The Wilkinsons: Our 1st Family Vaca

It was so special to get to take Cooper on a beach vacation with us! Both Scott and I have been vacationing in Destin, Florida since we were teenagers, and it's really neat to start making memories there now as a family. We stayed in a house right on the beach with my sister and her family. My parents also joined us and stayed in their own condo. Cooper loved being with his cousins! I had a few concerns going into the trip, but Coop went with the flow and we survived the 10 hour car ride. He even slept great the whole week in his pack n play. I guess I had nothing to worry about after all!

The trip started at 6pm on a Friday night. We had his new car seat all ready for him (thanks, Nannie and Sir) and he had his favorite kitchen utensil in hand.

He did get spoiled and we allowed him to watch a movie on ipad. He loved loved loved 'Wall-E' a pixar movie that made fun robot noises.

even more spoiled: room service

Cooper took awhile to fall asleep (the boy does love darkness to sleep and was not able to sleep til then). Here is a pic of him at the gas station about 2 hours past his usual bedtime. Just.Go.To. Sleep. hahaha everyone loved him at the gas station....looking a little tired, huh!

We were planing to stop at Birmingham, get a hotel, and finish the drive the next day. We had a few hiccups, I was driving and missed the exit for the hotel where my parents were also staying. We kept driving and finally stopped where there were several hotels. Of course, they were sold out, so we ended up at a Quality Inn. Quality it was not, but we still laugh about it. We just wanted some sleep! Cooper took awhile to settle down in the pack n play after being rudely awoken from his car seat. The next day he was like Dennis the Mennis as pay back!

That day after breakfast we decided to wait til after Cooper's morning nap to get back on the road. This way he only had to take one of his naps in the car. This worked out pretty well with me sitting in the backseat entertain him :)

We had a couple of stops along the way for food and car seat breaks. It was on a break that I decided to change his diaper real quick. He managed to squirm away from me (as it was pretty difficult changing a diaper in the back seat of the car), climbed onto his NEW car seat and peed. Alot. We can laugh about it now!

We finally arrived that evening and the rest of the week was just perfect! We LOVED our house that we shared with Emily, Dan, Harrison and Will.

first look at the beach

Cooper was so occupied playing with Harrison and Will. He genuinely loves the chaos and the pool/beach/sun wore him out! It was my favorite vacation ever! I love the memories we made that week.

Cooper's first time on the beach

Coop wasn't a big fan of the sand, but luckily it was not a deal breaker. We laid out a large towel under an umbrella for him and he just played and took everything in. We also spent time at the pool nearby. The water was a little cold for Cooper, but we got him in it some to cool off! The weather was HOT, but sunny every day.

walking to the beach

taking in the view

Hanging with papa

beach cuddles....so sweet!

the cousins with matching swim trunks

Just chilling out on vaca...

getting used to the sand by mid week, but not so much the mandatory hat

We snuck away one night for a mini date

hi daddy!!

what a wonderful week! I actually teared up when we were leaving...the sign of a great vacation! I was emotional because I knew when we got back the next event was Cooper's First Birthday! May is was exciting month for us! Bye Bye, Destin, Hope to be back soon!!!

we survived the car ride home, as well! we decided to drive straight through and Cooper was did as well as we could have hoped. Here he is running around outside of McDonalds for a car break.