Another Day at the Beach

Tuesday morning I again got up and went for a run. The day before when we walked to the beach I realized it was a short enough distance that I could run barefoot to the beach and then run along the sand in the water as the waves washed up. It was less than a tenth of a mile across pavement before I reached sand and it was so worth it to run barefoot so I could get down into the water. There were short walls every once in a while on the beach and I enjoyed jumping over them and landing in water on the other side, pretending I was running the steeplechase. I found a huge shell which I tucked into my shorts so I could take it back and show it to Carter. He was in awe!

After my run we ate breakfast and played in the pool for a while as everyone got ready for the beach. Carter hadn't slept very well and woke up multiple times during the night to play with my hair and roll around. I thought that contributed to him being afraid of the water when he hadn't been the day before. He spent most of his time in the sand. I finally made the connection that Carter had the most fun when Ty was in the water with us the day before so I asked Ty to come out with us and sure enough Carter was back to splashing and laughing rather than crying and screaming for mommy to pick him up. I totally get it, there's just something about your daddy that makes you feel safe!

Trying out a beach chair in Amanda and Paul's beach tent.

Love his little legs crossed!

Such an amazing view!

Getting all the sand sprayed off before going inside.

The highlight of the day came in the evening as we were making dinner. I took Carter outside to watch Ty grill and Paul said he saw a dolphin in the ocean right by our backyard. We had seen dolphins in the water, but never up too close. Paul went running for the dock and I looked out at the water realizing the dolphin was right up against the pier by our beach house. Rocky carried Carter and we all stood around watching as the dolphin swam up and down the pier. As it would surface we got a good look and were even able to make out scars on its side. At one point the dolphin surfaced and blew water out of its blow hole right by Carter, startling him. It was so cool to hear it blow water and to watch it swim. We were all transfixed and even sat and waited for it to return long after it was gone. I was too busy enjoying the moment to take any pictures. I thought about running for my phone to get a video, but I didn't want to miss out on seeing it for a single moment. Before Carter went to bed we watched family videos from when Ty and Paul were little. Carter stood right in front of the tv and would point at the screen saying "baby!"

Snuggling his blanket during naptime.

Watching daddy as a baby.  He couldn't get close enough!