens.