first trip to the dog beach of the season

and it was a complete success. we got rock star parking and enjoyed a hassle free visit. gibson didn't seem as interactive as he usually is, but i think it may have been out of an instinct of protection. he usually had something to say to any of the other dogs that came up to say hello.

i'm proud to say that all the dogs that did come up were very gentle and curious, putting me at ease to have them so close to nissa. i love dogs and so does nissa, but it's hard for both of us to remember sometimes that not all dogs are as great as gibson, and not all dogs can necessarily be trusted around a toddler. but i was cautious (and swooped up nissa on occasion if some wrestling broke out) and we all had a good time.

nissa enjoyed standing on the edge of the water, so the waves just barely got her feet wet. "water" she tells me. yes, dear, lots of water- it's a lake! it's lake michigan, but you can just call it "the lake." "water, water." yes. and birds. "a-boat!" yep, there's a sail boat on the horizon. oh wait, there's two. two a-boats. "ball." yes, the puppies like to play with a ball at the beach. "puppy!" yep, like every 5 minutes. what a great place to visit- it's got all the nouns she knows and loves!

we found a discarded tennis ball that nissa and i took turns throwing to gibson. he seemed to enjoy it well enough. nissa's throwing needs a little work (not much trajectory after it leaves her hand) but she's trying and seems to understand the concept.

after our stay at the beach, we got some hotdogs and ate them on the rocks by montrose. my mom used to do the same thing with us on occasion and it was fun to do the same thing with nissa and gisbon. though it was more than a challenge to get nissa, gibson and 2 hotdogs with mustard from the stand to the car, from the car to the rocks and into a comfortable seating position without making a total mess and having the hot dogs in tact. i think i'd like to come up with a better strategy next time, but i'm not sure what that will be.

our fun evening on the lake was concluded with wonderfully close parking in front, a miracle considering street parking lately on our block. thank goodness for little favors!