We went to the beach yesterday. Ive shared most of the day on my family blog but am adding Dakotas highlights here.

He was FASCINATED by the ocean. Kept saying "water, water".

There were fishing boats all around us & he would stare at them saying "Boat, water, boat!!"

We saw a bunch of sea lions laying on a dock & stopped to watch them. He was totally fascinated by them, just kept staring & staring.

We went crabbing with SIL's family which he LOVED. Would get really excited when a crab was caught & very upset when one was thrown back because it wasnt a keepable size. He kept sayng "crab, crab!!!" At one point one was thrown back & he started crying & asking for "buddy". Another time some keepers were put into the cooler & he stood watching them & saying "sorry, sorry". He would try to pull the rings up himself because he was so excited.

He just had the best time at the coast, no meltdowns except one time when we started to go into a really crowded building but he calmed down as soon as we left. he enjoyed watching the salt water taffy machine thru the window at the candy store & even when we went inside to buy some he did ok, even though the machine was really loud &  about to make me feel like I was hitting overload myself. He just did so well. It was a wonderful, relaxing day for all of us.

watching sea lions

crabbing