Beach trip

The last weekend of September, we headed to Duck for a family beach trip.  The weather was actually really pleasant, and while we didn't swim in the ocean, Emma loved the pool at the house.  

We actually had a very uneventful trip down...and I was REALLY worried about it.  It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, and Merritt did fine, despite leaving later afternoon, which was not optimal.  She slept for the first hour and a half, then I scooted back to entertain the girls.

We celebrated with a trip to Brew-thru when we arrived.  Why are these not in Durham/Chapel Hill????!!!!! (Don't answer that...I know why...because of people LIKE ME)

We went driving on the beach the first day, all the way up past Corolla on Hwy 12

And weirdly enough, there is a whole community up there only accessible by 4WD.  It's crazy!!!

It was too cold to be on the beach, and too windy and rough, but I took advantage of hanging out by the pool for a bit.

And we did walk to the beach, about a block away

Merritt doesn't nap well, so we took a walk one afternoon, just me and Brent.  It kind of felt like a date!  We really enjoyed walking, talking, and a sleeping babe:)

Emma enjoyed being with her cousins!!

and we tried for a family shot...

Saturday was Brent's birthday, so we got up to watch the sunrise and have Duck donuts:)

We had a blast for summer's last hooray!

First Lost Tooth!

(Alas....this happened about 3 weeks ago but I'm pretty behind these days in blogging...)

Emma lost her first tooth!!  Everyone says it's an official rite of passage into being a big kid, which makes my sad:(  She's so grown.....

   

She was completely freaked out at first - it had been wiggly but while eating pizza, it really came loose and was hanging by a thread.  There was blood everywhere and Emma was screaming.  Brent was, of course, late coming home.  It was really wiggly at this point and I really wanted it to come out before bed....mainly so it could be done with!  I knew Emma wouldn't sleep well and would worry about it, and Lord knows she wasn't going to eat until it came out either.
When Brent got home, Emma had calmed down but she DID NOT want him to pull it out, so he just kept asking to see it and finally pulled it out.  She didn't even know it but when he showed it to her, she got all upset...but only for a minute.
I was totally unprepared and only had a $10 bill.....so the Tooth Fairy gave a special gift for the FIRST tooth....which we emphatically explained:)