Last week, we were lucky enough to visit my dad and family at North Litchfield. You'll remember our first trip there as a family of three was in March, so the temperature wasn't quite warm enough then for enjoying the sun and surf. On this trip, Camp got to really experience the whole beach thing.
The first day, we made the mistake of putting Camp down on a small towel on the sand. He went straight for the tasting of the dry sand. He was not a fan. The second day, we got smart and put him down in the middle of a big beach blanket with a bunch of new toys. Now, we were getting somewhere. He played for quite a while with the empty watering can. He was very content on the shore. He wasn't so sure about the waves though.
*Note: We had to keep his hand wrapped to protect his burns, and we protected the wrap with a baggie and Gamecock Duct Tape to keep out the sand and water.
Camp was trying to climb on mommy to get out of the water.
On our third and final day there, Camp really settled in as a beach bum. He played for quite a while under the shade of the umbrella with his shovel, watering can, and sandcastle molds. Then, we sat together in a very shallow tide pool. Naturally, he ate the wet sand, too. Now that's a taste he seemed to enjoy. Jon came in from the waves and joined us in making drip castles. It was a good time had by all!
Just chillin' with my dad, eating sand.
Word up!
We headed home on Saturday morning to get back in time for a friend's wedding. My dad was adamant that we get a family photo. Also, I need to give him credit for taking all of these wonderful shots during our trip. Thanks for the memories everyone!
After I wrote the post about Camp's first beach trip, I kept thinking about this song. It's one of my favorites, and I even woke up singing the chorus. Hope you enjoy it!
Glorious Day (Living He loved me) Songwriters: John Mark Hall;Michael Jr Bleecker
One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a Virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed
Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day
One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me
'Cause living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him
The grave could not keep Him from rising again
Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day
Glorious day
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my beloved one bringing
My Savior Jesus is mine
Living He loved me, dying He saved me
And buried He carried my sins far away
Rising He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day
Glorious day, oh, glorious day
Back in March (I know, I know, this post is way overdue), we took Camp to the beach for the first time. My family has spent many great weeks at Indigo Pelican I on the beach in North Litchfield, SC. I have so many wonderful memories of this place where my grandparents gathered their brood for spring breaks and summer vacations. The house and the beach there are truly special places in my heart, and I was overjoyed to share them with Camp for the first time.
As we passed through Georgetown going over the bridges towards Pawley's Island and Litchfield, I could barely contain my excitement. It was an incredible feeling to know that my child was about to experience another big first in his life. I told Jonathan it was better than waiting for Christmas.
We got to the house and got everything unloaded. The kid and the camera were the only two things I cared about getting unpacked at this point. I carried Camp, and Jonathan tried to get the whole thing captured in photos. The three of us walked out onto the deck looking out over the ocean. "This noise sounds like my sound machine," Camp thought to himself about the waves crashing to the shore. We walked down to the beach and put his little feet in the sand. Even though the water was still quite cold, we dipped his little feet in the sea. He was enjoying it and seemed to just be taking in all of the new wonders. What a magnificent day.
Camp has started making some new funny faces. His most recent look is the scrunch face. He started with scrunching up his nose when he smiles, but he has since added the scrunched look to just about every expression. It makes me laugh every time.
The little guy has been slowly working his way to a crawl. So far, he basically just scoots, but he is getting stronger and faster with each day. Today he played a little game with himself for about 20 minutes: Chase the Water Bottle. He has a lot of determination, and his new trick makes his momma so proud.
About a week after Camp turned 5 months old, we introduced solids into his diet. By solids, I mean very mushy, pureed foods that are not milk. Jonathan likes to point out that the term "solid food" is used very loosely. The very first thing he ate was rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. After a couple of months of staring at every morsel of real food with a longing desire, he was so excited to try a new taste and use a spoon. He was a big fan.
Since then, we have tried several more new "flavors" of mush. As I am quite sentimental, I have captured every new eating experience with the camera or video camera. I keep hoping to get a really funny first reaction to the foods, but Camp is very polite when trying new things. I think the first few bites are usually just a matter of him trying to get to the food more than actually taking the time to taste it fully. Here are just a few of his eating firsts.
First carrots
First sweet potatoes
First peas
First time in his highchair
Out of everything he has tried, Camp's favorite food seems to be sweet potatoes. He just seems more eager to finish his meal when he has sweet potatoes in the bowl. He does not seem to care very much for avocado. It's the only thing he has tried that he did not finish.
I had hoped to make all of his baby food with fresh ingredients. So far, I have not. The jarred stuff seems to suit him just fine, and it is fast, easy, and convenient. Homemade baby food is still a goal of mine, but if the fresh avocado that I prepared for him is any indication, Camp might prefer the store bought variety.
The pediatrician gave us the go ahead to give Camp a sippy cup with some water, so I picked out the perfect starter cup and knew Camp would love it! He grabbed hold of the handles and went for it. He seemed to know exactly how the cup worked, but he wasn't so good at getting any water from it. Then, when he finally got some liquid out, he decided that water was just not for him. Guess we'll keep trying!
