Bumming around at the Beach

From the beginning, it has been our intention to let Jamey experience everything we have to offer him so that as he gets older, he won't be afraid of these things and so that they will seem natural.  For this reason, we took him out to restaurants early, took him to West Virginia to visit Grammy and Hoopop and took him to the fair.  The more he gets used to being out and about, the better for both he and us!

And so, that was the thought in mind, when we headed out on our most recent adventure to Emerald Isle, where my parents live.  As well, after 

having my mom stay with me for a week of transition time as Glenn got back to work, we decided taking her home would be a great opportunity for another quick getaway over Labor Day Weekend.  We were further excited when Jim and Lindsay decided to make the trip over for a day or two so that both Lindsay and the boys could meet their latest cousin.  Needless to say, they were enthralled, especially Max, who continually asked to hold the baby.  I was also excited to find out from Ben (7), I think it was, that Jamey couldn't talk yet 

because he didn't have teeth.  Well, if that is all it takes, he is going to be speaking sooner than I thought.

Jamey took quickly to being at Grandma and Granddad's house, especially as a large portion of the wall is made up of windows, letting in tons of light in and making everything very interesting for Jamey to see.  He was more awake than we had seen him before.  This, we soon discovered, was just another building block in his development, as in the following days, he stayed awake for much more of the day.  

Back when I was just barely pregnant, Glenn's mom and I had found a special outfit for Jamey, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to get through the summer without someone taking him into the water.  And so he had his own swim shorts, surf shirt, and beach hat waiting patiently in his closet to be used.  On the Saturday after arriving at Emerald Isle, we suited him up and took him out to the beach.  No worries to anyone, he sat under a canopy the entire time, and I kept a cold washcloth on his belly so he didn't get overheated.  

But I needn't have worried, as Jamey took the beach like he takes to most things.  He just rolled with the punches, sat on our laps, and stared around him at the myriad of sites.  Between the glow of the sand, the feel of the small amount of sand that somehow got on his hand, the constant motion of people running around, and the sound of the crashing water, his senses definitely got a workout.  Although he didn't go in the ocean or spend more than about an hour or so on the Beach, it was definitely a good warm-up for future visits.  

The next day, Glenn and I decided that we did want to take Jamey into the pool.  I wanted him to get the feel of being in a lot of water at a young age, so as he gets older, he will feel that the pool is a safe and normal place to be.  (Safe to a point, that is)  Around 5 PM, once the shade was over the pool and the heat had subsided a bit, we suited him up again and took him on his first golf cart ride over to the pool.  Being held firmly by either Glenn or I, we waded into the kid's end of the pool, getting him wet about halfway up his body.  Just as with the Beach, there was not a cry to be heard.  Granted, there weren't really any big grins either.  But Jamey just sat in our arms looking all around, taking in everything that was around him.  Probably the thing he liked best, though, was being snuggled in his towel afterwards, judging by how quickly he fell asleep in my arms.

Also, on this trip, Granddad was reminded of the smell of a dirty diaper.  With Jamey propped up on his bent legs, my Dad said to me, "I definitely think he just pooped."  Well, as a rule, Jamey never just goes once-- as I have heard it is with all babies.  I told my Dad to wait just a few minutes to be sure Jamey was done.  After a few minutes, Dad seemed to be on the verge of suffocating, so I took Jamey and cleaned him up.  One thing of note, that Jamey seems to like-- he loves it when Granddad makes his funny noise that sounds much like a dog howling.  Without fail, it always brings a smile to Jamey's face.