Owen Takes on the Atlantic Ocean

Owen visited the ocean for the first time last week during our biennial Outer Banks beach trip. We were joined by Joe and Cate and the future baby Mettenburg at a lovely little house called the Guilford right on the boarder between Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. Due to a series of unfortunate events we weren't able to get the whole crew back together this year as Chris & Elise, Nabeel, Megan & Kaden, and Billy all couldn't make it, but the good news was that with just the Fawcetts and Mettenburgs at the beach we had the perfect number for plenty of Bridge!

For Owen's first encounter with the Atlantic Ocean (or any body of water bigger than our bathtub for that matter) we lathered him up with sunscreen, stuffed him in his life jacket and waded into the surf. In retrospect, we probably should have taken more time to ease him into the water. Between the waves crashing around us and the sunscreen seeping into his eyes, Owen was not too thrilled about floating in the Ocean at the mercy of Poseidon.

After the first encounter, we wisely set up a wading pool on the beach for Owen to play in, and spent the rest of the week letting him run around (holding his hands of course, he can't yet run on his own) in the surf. By the end of the week he absolutely loved having the surf wash up around his feet, and even a thunderstorm on Friday afternoon couldn't dampen his enthusiasm for the beach.

On the developmental front, Elaine and I have long thought that Owen might start walking around the time of our beach trip. While he didn't start walking last week, he did take his first step. Standing up in his wading pool, Owen picked up one foot, moved it few inches forward, and put it back down. His expression made it clear that he wasn't too sure about this new development, and with the rather uneven bottom pool, he clearly decided it was best to sit right back down in the water. Since he didn't start walking at the beach last week, clearly he'll take his first steps this week in Iowa ;-)



(click here to see all the pictures)