blake's first beach trip

So I've been excited to take Blake to the beach since, I don't know... I was five months pregnant, maybe. I bought reusable swim diapers, a rash guard, and swim trunks. I browsed beach tents on amazon.com while nursing. But I didn't end up buying a beach tent because I figured an inflatable baby pool with a shade was cheaper and multi-functional.

I was waiting and waiting until it was close enough to our beach trip that I could look up the weather forecast, and much to my dismay, Monday and Tuesday (our days at the beach) called for rain. All day rain. I was so disappointed! It's kind of depressing to pack for a beach trip that you know you will end up in the motel room the whole time.

Monday was rainy, so we weren't in a rush to get there. We got there around 4 PM, and it was pouring rain. But during dinner, the rain stopped! So I told TJ we had to get out and enjoy the non-rain while we could. So we walked on the boardwalk for a little while, and then we even went on the beach and took a few photos.

Blake woke me up at 6:30 AM on Tuesday, which is way earlier than normal. I was not happy. But I saw sunshine! The weather forecast said it would start raining at 8 AM, so I got TJ up right away so we could go to the beach. We walked to the beach and put Blake's feet in the sand and in the water. It was such a sweet moment because I love the beach. He liked the sand, and he wasn't sure about the water at first because it was too cold. Once he got used to the temperature, he didn't hate it. After breakfast, it was STILL SUNNY so we headed back to the beach. I showed Blake how to jump the waves, and we took more pictures, of course. And it wiped him out! He ended up falling asleep in his baby pool/tent. For lunch, we met up with TJ's aunt and cousin, and we all went swimming in the pool because it was STILL SUNNY. Blake loved the pool. We bobbed him up and down, and he kicked like he wanted to swim. And then he got wiped out again. We never got even a drop of rain that day. I was so thankful!

On Wednesday, Blake woke me up early again, so we went to the beach, and then we got in the pool for a little. Then we drove down to Cape May for a whale watch. Blake didn't notice he was on a boat or anything, but he was fine. And luckily, TJ entertained him for a lot of the time so I could search for whales. We never saw any whales, but we saw dolphins, and I even saw a stingray.

We had a wonderful beach trip, and I'm so thankful for it. I couldn't have asked for more except for maybe one more day to spend there. I hope I can remember Blake's sweet expressions forever as he experienced the ocean for the first time!