This is when they first got into the water. Now, be clear, Kiddo loves all bodies of water that are big enough to get into, from the bathtub on up. And the ocean was the pinnacle of all that. She has been known to request, and stay, in water that is not very warm. But we had not factored in was how COLD the water would be (and I was sure it would be cold).After a few minutes of being in the surf, daddy pulled Kiddo out because she was turning purple and he couldn't feel his feet. Oh, and she was massively shivering. (I had gotten my feet wet, gasped at the painful cold, and quickly found my way back to the sand, where I was sure the waves wouldn't get to me.)
So we put on her sweatshirt (oops daddy, I didn't pack one for you, sorry) and wrapped her up in one of the towels I remembered just as we were preparing to walk out the door. (Who goes to the beach without a towel? Seriously though, I tried.) Kiddo spent most of the rest of the time that we were there begging to go back into the water. Except she didn't actually want her to be in the water, she wanted to be held above the water.Which makes sense. It's hard to stand in the surf, and the waves were basically her size. It was a new experience, and it was cold. Her dad is an incredible man, and spent a large part of the time we were there in the freezing cold water. And she loved him for it. As I watched him walk back into the frigid water again, I took this picture and thought, "For his parenting skills alone I should have married him."
He did get small breaks though, as we convinced her to fly a kite (which she loved) and blow bubbles (not as exciting because of the wind). Finally after about 45 minutes, I realized we needed to be good parents, and get her out of the cold.Here are the four of us at the beach:
Kiddo is excited to go back to the beach and the ocean and fly the fish kite again. She suggested today. We told her no. Maybe next month.
