The first day you spent most of your time in the tent playing in and around your little pool. As the days progressed you played with the sand more and eventually crawled around in the sand. At first you weren't real sure of the sand and so you would crawl a little bit and then take a break. By the last day you seemed more comfortable with the way the sand felt and you would just keep crawling. We would follow you around making sure you didn't put any sand in your mouth. We weren't always successful. Sometimes you would try and crawl all the way down to the water but we we would stop you before you got there.
Each day we took you down to the water and hung on to you. The first day we would bold you tight while we put your feet in. You picked up both feet and clung tight to whoever was holding you. By the second day we gave you a little more independence and would just hold onto your hands while you were standing on your feet. Your picked up both feet because it was cold and you were surprised. You cried a little so we picked you up and held you tight. Soon we put you down again and you were only picking up one foot. As you got braver you would stand there for longer and eventually just held on with one hand. You sometimes tried to reach down and touch the waves. The waves would sometimes come up to your ankles and other times almost your waist. When it came in really high we would pick you up and you would smile. When you got brave enough you even sat in the water. The water would then come up to you and get you all wet. On the last day you sat in a hole that Amelia, Isa, and Uncle Steven dug. You were splashing and playing while Amelia and Isa were jumping in and out of the whole. It was clear, that even though you only liked to be in the water for a few minutes, you loved the water.
When you weren't crawling in the sand or standing in the water you were doing a variety of other things. Sometimes you would play in your tent. We bought it for you so that you would have some shade and it worked. The first few days you stayed in it most of the time. You played in the pool, crawling in and out of it or splashing in the water. You had a few toys in there that you loved to play with. Sometimes you would sit right on the edge and play in the sand. We gave you some shells to play with and you would burry them in the sand. We would sprinkle the sand on your feet or burry them in the sand. You thought it was pretty funny and would smile and laugh a little. When you got a little fussy we would take you out of the tent and either feed you or take you for a walk down by the water. Feeding you was a little difficult because there was sand all over, especially on your hands. We gave you pretzels and chips but the thing you loved best were the applesauces that we gave you. We also got you some baby food that you could suck on and squeeze to make the food come out. Most of the time you did pretty well with it, but sometimes it would squeeze out all over you. When we took you for a walk by the water you would calm down and snuggle with whoever was holding you. The last three days at the beach you even took a nap. One time you even fell asleep in a chair after eating. You had a towel wrapped around you and a few toys in your hands. It was pretty cute. Other times you slept on your tent, all sprawled out.
When we weren't at the beach we were playing at the house. Your favorite place to play was on the back porch. Most of the toys were out there including a tractor, part of a plastic tree, and a push button toy. Your favorite thing to play with were blue headbands that went with the headband game. You played with them for a long time, chewing on them or putting them on your head or around your neck. When you got it around your neck you would smile like you were so proud. The small pool was also on the back porch and you would climb in and out of that even though there wasn't any water in it. You played bubbles with Nata and ball with Zoe and Isa. When we were both inside and outside you played with Lysander. You followed him around and would sometimes chase him. You and Lysander were good at sharing and not getting into trouble together.
When it was time for bed, you were a different story. You didn't want to go to sleep. You would stay awake and protest sleeping. Once you were asleep you would sleep for a few hours and then would wake up. You would be wide awake, playing and talking. The first few nights we tried to put you back to sleep for an hour, even giving you a bottle and sometimes drugs. If we laid you down on your bed, you would bee line it for your sister to pat her or talk to her so we couldn't leave you on your bed. or so but would eventually give in and out of exhaustion we would take you for a car ride. Daddy took you the first time and I took you the next couple of times. You would chit-chat in the car but would eventually fall asleep. The last two nights there you did much better. You even slept through the night the last night!!!!
Overall it was an excellent trip. You did great and were such a delight to watch. I can't wait to take you next year when you can play more in the water, you can walk around and explore the sand more, and build sand castles.
