Sinking toes into the sand.

When Brian and I arrived in Nags Head, NC, last week, we were informed that Bennett’s cousin, Sophia (3 months older), was terrified of the beach.  Six years ago, it took some savvy pampering to convince Brian that he liked the beach; so the last thing that I wanted was for this to be an uphill battle with Bennett, too.

We took it slow, only staying out for twenty or so minutes here and there.  Brian got a (shaky) video of Bennett’s first five minutes on the beach.

Points worth mentioning:

• For now, all water is called “the water.”  Bath time is “the water.”  What comes from the kitchen faucet is “the water.”  The beach is “the water.”  Any fountains are “the water.”  Trust me, it’s just easier this way right now.
• Please excuse my smokin’ hot bod.  I did my best to cover up.
• Sorry that you can’t see more of Bennett’s face.  But I’m NOT sorry that he’s not sunburned in the least.  We had equipped him with SPF 50, a hat to shade his eyes and that adorable, two piece beach outfit (complete with a waterproof diaper liner inside the shorts).  The hat, the wet suit and even the useless flip flips all came from Three Lil Monkeys for practically nothing!
• A little after the one minute mark, I give Brian a head nod for him to hurry and catch up.  Bennett’s eyes had just settled on the ocean and… well… it was beautiful.
• At the two minute mark, there’s a nice shot of the handprint tattoo that was finally explained in our Walmart Love Story.
• At the three minute mark, Benny-boo loses a flip flop.  When I took off the other one, sand got on my fingers.  You’ll see me supporting him by his elbows after that so as not to transfer the sand from my hands to his hands, which would ultimately have ended up in his mouth.  Not my preferred method of helping my baby walk, but it’s better than him getting a mouthful of beach.

All in all, Bennett was SO much more interested in the sand than in the ocean.  When we did let the water rush over his feet, he didn’t so much mind the water as he soon minded the cold.  Bennett gave us a whimper warning and we decided that that was enough stimulation for one afternoon.