Sea Turtle Exhibit at Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium

One of our favorite things to do when we go to the beach is to visit the aquarium, especially in the winter months. This weekend we took a quick weekend trip to the beach and also made it to the aquarium, and actually watched a couple of the programs.  The first we watched was at the shark exhibit. They had scuba divers in the tank who answered questions and talked about what they were doing while they swam. Sydney wasn't super interested in what they were talking about but she did enjoy seeing the scuba divers and sharks...but only from a distance. My favorite comment of the day from her was "that shark has ugly teeth".

We also watched the otter enrichment, again where the aquarium workers answer questions and give a basic overview of the otters. They also put fish and carrots (who knew otters would be so excited about carrots?) out in their habitat, which it was fun to watch the otters search for the goodies.

The aquarium has just added a new exhibit dedicated to sea turtles.  Nimbus, a rare white sea turtle with a cleft palate and permanent fixture at the aquarium, is the "star" of the exhibit.  Sydney got to wear a white lab coat and carry an electronic turtle around the exhibit. She put her turtle in one area for diagnosis. She got to draw blood and put in a machine for analysis.  Her turtle was diagnosed as having low weight. She then got to take the turtle to the treatment area. She lost interest at this point as it went into great detail about what the diagnosis meant and how to treat the turtle (including something about a turtle enema!) so we moved on to the next section. There she was able to weigh baby sea turtles. Finally, she got to release her turtle back into the sea! This exhibit was awesome. I'm sure we will visit it again soon!

Here's my turtle

Diagnosing the turtle

Weighing the baby turtle

Releasing the turtle back to the sea

Dr. Sydney

Beachin' It Up 2012

We have been to the beach several times this spring and summer.  Instead of doing lots of different posts about the beach, I figured I would condense them all into one post.

Sydney started off the summer a little hesitant towards the ocean.  She loved digging in the sand while sitting on a blanket and enjoyed watching the going-ons on the beach like kites, surfers, and boats.  When we would get close to the ocean, however, she would cling to us and lay her head on our shoulders.  Her Pops dug her a small pool near the ocean, and she enjoyed sitting in it digging with her toys.  Slowly but surely she started to show less trepidation but still insisted on being held.  Finally, Blake put her down in the waves one afternoon without any warning.  The tide had gone out and there were small tidal pools and the water was shallow in general.  Low and behold, she LOVED it!  We held her hands while she "jumped" over the waves, she pretended to catch fish for her daddy to eat, and she would splash the water with her hands.  I know her love of the ocean will continue to grow!

We also did a few of Sydney's favorite things as well.  We went a couple of times to the aquarium, where she loves watching the fish, penguins, turtles, and otters.  She is not too keen on the sharks (who can blame her??) but she randomly loves to watch the jelly fish and the one long, nasty eel.  Oddly enough, probably her most beloved thing to do is ride the trolley in Beaufort.  The trolley rides around the historic Beaufort waterfront down to the marina and back again.  I think we have done this ride at least 10 times this summer and it never gets old for her.  She looks out the window the entire time and watches for her favorite things (a pirate someone has in the doorway of a tiny fishing cottage and the "green guy" which is a plastic thing human shape cutout, not sure how else to describe it).  Funny that is what she likes to look at when there are gorgeous waterfront homes and tons of boats. 

Sydney also had a couple of 'firsts' while at the beach.  She enjoyed her first popsicle on the 4th of July (redneck baby style in her diaper of course).  Moral of the popsicle story: it melted fast and she talks too much to truly enjoy yet- ha! :)  She also took her first boat ride.  While at the beach with her Uncle Brent and Aunt (soon to be official) Catherine, we took a dolphin watching cruise.  Moral of this story?  We saw zero dolphins and Sydney liked looking at the captain's dog more than anything else.  In all seriousness, she liked being on the boat and even got to steer on a pretend ship's wheel and saw a baby osprey nest with three hatchlings peeking out.  I was disappointed to not see any dolphins, but Sydney liked finally riding on a boat!  She also went on a pier for the first time.  She liked looking around and the wind blew her hair in ways that made for some hilarious pictures.

My favorite memory, though, is probably one not involving Sydney.  While at the beach with Brent and Catherine, they got engaged!!!!  When I met Catherine in 9th grade, never would I have imagined that we would become sister (in-laws) one day.  Blake, Sydney, and I relished in celebrating their engagement and look forward to a wedding soon.  Brent and Catherine compliment each other so well, something that I don't see everyday.  I am so thankful they have found happiness together!

And now, here are about 1,000 pictures, put together from several different trips (only about half of what we actually took!):

Baby toes in the sand

Sydney and Daddy

Pirate Sydney

Bikini





Not so sure about this...

The infamous trolley

Riding the trolley

Sweet girl!

Checking out a random boat with Pops

Talking about her popsicle

Yummy!

Jumping in the waves is fun!

In a bucket

Riding a carousel

Silly girl!

Sitting in the tide pools

Ice cream!

Brent and Catherine's first trolley experience

REALLY excited about the trolley!

Not so sure about the shark tank

Newly engaged!!!

Reading with Aunt Catherine

Brent and Catherine

Elvis hair!

On a boat!

Checking out the dog on the boat

Enjoying a boat ride

Steering the boat

Running!

Just looking at some boats

Sweet girl!

One more congratulations! :)

First Beach Trip of the Season

Since we are finally thawing out from the winter (albeit a mild one), we recently packed up and headed to the beach.  We had not been in quite sometime, especially since we just had our house on the market and felt we needed to stay close to home for weekend showings.  With our house sold and the beautiful weather, it was the perfect combination for beach visiting.

We were interested to see Sydney's reaction to being on the beach because the last time she was there, she wasn't mobile yet and was only about 10 months old.  Lucky for us, she is definitely a beach baby!  She dug in the sand, was mesmerized watching kids riding on boogie boards and flying kites, and even enjoyed putting her feet in the (chilly) water.  I'm looking forward to when it's even warmer to wade farther into the water with her. 

Checking out the ocean

Looking at the water with Daddy

Sydney and her daddy on the beach!

Enjoying a little snack

Talking about all she sees

While there, we also took a trip to the aquarium.  We have been before, but this time Sydney was the most interested she has been.  At each animal exhibit, she would point and name the animals she knew and actually looked at them longer than she has.  I absolutely love watching take in the fish, turtles, alligators, and crabs- all animals we look at in books and talk about but that are much more exciting to see in person.  There is nothing like watching a child gaze in amazement at things we have seen so many times.  We will definitely visit the aquarium more this summer!

Arriving at the aquarium

Petting the turtle

Walking on the interactive mat

Checking out the fish

Marsh outside the aquarium

Sydney as a crab!

Thank goodness the warm weather is upon us!

Playing in the sand

Silly Daddy!

Testing out the water

So grown up!