Knocking Things Off My Pre-Baby Bucket List: Girls Weekend

We have approximately 11 weeks {I’m hoping for a little less} until a new little girl will bless our family. While I still feel totally unprepared for having another little one around, I absolutely cannot wait to hold her in my arms.

With so little time before she is here, I am making sure to value my time with Harlan. She won’t be an only child much longer and will soon have to share our love and affection. We’ve been preparing her for the arrival of her little sister ever since we found out I was pregnant. She talks about her baby sister all the time and even recently told her pre-school class about her {the teacher told me after class.} I know she is super excited to have a baby around the house, but I wouldn’t be lying if I said I was about nervous about how she will react when she realizes the baby isn’t leaving.

Last month I shared with you my pre-baby bucket list of 10 things I wanted to accomplish before the baby arrived. While I have accomplished many of the things on the list already, there was one thing in particular that I was really looking forward to.

Harlan and I have spent a lot of time alone together. With me staying at home with her, most of our time spent is with one another. Although we do have a lot of mommy/daughter time, I wanted to make sure that we could have one weekend together alone at a special destination. A little girls weekend.

With the weather being so cold in NYC, I knew that a beach trip in Florida would be perfect for both of us. The TradeWinds Resort offered to host us for two days of beach bliss.

From the moment we stepped on the property, we felt like we were on an island oasis. With seven separate swimming pools, putt-putt, paddle boats, kids activities, and of course the beautiful beach, there was no reason for us to leave!

When we walked into our two bedroom suite complete with a living room and full size kitchen. Harlan’s first stop was our balcony that gave us an incredible view of St. Petersburg beach. I couldn’t help but notice the FOUR beds we had to choose from to sleep on that night!

Harlan didn’t hesitate to get her bathing suit on and make it down to the pool to do a little swimming. Although it was a bit cooler outside, the pool was heated and Har LOVED splashing around.

Our long afternoon at the pool made us work up an appetite, so we headed over to Bermuda’s Steak and Seafood for a delicious meal. We ended our meal with an ice cream treat from the ice cream parlor.

Dinner was over just in time to come back to our room to a surprise treat from the friendly staff at the resort. Harlan received “Winter” the dolphin who resides at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and was also the dolphin the movie Dolphin Tale was based off of.

That night before bedtime we had the amazing opportunity to watch the beautiful sunset off of our balcony. It was a sight that us city dwellers don’t get to experience often.

The next day was a fun-filled day with lots of activities. The thing that I love about the resort is that you never have to leave the property to keep the kids entertained.

We started our morning off at the beach making sand castles and running around in the sand. Harlan hasn’t been to the beach since July and she had such an incredible time playing.

A paddle-boat ride on the lazy river that flows through the resort followed the beach. I loved being able to lay back and relax while peddling down the river and seeing all of the wonderful landscape around the resort. Harlan loved seeing the fish in the water and the two beautiful swans.

After our relaxing boat ride we opted for a fun little game of putt-putt. Harlan didn’t seem to get the concept and insisted on throwing her ball in the hole rather than hitting it.

Once she realized it was a guaranteed hole in one, she ditched the golf club.

Our fun-filled day ended with a wonderful dinner at the Beef O’Brady’s on the property and of course was finished off with a scoop of ice cream.

The trip to the TradeWinds was filled with activities for Harlan and I, yet was so relaxing at the same time. I couldn’t have imagined a better girls weekend for us to experience together. It was the ultimate way to knock that “to do” off of my pre-baby bucket list!

Fore more information on the TradeWinds Resort on St. Pete Beach, FL, please visit their website.

{Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I did receive complimentary room and amenities at the TradeWinds Resort. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}