Over this past weekend I was coming back from the city after doing some shopping and as the lil man and I neared our house I could see that there was going to be an amazing sunset, so I detoured and made a mad dash for the beach because I knew I didn't have much time before the sun would actually set. As I crossed the bridge to the island I made a desperate attempt to snap a picture of the ball of fire in the sky as it cast this beautiful red hue on the Inter-coastal water way and I forgot to roll the window down so my plan was foiled . As we made it to the beach I did my best to kick my shoes and socks off as fast as I could, cause heavens knows I didn't want sand in my shoes, I grabbed the camera and the baby of course and started running down the walkway to the beach. Sadly as I got closer I could see a man with his fancy camera and big honkin lens snapping away and as my feet slapped the wood and poor Corbins head bounced around the man turned around and informed me that "I just missed it!" I was bummed to say the least. Maybe if I would have kept my shoes on I would have made it, oh well can't turn back time I guess. So rather than it being a wasted trip I decided to snap a few shots of the still brightly colored sky and go dip our toes in the water, since we hadn't done that in gosh...2 months maybe. Well to my surprise the water WAS FREEZING! I did not think it was going to be that cold already but boy was I wrong. Now normally I take my ques from Corbin and he will let me know if the water is too cold but I am not sure if it was simply because he is more aware of his surroundings now and was in awe of the 'big blue' or if he thought his mama just took him to the biggest bath tub ever but he was loving it. It was all I could do to hang on to his little fingers and make sure my camera didn't take a swim, and still let him splash around for a moment.
Well I decided that the next day, Sunday, I would be sure to take him back, this time when the sun was out, hopefully warming things up a bit. So I did just that, the next day I got up and packed us a mini bag of a towel, a beverage for him, and my camera of course. Now I had zero intentions of getting in the water so I dressed in some sweats and a T and I also had no intentions of letting Corbin do anything but kick his feet and maybe splash his hands in as the waves washed in but something inside of me said to throw a swimmy on him just in case cause heavens knows dealing with a water logged diaper is no fun, so I did. Swimmy onsie and old shorts and we were off!
Now that tourist season is over it is easier to enjoy the beach and not worry about being in someones way or anyone looking at you like you are crazy as you try and keep the sand off of you (I know I need to deal with this sand issue I have). Any who, there were a few people there mostly older folks enjoying the sun and watching the fishing boats. So as I hunted a good spot on the beach Corbin started to squawk (I cant help it he sounds like a bird when he gets going) at me and point at the water so I knew he was excited already. So I put our bag down and I put him down and I nicely said for him to stay by mama, and I went on to put my camera down and get the towel out. Well I no sooner put the camera down when I think this child turned into a sprinter! He made a mad dash for that water like it was his job and I felt like the crazy lady trying to catch a piece of paper in a wind storm. Every time I got close enough to grab him he picked up the pace, I am sure for the few people on the beach seeing this it had to be very comical. I did end up snatching him up mere seconds before the waves washed up and soaked him with water. After all of that I put him back down and told him to hold my hand and we started to walk... it was going well, he was splashing I was enjoying my 'mama moment' seeing him explore this new adventure, even though he had been to the beach so many times before this, but he was just thrilled that the water was there and the sand and just so much stimulation for one little boy. Well I decided to take him out a tiny bit further and as I was paying attention to him and not so much to the waves... yep, you know.... we got real wet. The sweat pants I had pulled up to my knees, were now wet up to my thighs, and well lets just say I am glad he had a swimmy on! While it wasn't something I was thrilled about, Corbin on the other hand loved it, it was like I had just turned on a giant faucet for him to play with. He squirmed around until I let him sit in the sand and just be washed over with water. It splashed his face and he would squinch up his eyes and giggle as he licked his now salty lips and then it happened..... he put his hands down and discovered the sand. Now up until this point every beach trip we have made I have been able to keep him from the wonderful experience of eating sand but this time it was out of my control. He smashed it between his fingers to investigate and then went in for the kill, a nice mouth full. Ugh I got chills just watching his little baby teeth chew it up and the face he made was priceless, he was not fond of it at all. I helped him wash it out, with the salt water of course, as much as I could and he went on splashing. It was hilarious watching him try to crawl in the water and on the sand. Every time he would try and stand up to walk the water would push him around and crawling the sand was too rough on his legs but he sure was all over the place. I let this go on for a good 20 minutes before I had to call it quits. While he wasn't showing any signs of being cold I knew at any moment he was going to shudder and look at me like AHHH I'm cold. So as he kicked and screamed all the way back to the towel he was rather content once I did wrap him up. We sat on the beach for a while watching the pelicans and fishing boats just in silence, as if he were enjoying it as much as I was and oh was I ever. Sitting on the beach with my lil man all suggled up in my lap, what more could I ask for. After a little while he looked up at me as if to say he was hungry so I got his bottle and figured that was as good a time as any to try and get some good pictures and boy was I right. I mean I managed to snap some while he was playing in the water but those kinds of pictures get so risky, trying to keep the camera dry and make sure the kid doesn't wash out to sea, too stressful for me haha. I did manage to get some great shots of him as you will see below. After that we headed back home where he immediately went into the bath to remove all 12 pounds of sand that was stuck in his onsie and swimmy and all of that salt so he would stop licking his hands and feet, goof-ball. All in all it turned out to be a great day and I was so happy we took the trip back to the beach. It gave me something to look forward to for next summer when he will be so much older and much more fun at the beach!
