A Beautiful Afternoon At The Beach

Bathing Beauty!!

Ryan is trying to convince Carissa that the water is fun

Love the hat!!

CHEESE!!

Letting Ryan bury her legs in the sand (this is a first!!)

This is fun!!

Ryan with his whole body buried and Carissa with 1/2 of a body!!

Looks like they are having a serious conversation

She is getting tired at this point

Snug as a bug at the beach!!

Today was a beautiful start to the week so we decided to get out of the house while our house is being painted and go to the beach. This was Carissa's second time to this beach but her first time actually enjoying the sand and playing in it for a while. She also was a little braver with the "COLD" water and got in up to her waist. She was fascinated with Ryan digging a big hole and then putting his feet in it. She then wanted to put her feet and legs in like he was doing. He then started to slowly pour sand in the hole and bury both of their legs. She thought that was fun so started helping. She actually sat there for about 30 minutes playing in the sand with half her body covered up.

After we finally pulled her out of the hole, she was so covered with sand that we went down to the water to wash off. She was a brave soul and got in up to her waist. She then proceeded to bend over and splash and sit down part way. She LOVES the bath tub and water so I wasn't too surprised at her reaction to the water. She was getting tired since we were there during her nap time so she and ryan just sat and let the water run over their legs. I then brought her back up to where we had camped out and wrapped her in her towel and cuddled a little to get her warm. She was sooooo tired that she fell asleep so I laid her down on the beach blanket and then took a little nap beside her. What a fun relaxing afternoon we had and hope to have many more enjoyable days like it this Summer!!

Carissa is 21 months old and had her First Visit to Lake Michigan - Friday, June 12th

Ryan and Carissa enjoying a rest on a washed up log

WEEEEE!! (A.K.A. Swing - Her favorite thing to do!!)

Finally enjoying the sand!!

Watching the waves come in and out

Mommy and Carissa

Carissa after the fall in the water

She had to ride home with just her diaper since her clothes were all wet.

On Friday, Ryan, Carissa and I headed out for a picnic. We ended up at one of our favorite spots here in West Michigan. North Beach Park in Ferrysburg. Carissa loves to swing. She calls it her WEEEEEE!!! So, we went there for several reasons: (1) to have lunch because the weather was finally beautiful, (2) for Carissa to swing and (3) to get her used to the sand. Up to this point she wasn't too fond of the stuff.

After playing at the playground, we took her down to the water. That she loved!! She loved it so much that she walked right in (after the initial shock of the cold) and fell. There was a 3" or so drop off right at the beginning of the waves that we didn't see and it set her off balance so in she went clothes and all. She whimpered for a few minutes but then looked up at us and smiled. We were excited to see she at least enjoyed the water. We spend a lot of time at the beach in the summer around here so we need her to get used to it.