B sells sea shells down by the sea shore

We had a great time last weekend with Chris' parents. They came to town and we took a wonderful trip down the Jersey Shore. I felt like I was in the middle of a Billy Joel song. I had some misgivings about Beckett and the beach. And not just the general paranoid mother stuff of Beckett getting swept away to sea. (Although that did figure in.) Beckett hates dirt, and grass, and nature pretty much. I knew he loved baths, but I figured the vast stretch of sand in the way would destroy any fun he might have at the ocean. I was ever so wrong. He went nuts for the beach. He actively crawled along the tide line and let the waves lap at his hands and feet. And that was so much fun that he kept trying to crawl into the waves, therefore increasing his chances of being swept away. And I even managed to protect that fair skin for three days of beaching. (However all my good work was undone the day we went home. We stopped in at Philly and a couple of hours of popping in and out of sights sans sunscreen gave Beckett a sunburn on his arms. Lesson learned.)

We started him out in the kiddy pool which was great. We bought him that floaty crab boat and it was just right to give him balance, but the pool was shallow enough he could walk along on his own. He loved being mobile, yet lazy at the same time.

Look, he's happy on the beach. I guess sand is significantly different than dirt in his mind.

How cute is this surfer outfit he's wearing?


Beckett also developed a taste for seafood--and sand. He loved the salty sand and kept licking it off his fingers. If a wave splashed into his mouth he was in heaven.

I also have a taste for seafood. Yummy crabs!

Our hotel was right on the beach which was great. We could run right down there. The beach was so beautiful and clean.

This is the hotel pool. I feel it looks suspiciously like a coffin.

More beach. We saw this sand crab on the beach and George actually managed to catch it. It was a very impressive feat. Sadly he got pinched in the effort but we all enjoyed poking the crab with straws in Beckett's sand bucket.

Beckett got a free pinwheel in a Cape May gift shop. Score!

And here we are in Philly. Check out our little revolutionary.

And here's Beckett at Independence Hall. My arms almost fell off trying to take this picture

Stay tuned for Mystic Seaport and the Liberty Science Center.

An explanation

Just a little explanation for one of Chris' posts below--the one with the billboard. he took it with his iphone which has no zoom. The website is www.cmlf.com. Cmlf, see milf. Get it? It was quite funny, but I think the joke was kind of lost in translation.

Flappers at a disco

Dawnell did not appreciate this guy dressed up as a revolutionary war
period gentleman. That isn't Victorian, and you can't just throw out
anyone from the days of yore or yesteryear when your town's theme is
the big V. As D said, it's like seeing a flapper at a disco.

Camo dude

Since our blog is mostly about Beckett, with the occasional post about
Dawnell's shoes, we bring you little dude with his new fake Crocs, a
perfect match for his shorts and hat

Not quite Victorian

This was the least Victorian building in all of Cape May. We all
appreciated the irony.

Cape May

This is a wonderful town where all the houses are these lovely
Victorians, like this old-timey government building. Ignore my
finger, I always forget the lens is in the corner

Greetings from Wildwood!

Dawnell & I are on vacation for the weekend with my parents in
wildwood. We had a great Friday. Here's a sign we saw on the
boardwalk. Funny, we always thought this would have been a much
different website.

We'll have more photos throughout the next three days of Beckett
lounging on the beach!

Yea he fussy, cuz he's a baby

Back when Queen Latifah hosted Saturday Night Live there was a sketch where Queen introduced her newest protege, who was a baby. Actually a pretty funny sketch. And the chorus of his rap song was, "yea, I'm fussy, cuz I'm a baby." Sadly, my youtube search for "latifah fussy baby" did not result in any hits, probably because of NBC's refusal to allow one of its competitors in the marketplace to monetize its product without any agreement about compensation for distribution.

Anyway, sometimes Beckett is fussy, but it's only because he's a baby. Like yesterday, we tried to take him to this:




But a 1.5 hour rain delay sapped Beckett's will to watch a game. Oh well, at least he got to see the old Yankee Stadium, even if he couldn't stick around for an inning or two.




Here's some bonus pictures of Beckett outside with "his" walker. You'd think eventually he'd figure out that walking without a walker is also cool, but so far he thinks it's funnier to totally burn mommy and daddy by standing up for a minute, then plopping down and starting to speed crawl.



Sorry this first one was out of focus, but I love his face in it.

Book Tag

Book Tag
Directions:

1. Get the nearest book to you, or one you're reading that contains over 123 pages.

2. Go to the 123 page

3. Find the 5th sentence

4. Post the 5th sentence

5. Tag five people---I reject #5. Last time I tagged people they hated me. No more.

I'm reading two books right now.

First, The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory.

"The English seem to think it right and normal that men and women should mix."

Second, Parenting, Inc. by Pamela Paul

"For a parent, checking out a Baby Einstein video for the first time is both oddly soothing and anxiety-provoking."

New Beckett Shoes

I love shoe shopping for myself, but Becket shoes are super tempting as well. I thought Puma shoes were the height of cuteness, but when I found these little Nikes for $10 I couldn't resist. Chris likes the idea that they could be "shoe buddies." That's what they'll call them!

The verdict is still out on whether or not Beckett likes them. If he would ever walk he might appreciate them more.

I love his feet in his big grown up shoes swinging in the breeze while he eats lunch.

Just another manic Sunday

Beckett gets annoyed when he stays in one place for more than two
seconds at church, but I think we've found a new calling for him:
organist foot pedalist!

Fun Times at the Park

Beckett is big enough to play on the actual playground equipment. He can't walk but he can crawl across the different levels and climb up and down the levels. We're still working on the concept that the feet should go down first, not the head, when navigating stairs, but he'll get there. He went down the slide all by himself, it was only on his belly, he doesn't quite get it yet sitting up. And he loves making friends with all the kids that are around.

Beckett's new wife-beater wearin' friend is quite a favorite. This kid can do all sorts of things like walk and climb back up the slide after sliding down. Beckett was amazed by this. He kept trying to do it. You can see he's trying and keeps looking over at the other kid like, "How are you doing this???"

He really likes to pretend he's driving.

He's also decided that swings are actually fun.

Next trip to the park we'll take his walking toy along and give him big vistas to walk up and down with.

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Actually, Beckett gets by with a little help from his friend's toys. He still can't walk on his own, but if we keep making walking a fun game then we're sure he'll walk soon. Enjoy the video!