Hellobee

We just returned from a week at the beach and had a grand ol’ time!

Lil’ CB loved the beach, just as he did last year, and it was hard pulling him away from the sand and sun at the end of each beach day! It turns out that being on the beach is not as relaxing for the grown-ups when you are constantly chasing after or keeping an eye on an almost three year-old :), but here are some items that made our time at the beach a lot easier to manage:

1. In addition to some sand toys, we brought along a few of our old Take and Toss cups and bowls. These turned out to be great for making different towers and structures for sand castles!

2. Before putting on his bathing suit at the beach house, we’d lather Lil’ CB with SPF 70 sunscreen. Having this spray-on sunscreen to do a second coat after a few hours at the beach made application a lot easier, especially when Lil’ CB was squirming and wanting to run back to the waves as soon as possible!

3. I’m a big fan of rash guards on little ones. Because a) they look like cute little surfers, b) the rash guards protect their little tummies and chests from any scratches from playing in the sand, and c) SPF built into rash guards also gives the little guys an extra layer of sun protection. (Can you tell I’m a little nutty about sun protection for Lil’ CB?)

4. This small bottle of baby powder was the greatest lifesaver! I saw this tip on Pinterest and brought along some baby powder figuring it couldn’t hurt to try. Well, whoever first discovered this is a serious genius. Because baby powder gets wet sand off your skin like a boss. AMAZING. It was perfect for getting wet sand off of all of us before loading back up into the car and also helped when the salty seawater became a little irritating on Lil’ CB’s skin. Seriously. I cannot stop singing baby powder’s praises!

5. Truth: Lil’ CB has a rather large head. And I like that big ol’ noggin and sweet face of his to be protected from the sun. A bucket hat did just the job and the chin strap helped it stay on through sea breezes and water play.

6. These water shoes were GREAT at the beach. They helped Lil’ CB walk on the super hot sand and also protected his little piggies navigate through the wet sand, where there were seashells and little crabs he could have stepped on. Plus, it made walking on wet sand easier. They also dried really quickly which was great for walking on the boardwalk in between playing on the beach.

7. Things can get messy at the beach and these wipes were perfect for doing a quick wipe down. They kill germs but are alcohol free, so they were great to use not only on little (or big) hands, but also on faces.

8. We brought a similar bucket of sand toys with us, and Lil’ CB had a blast digging around and building. While he played with everything, a plain shovel and bucket were his favorites. We also had a second bucket and shovel so we could play with him, and one of the buckets was eventually used to collect seashells.

9. These portable yogurts were the perfect beach snack! We tossed them in the freezer the night before and packed them in an icebox with some frozen water bottles. By the time Lil’ CB wanted a snack, they were still partially frozen and made for an easy, sand-free snack that filled his belly between meals (or Boardwalk fries ). The grown-ups may have had one or two as well…

We love the beach and look forward to our yearly trips. So glad Lil’ CB is a beach lover, too…and so thankful for these products that helped make our trip easier and lovelier!

Do you have any toddler beach essentials?