Massena... part 7

Aunt Tara, Maia and I headed over to the beach to give Maia some time to play in the water. It wasn't particularly warm or sunny... but Maia LOVED playing in the sand, and was absolutely fascinated by all the "big" kids around. She watched them run in and out of the water and squealed, bounced and flapped her arms. Most of the girls were pretty interested in her too, and we answered lots of questions. How old she was, what her name was, could she come in swimming with me?

Oh look! I found a stick here too!!

I love this picture. She planted her face right in the sand (all as part of the exploration, of course) and came up mildly surprised. However, she wasn't terribly interested in letting me wipe it off, and so it stayed there for a while. And, fact of the matter was... this was actually Maia's first time swimming! She'd walked in the water at Lake Michigan but had never really gone in very far. She was fairly brave, and went in up to her knees, but the St. Lawrence River is cold... and she'd toddle back out. Finally, Maia and I went in together. The water isn't very deep there, so our adventure began with me trying to find my way through the mucky parts (eeewwww!!!) to a sandy spot where I could be comfortable kneeling down to get her mostly submerged.

She did great, although she clung pretty tightly on to me (good to know that next time I want a good cuddle, all I have to do is take her swimming!). In true Maia-fashion, of course, you could see the wheels working beneath her furrowed brow. But after a while, I was able to move her back and forth in the water, and I got a few smiles and giggles. And she was very good and patient and cautiously exploratory until I realized her lips and hands were starting to turn blueish, and figured it was time for a warm, dry towel! On the way back to the campground, she crashed, and had a nice nap (if a slightly damp one) in her car seat. Aunt Tara has all the pics of Maia and I actually swimming... So perhaps I'll be able to add some at a later date!