Kingston's First Trip to the Beach!

This past week, Kingston took his very first trip to the beach! How fitting right? We don't frequent the beach very often. Translation: we don't go to the beach. Ever. We have always been pool swimmers. We like to walk the beach in the evenings, pick sea glass, and enjoy the beauty of it all, but we generally do not go and lay out at peak hours or spend full days there. Now that we have Kingston, our super fair skinned babe, I don't really see that changing too much in the future, but after seeing how much he loved the beach, I definitely want to start taking a lot of evening trips when the sun is not as strong!

We spontaneously went to the beach after having dinner with our family. The Glamparents, Aunta, and the three of us went. I'm pretty sure I took some of my favorite pictures ever on this evening! 

We took Kingston down to the water, but with the waves crashing and the water coming at him, he was not very happy. In fact, he screamed. We were all super shocked because this kid is a serious water baby. The kind of water baby who laughs when he gets water thrown in his face and desperately tries to break free and swim on his own in the pool. But the ocean, ya not so much. I think it was the noise. Kingston is weird about certain noises - like the blender, tinfoil, and my Dad blowing his nose. 

He may not have wanted to dip his toes in the ocean water, but he was all for playing in the sand! He couldn't wait to get down.

Daddy went to work finding some big seashells for Kingston to explore, and the rest of us hunkered down to let the baby explore. 

The beach sand had a much different texture then both the play sand and craft sand that he has felt in the past. He fervently attacked it, and dug right into it. I had fun burying his toes and watching him try to pull them out of the sand. He loved sifting it through his fingers. 

Burying Mama's toes!

Daddy found him some huge fun seashells and we watched as he checked them out. 

As we watched him, he began to dig with the shells. I was blown away that he would know to do that! It was like a primal instinct. He used the seashells as little shovels and began scooping the sand into them and patting it down. Then I helped him flip them over and make natural sandcastles!

We practiced writing letters in the sand.

Soon after, Kingston started getting even braver in the sand and crawling around. He plopped down on his belly and was digging in the sand. 

His little legs and feet were COVERED in sand. I couldn't snapping a few pictures of their deliciousness!

After a little bit more digging and playing, we started to pack up.

We only stayed for about an hour, but in that short time Kingston learned so many things from his surroundings. We talked about sand, the ocean, shells, letters, numbers, all kinds of things. We pointed out rocks, pebbles, and animals. Before we left, we took home the big shells, rocks, and a cup of sand for activities and crafts (posts to come).

Kingston absolutely loved the beach. He was so giddy from the trip, that he chatted for twenty straight minutes in the backseat before conking out! I love that he got to see what we were learning about up close and personal. It was a great way to really introduce our theme. He seemed right at home at the beach which made me think that maybe all of the books we've read, sensory activities, and time spent in the sandbox and pool have really made him comfortable in the beach environment. We will definitely be back!