Fun at the Beach ...

Last month we attended a family reunion on the Oregon coast. Big C ended up getting sick and spent the majority of the time in the tent or car. I took Little C down to the beach and let him explore the ocean for the first time. We went twice while we were there. The first time was in the morning and Charlie took a nap while I visited with cousins.

 When he woke up, he got to explore the sand. He enjoyed taste-testing the sand and whatever else he could get his hands on (seaweed mostly).

In the afternoon, we changed into shorts and a swim diaper and headed back to the beach for some more fun. My sister caught some great shots of us playing in the surf.

First, we explored with our feet. He wasn't sure about it at first, but soon his love of water took over.

 

He got down and was kneeling in the water. It was so adorable when he began to pat at the water like he does when he takes his baths to get a splash.

What you don't see in these pics is him giggling with glee at the splashing ...

splash, splash, splash ...

 

He was loving the water so much, he tried to crawl further into the sea. I had to hold him so he wouldn't get too far. It was a good thing I was holding him because a larger wave came and got him wet up to his neck. He got picked up by the wave and if I hadn't been holding onto him would have carried him away. It scared Little C and he didn't want to play with the water any more.

We walked along the beach after that, just barely letting our feet get in the water at times.

After a bit, Little C was getting tired so we headed on back to camp, took a quick shower to get rid of the sand, and changed into dry clothes. Mommy and Little C had a lot of fun on his first trip to the ocean. We are all looking forward to our next trip. Hopefully it will be more fun for Big C and he can join us for the fun on the beach!

Oh No ... Not The Grass!!

About a month ago, we were out working in the backyard and we thought we'd let Charlie test out the grass.

 At first he was more concerned with what Daddy was doing with the trimmer than the grass.

 Then, he began to realize he didn't really like the feel of the grass on his legs.

 He kept lifting his leg up off the grass as far as he could lift it.

 Occasionally, he'd get distracted by his interest and he'd let it drop back to the ground, but as soon as it touched he would lift it up again. It was funny because he was only concerned with his right leg most of the time.

 After several minutes, he started picking the grass and researching how it felt in his hands. He seemed to like the feel of it through his fingers, once again ... his interest in playing with it distracted him from his dislike of it on his legs.

 After a few minutes he picked up both legs off the grass, but continued to run his hands through it.

 He caught sight of me taking his pictures and decided to try crawling to me through the grass.

 He soon discovered he didn't like the feel of the grass while he was crawling.

 So, he went back to sitting, this time with his left leg off the grass.

 At this point, he's thinking "Mommy, get me off this stuff!"

And "Now I'm really upset! GET ME OFF THIS AWFUL GRASS! I DO NOT LIKE IT!!"

It was quite entertaining to me and Charles to watch him. Now whenever I try to put him down, he will lift his legs up as far as possible and won't let me put him down. It's funny to us ... someday perhaps he will outgrow his distaste and learn how fun grass can be.