Our First Family Holiday 16 Jul 07
We’re just back from our first little trip away as a family. Our destination wasn’t anywhere exotic, the weather wasn’t fantastic and we were only away for 5 days, but it was still nice to get a break and we certainly enjoyed it.
We were lucky enough to be able to borrow an apartment in Portstewart (up on the north coast, for those not familiar with Northern Ireland). It overlooks the sea and you can spend hours there just watching the waves come in and hit the rocks on the shore. The scenery was lost on Ben though, who preferred to watch the people and cars pass by on the road below us.
As well as being our first holiday as a family, the trip also gave us several other firsts with Ben:
- His first night’s sleep in his travel cot – I don’t know if it was all that fresh sea air, but being in an unfamiliar place certainly didn’t affect Ben’s sleep. One morning, we even got a lie-in until 9am – I don’t remember when that last happened.
- His first experience of a see-saw – I don’t think Ben was too impressed. He prefers the swings, where every push forward and swing back produces a most infectious giggle.
- His first time on a beach – Portstewart Strand is a two-mile long stretch of golden sand that is managed by the National Trust. There aren’t many places that can match it locally. Ben seemed to be mostly interested in trying to eat the sand.
- His first paddle in the sea – He was more curious about this than excited. The curiosity soon wore off when he started to get cold and it was back up the beach to get cosied up in a towel.
These firsts may have been interesting and/or exciting for Sarah and me, but for Ben, it was the old favourites that were the most fun: Playing peek-a-boo, rolling around on the floor, chewing on the TV remote control (and generally anything else that we don’t want him to chew), grabbing daddy’s glasses, giving mummy slobbery kisses and splashing about in the bath. With no internet connection, no cable or satellite TV and not a lot of housework to be done, it certainly gave us time to indulge him with these simple pleasures.
In years to come, Ben may not remember anything about his first holiday, but Sarah and I will and I know we’ll look back on it with smiles on our faces.
Posted by Nev in Family Life , Northern Ireland with tags baby, beach, ben, family, holiday, northern ireland, sea
