Mommy Diaries: Beach Babes

My husband grew up near the ocean. His whole life he has lived near the beach. First Hawaii, then California. It wasn't until he made his way to Austin that he had ever lived on just land. No ocean, no beach, no surf. And, not only did he live near the beach, it was part of his life. Swimming, lifeguarding, fishing.

We took a trip to the Texas coast as a family this past weekend. It was Lillie's first time to go to the beach, and we loaded the car with every beach item known to man. We had chairs, food, tents, towels, sunscreen, if it belonged on the beach we had it in the car.

I was very interested to see how Lillie would react to the ocean. You hear stories from parents about their little one running from the water crying. And, I hoped and prayed a little this wouldn't be the case for Lillie. This was Cy's shining moment as a dad, to introduce her to one of his loves, the ocean.

The afternoon we arrived, we loaded on the sunscreen and tugged on our bathing suits to go give the ocean a try. I'm not sure what I was worried about; I mean this girl's DNA is half her ocean-loving dad's. She loved it, every minute of it. She loved the sand, mostly, but jumping waves and splashing in the surf was glory for her. And, I could see it on my husband's face, pride. He loved his little beach babe. All sandy, mud in her diaper with a huge smile on her face.