Beach Baby There in the Sand

Something miraculous happened last Sunday.

Neal had a by-week on his baseball team... so no baseball game that day.

I had no plans.

The weather was supposed to be hot and sunny.

It was the PERFECT opportunity to take Austin to the coast and let him really explore and discover the wonders of the beach!

We went to Cannon Beach, which is now officially one of my favorite coast towns. The whole downtown area is built to look vintage, with shingles on the outside of the buildings and old-fashioned signs hanging. Just my style.

We arrived and got lunch first... after being turned down at one restaurant because all they had was bar seating and we had a "minor" with us (really? ok, he may be under 18 but its not like the kid's going to try and order a tequila. Sheesh) we had fish and chips followed by mind-blowing homemade candy from the sweet shop.

Austin got a bottle. He felt cheated. Poor dude.

Then it was off to the beach!

I tell ya... this kiddo of ours has quite the personality.. as soon as we hit the sand he started squealing and shrieking in delight and wiggling like mad in Neal's arms. He was SO enthralled by all people, seagulls, dogs, kites and activities.

So much to see!

Then of course we put him in the sand and just let him do this thing... I think he consumed no less than a pound of sand and had the time of his life.

Then it was time to go down to the water. We were sitting in a great part of the beach that had a little river/tide pool running through it so we could get Austin in the water without the power of the waves. He took to it like a natural and was leaning over and pulling seaweed up, feeling the water and if I hadn't been holding him he would have just dunked himself right in.

Our kid has no fear or suspicion about ANYTHING. He just (literally) dives right in to new experiences.

I love that about him.... that he is my little explorer and so curious about everything and anything. I tend to hold back out of fear or uncertainty a lot, and I'm so glad he is already brave and so sure of himself in this life.

Exploring is very tiring business, so soon it was definitely nap time... he and Daddy enjoyed some down-time listening to the roar of the ocean.

We had such a fun time that Neal and I can't wait to take Austin back to the beach. I know we are going to have some awesome memories in the years to come with our little Beach Bum.

I love the beach!