7:40am: Roll over in bed and put my arm around the little baby who is snuggling up against me. Fight “awake” for a few minutes, wrestling with the last of my dreams, until I hear “Hi! Hi, mommy!” and smile at the day.
8:00am: Bring the baby into my parents’ bed and all snuggle under the covers, singing songs to our little sunshine girl.
9:15am: Playtime with the whole family. My dad cooks up heaping plates of bacon, sausage and cheesey-eggs, as my little girl shouts “Choo choo!”, riding her train around the room.
10:20am: Morning walk along the beach, pushing my little girl as she naps in her stroller. Holding hands with my husband, as we draw shapes in the wet sand with our feet.
12:06pm: My girl wakes up, chirping. I attempt to get her to drink milk. Cow’s milk. From a cow. Not from me. I’m dropping a feeding. Yes, I’m weaning, kids. And no, it ain’t easy.
1:45pm: Drive to the boardwalk amusement park (the same park I visited every summer as a kid) and virtually pant in excitement. Faint.
2:00pm: Watch my baby, mom and husband as they ride the carousel.
2:04pm: Suck it up and ride on the froggy roller coaster with my girl. Have the best 22 seconds ever.
2:32pm Procure 4 slices of pizza, a carton of fries, 3 lemonades, a bin of caramel corn and a funnel cake with chocolate sauce.
2:34pm Lick my fingers. Mmmmmmm.
3:40pm: Snuggle up in bed with my girl for her afternoon nap. Sleep together for a blissful hour and a half. Thank my lucky stars.
5:15pm: Wake up to the sound of my husband as he creeps through the door, ushering us downstairs for cocktail hour.
5:18pm: Enjoy cocktail hour. I mean, enjoy it.
6:02pm: Walk with my guy and my girl onto the beach, running our toes across the sand and through the waves. Love our girl so darn much.
8:18pm: Give my girl a late bath and dress her in her coziest pair of pajamas. Recite “Goodnight Moon” and “In My Meadow” from memory (someone forgot to pack the bedtime books) and kiss her. Kiss her more.
9:36pm: Laugh so hard with my family that I cry. And then laugh some more.
And this, my friends, is why I looooooove le beach.
Goodnight stars.
Goodnight air.
Goodnight noises everywhere.