Baby's First Beach

I feel really lucky to have been able to take the baby on vacation this year. I'm also very blessed to have wonderful friends to spend it with. This summer, we headed to my favorite vacation spot EVER - the outer banks of North Carolina. I loved it from the first time I was there with my good friends Danielle and Scott. I have been looking forward to sharing this beautiful place with my son since he was born.

My master plan was to leave home around 630 p.m. so he could sleep the entire 5 hour drive and I could just transport him peacefully into bed when we got there. What actually happened was we left at 9 pm, he slept the whole way, woke up when we got there 2 a.m., and cried and slept restlessly until 6:45 a.m. Oh well. I am happy to report that was the worst part of the whole vacation.

The first time we took him to the ocean, he headed straight in. He splashed in the surf and looked around with his big eyes, taking it all in. He had many ocean adventures (mostly because his Aunt Dani is determined that he be more ocean-brave than me!). One day the tide left a pool on the beach for him to romp around in. He splashed furiously. Occasionally a seashell found its way to his mouth, but he did pretty well. He spent hours playing in the sand, and destroying my pathetic attempts at sand castles.

He seemed to grow so much in a week. He played hard and he slept hard. He ate like a champ at the seafood buffet - crab legs, crab imperial, mahi-mahi - he tried everything we put in front of him. He cut two teeth, and learned that lots of people beside mommy say "no no!". Scott taught him to swing a wiffle ball bat (in the house), and he took his first little step on his own. He developed a love for peanut butter toast and went to his first aquarium. He had his first ride on a ferry. He loved the Christmas Store, and picked out his own ornament (a car, of course). He fed seagulls and yelled "eeee eeee" at them. He started to point at things he likes, and realized that dipping fries in ketchup is yummy. He learned to climb up steps, and to slide of furniture 'feet first'.

It was a wonderful week, with so many memories that I will always cherish.