A Beach Bum is Born

I'm thrilled to report that this past weekend, Katherine Wheeler fell in love with the beach.  Bring on the years of family fun!

Progression left to right: uninterested (March 2013), unsure (May 2013), curious (February 2014), excited (May 2014)

Our long weekend began with a very special treat, a date day in Charleston for me and Matt including my first ever night away from my sweet baby.  John and Peggy were kind enough to take on the challenge and claim that Kate was a "good" baby while we were out of town, but I think even if she had been rotten the grandparent goggles would've kept them from noticing.  We were so thankful for this much needed break and time alone together.  As a parent I'm always preoccupied with thinking about the next time my child needs to eat, nap, get a new diaper, what could trigger a tantrum, etc. and having 24 hours of kid free (and therefore worry free) time was amazing.  We made every minute count and by the time Kate showed up at the condo Saturday morning with her grandparents I was extremely happy to be reunited with her (the chance to sleep in past 5:00 probably had something to do with my good mood).

Just the two of us for a change!

The weather was great all weekend and Kate loved the ocean so much that she would have kept going farther and farther out into the water if we had only let her.  The pool was a big hit too, and seeing the joy on her face as she ran grinning toward the water was priceless.

Tentative first steps with Grammie and Granddaddy...

...followed by glee as Daddy takes her deeper

The next day, happily dashing towards the open ocean

Other fun activities included visiting several playgrounds, catching an early morning sunrise, relaxing in a beach chair, playing with her fish float even outside of the pool, and going out to dinner as a family.

Pool time!!!

 

It was a perfect Memorial Day weekend at Wild Dunes, I hope we can keep this tradition up of kicking off the start to summer frolicking on sand and in the surf with our little beach bum.