Post Beach

Post-beach to do list:

1. Go back!

Alright, we both know that that's impossible. Maybe some more feasible goals...

2. Lose weight

Wait, I said feasible! Try again...

3. Do a vacation detox on my kids

4. Get ready for the school year

5. Convince my dad that we need two weeks at the beach next year

6. Re-fill my cupboards

7. Get ready for the oldest three to play soccer (Adriana was wearing her pink shin guards while reading books in bed this morning.)

So while I'm dreaming of still basking in the rays, please enjoy some photos from the week:

You don't survive in my family without a bit of humor..

Time To Go...

Beach Babe

Two's Company; Fifteen's a Crowd

Beach Birthday Boy

Don't Be Crabby

Clue Night

Digging

First Night's Swim

Wait For It...

Today we shall have no pictures of tiny brunette beauties, no fun kiddo quotes. At this moment, I'm in pre-vacation mommy muck. The kind that book-ends any "vacation"-laundry, errands, cleaning, sugar-forbidding, a packing list the size of Obama's health care bill. If you're a mom, you can picture it now, and you probably have the shivers just reading this. But no worries, sand and sea await me!

Where my husband is from, in south-eastern Michigan, nearly everyone goes "up north" for a vacation. While the northern part of Michigan is lovely (and I was actually born there), this warm-loving lady never quite embraced the idea of actually choosing to travel closer to the north pole when you are already in the state of Michigan.

Here in Virginia, everyone goes "to the beach" for a vacation. This qualifies as anywhere along the east coast, but we choose to point our vehicle in a southern direction....much more my speed.

And as long as we have wi-fi at the beach house we've rented, the plan is to continue the tradition of posting a photo a day while we're there.

But enough of stalling the inevitable, I have a list!

Head Lifts

It's a challenge to lift your head when you have such a big brain!

Chunky Monkey

Ava was 3 days old at her first pediatrician appointment, and her weight was 2 ounces below her birth weight. The doctor asked me to make an extra appointment for a week later so that she could be sure that Ava would gain weight. I tried not to snort audibly and never did make that appointment. I knew history would prove her wrong. At the next regular appointment, the doctor put Ava on the scale. The words that came out of her mouth were almost exactly what every doctor has said to each of my one month old babies.

"Oh, wow! What a chunker!"

Obviously my body produces cream and not milk.

• Birth weight- 6 lbs. 4 oz.
• 3 weeks- 8 lbs. 4 oz.
• 8 weeks- 12 lbs. 3 oz.
• Weighed today at 11 weeks- 13 lbs. 13 oz.

We like 'em with rolls to spare!

I grabbed a quick video of our happy chunky monkey....

Sea of Photos

No kid posts this week here. I went back to shooting on Saturday and am now swimming in a sea of client's photos.

If you're curious to see photos of my first two sessions "back", check out my photographer blog: http://www.alyssaannephotography.blogspot.com/