Hello Summer!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SwimAdventureContest #CB #CollectiveBias

Oh my gosh, can I just say I am SO excited that summer time is starting to say hello??? We have been to the beach three times already in the past couple weeks and every time we are able to wade a little farther into the water. We are pretty much beach experts around here… Kris and I both grew up on islands, we went to school in Hawaii where we lived on our own little private beach. We always vacation near the ocean. Last summer we spent a whole month in Hawaii. It took a little bit of time for Zoey to warm up to the waves and water, but now she is just as much a fish as the rest of us. Since I have another baby on the way I thought it would be useful to write down all the different games I used to help Zoey warm up to the water so I have them for reference, so I will share those further down in the post.

These pictures are from Sunday, Kris always takes Sunday off from studying to spend time with family. After church we packed up the car and headed to the beach to make some memories. We try to pack light when we go to the beach, but there are some things I just can’t go without – like swim diapers, snacks, sunscreen, shovels. The essentials. I just got Zoey the most adorable new swim diapers (Huggies® Little Swimmers® at Sam’s Club), she is obsessed with Finding Nemo and they have Dory on the front so she LOVES them. I love them because they have a little tab on each hip that makes them super easy to take off and put on. If you have ever tried to slide a diaper on or off a wet bum you will know how convenient this is! Zoey is potty trained, but sometimes she forgets and pees in the water! These gives me peace of mind, and make pool and lake time so much easier. They are thin enough to wear under a bathing suit easily, but I think they are so cute I just used them as swim bottoms for Z.

Anyway we had such a good time, all my favorite family memories have to do with being near the water and this summer will be no different I am sure. My absolute favorite thing about Sunday was watching Zoey and her dad play pass the ball together, every time Kris threw her the ball Zoey laughed hysterically like it was the funniest thing in the world. Those two are the cutest little pair in the world, I love to see them having fun together.

As promised I am sharing below my favorite pool or lakeside games to help encourage your toddler to come swim and splash with you. I know I will be using these with baby Burgess number two, and even though Zoey already loves the water, we still play most of these games every time we go to the beach!

Playing Pass

Like I mentioned above, Zoey loves to play pass. Most toddlers I know love to roll a ball back and forth. If you do this right on the shoreline chances are you and your kiddy will end up in the water in no time to catch that ball.

Popping Bubbles

This is one of Zoey’s favorites, it is funny to watch because she almost never catches the bubbles, but she will chase them giggling till they disappear and then come back for more. When I wade out into the water with the bubbles she follows right along to keep popping.

Fishing!

I got a net and some plastic fish that sink to the bottom. All you do is sprinkle some fish in the shallow water and give your babe the net and most likely they will be more than tempted to go scoop those babies up. Zoey absolutely loves this one.

Comfort.

For Zoey this is a good swimsuit, a hand to hold and sometimes some water wings, depending on her mood. You kind of have to feel this one out depending on your child’s needs. I have found that wearing a swim diaper actually makes Zoey more comfortable sitting down in the water at a sandy beach. Her other bathing suits tend to sag and get full of sand and that is just no fun

WATER FIGHT!

This one probably will only work with an older toddler, but I have found that a good game of gentle splashing back and forth always ends in laughter. Zoey is just figuring out how to use her water gun and it was hilarious to watch her chasing Kris around and running to the water to fill it up again.

On the note of all these fun summer thoughts I thought I would share this contest I came across while I was buying my Huggies® Little Swimmers®. All you have to do is snap a picture of your fun summer moments and share with the hashtag #SwimAdventureContest or upload it directly via SamsClub.com/SwimAdventureContest and you will be entered for a chance to win one of FIVE $1000 Sam’s Club Giftcards… I know I could sure use that. I would be really happy if any of my readers won though! So please enter. The contest is from 2/1/16-6/1/16 You can enter here.