First Beach Trip

Yesterday the baby went to the beach for the very first time ever! I had never been to this particular beach myself; in fact, I couldn't remember the last time I had been to a beach, seriously - 4 years ago, I think. Anyway, my dear friend R and her kids drove out to visit and we embarked on this new adventure together. The beach was REALLY sunny, no shade unless you had the foresight to bring an umbrella (which I didn't) and it was an extremely hot day. But the water felt wonderfully cold and crisp on the feet. The baby seemed eager to walk around in his sandals at first, just taking in all the environmental and human activity. We got our sandaled feet wet a little as we walked along the shore line. Then I took one of his sandals off and he didn't know what to do with his bare foot, he held it up in the air in protest. I couldn't tell if he was objecting to the feel of the sand or the heat of the sand. I scooped him up, took off my sandals and finally coaxed the other of his sandals off, and placed him in the wet sand. At first he backed away any time the water approached his tiny bare toes, but gradually he allowed his feet to get wet. He seemed more interested in talking, not sure if he was talking to anyone in particular or just expounding on his observations to the universe, but it was almost as if he were merely tolerating the ocean and the sand and the people running by. Then R pulled out a bubble maker and that thrilled him as he chased bubbles with the bubble maker in his hands. Then we fashioned a makeshift shovel out of a baby food cover I happened to have in my bag so that he could scoop and pour sand (I know, I must get some beach gear!), which he loved. By the time we were ready to leave, I think he was well on his way to becoming a beach lover. We finished our visit with some boardwalk eats. A lovely summer day.