Vacation

*Written September 9

Last week we went on our first full out vacation since Ian was born. We spent the week in the outer Banks with some friends. I didn’t really know what to expect from a vacation with an almost 18 month old. Would it be relaxing at all? Would he enjoy himself? Would we accidently do too much and end up with a cranky overwhelmed toddler?

Well, Ian loved it! We definitely have a beach loving baby on our hands!

Right from the first day, Ian loved the ocean and the sand. He giggled every time a wave came in and loved playing in the water. Even when he got a wave in the face, he still loves it.

Exploring sand was another adventure. I thought he might dislike it because he had a while where he was afraid of grass because he wasn’t used to walking on it. Sand, however, he loved. He dug with his shovel. He dug with his hands. He threw it and played with it. And when he was done with playing in the sand, he would point to the ocean to go back in the water!

The beach brought even more fun because Ian discovered that playing with the hose to wash sand off our feet was also heaps of fun! I don’t know why it never occurred to us that he might enjoy playing with a hose, but he does.

We managed to balance nap time with adult activities pretty well, and there were only a few times when we pushed Ian a bit beyond what we should have. We had slow lazy wake up/breakfast time, and then usually went to the beach mid-morning. We came back, had lunch, and let Ian nap. Some days our friends went off and did something while Ian napped and others they just relaxed. By late afternoon we were all ready to do something and eat yummy dinner.

It turned out to be an awesome and relaxing week. Sure, it would have been more relaxing without the need to run toddler interference in a non-toddler-proofed beach house, but being able to watch Ian explore the beach for the first time more than countered that. Plus, Ian got quality time with two of his uncles, and we got a whole week with some of our closest friends J