collecting treasures.

Here's how it goes .... She's content in our arms as we walk from the car, past the park, down the long pathway but the moment our toes hit the sand she flails her arm pointing towards the ground saying "dah daah dahh ..." (DOWN). She wants down, and fast. She wants to collect treasures. So we put her down & she's off.


She baby-sprints around, often squealing in delight, past piles of dried seaweed, sticks, seagull poop. Sometimes she falls down, gets back up, wipes her hands on her pants & keeps going.


And then she finds it, whatever "it" is at the moment. Maybe part of a broken sanddollar, a cute little shell, a smooth rock, a sandcrab carcass (we try to keep her from touching those, for the record, but every once in a while she beats us to it). She squats down & plucks it out of the sand with her adorably chubby fingers.


And then she races back to us, holding her treasure out for us to hold for safekeeping. Then she's off again in search of her next treasure. We leave the beach with pockets full of shells & sand & one very happy little girl.