We went to the beach on Tuesday (Is it really Thursday already? My computer says it is.) and Noah had a BLAST. He wasn’t really sure about the sand…we set him down and it squished beneath his toes and he looked at his feet like "what. is. THIS?" Then he promptly decided he approved and sat down underneath the beach umbrella Joshua’s mom brought with his ball, a rake and a bucket of water. I think he spent a solid 20 minutes in one spot which is probably a record for him. He looked so cute slathered in sunblock – like a little ghost child.

Soon after that, Joshua and I took him into the water! Ohhh he liked that. At first he was mad because he wanted to keep playing with the sand but then he saw that there was a huge bath tub with more sand and he wanted to get in. I had bought a panda float for him to chill out in and he thought it was the bee’s knees to splash in the water while being toted around the…water.

I should interject and say that the beach we took him to isn’t really a beach, exactly. It’s more like a big lake with sand on the people-accessible area, as it’s smack dab in the middle of Callaway Gardens. Gorgeous scenery, clean water that, with the sun out that day, was the perfect temperature. This means there aren’t huge waves or lots of salt or crabs or anything, which is nice.

After swimming, (at this point he had on a white shirt and his hat in addition to his *gasp* Imse Vimse swim diaper!), he plunked down to play with the sand some more. Then he got brave and started wandering around, (under the watchful eye of three adults, mind you), exploring the different sand (wet versus dry) and eating sweet potatoes (out of a jar – Noah is currently back to eating purees to minimize pain and damage on his tooth). I did end up taking Noah out one more time but for the most part, he hung out under the umbrella, playing with sand. He learned very quickly that he didn’t want to eat the very neat new toy (ugh, and I thought I didn’t like grits) so whatever kept him happy made me happy.

Plus, since he’s such a pale kid, we were worried about him getting sunburned. I applied sunblock liberally throughout the trip and made sure he was in the shade as much as possible.

It was such a success, and Noah loved it so much, that we’re going again on Friday. I’m really excited because I had a TON of fun. I had bought a new bathing suit a few weeks ago from JCPenney for about $13 (after store credit, sales and a coupon – originally $68!) and I LOVE it. I mean I really do – I tried it on just for kicks and knew the second I saw myself in the mirror that I just had to have it. I will be using this swim suit for a long time, that’s for sure. It really helped my self esteem to know that I can still knock guys over (or rather, one guy in particular…) after carrying Noah. Actually, to be entirely honest with myself, my stomach is in pretty good shape. The only thing that holds me back from wearing a bikini is my stretch marks…well, that and my sense of modesty. I just don’t see the need to flaunt it – I’ve got my man. ;-)

Anyway, swimming was incredible. I missed being in the water. I used to swim every single summer day in Houston (when it wasn’t raining – and even then, sometimes I did on those days, too) because I loved it so much. The last time I went swimming I was about five months pregnant and Noah didn’t like being submerged in water like that. I guess the pressure irritated him because he would squirm and roll and push and make it really uncomfortable. I couldn’t really take baths either, that’s how bad it was. So swimming was a real treat. I plan to start going to our local community pool next week for some extra exercise.

All in all, I had high expectations for this summer and even if it’s pretty dull from here on out (Hah!) I’m satisfied. I even got a bit of a tan, finally! Joshua, on the other hand…