Shore Is Fun

This weekend, O got his first taste of beach life and all was grand in the sand.

We made the 4+ hour drive to Uncle D and Auntie R’s for the baby shower of the soon-to-arrive new cousin, aka “lady baby”, a little girl who O will most certainly delight in and invite to join his current wolf pack of one.

Mama, Baba and O arrived on the shores of Connecticut with just one small(yet pervasive) bout of toddler car sickness and a lot of pent up energy which was immediately addressed via jumping on the Hyatt Place couches.   Thankfully, all the C-Unit aunts and uncles were in town and Operation Play With Nephew quickly commenced.

Each day of the three-day stay was a compilation of: Play frisbee/chase Uncle D’s cats/get chased by Uncle D’s dog/play piano for one second/strum guitar for one second/attempt to touch items secured in display case/attempt to wriggle out of sun screen application/ask to drink out of the “big boy cup” (aka, a Red Solo cup, which coupled with his crumpled shirt, board shorts and tousled mane, give me a glimpse into his collegiate future) and finally, zone out on couch in hopes of watching some PBS Kids on the iPad.

He did pretty darn well for his second (back-to-back) weekend trip and so did G and I.  We’re getting better at being flexible and rolling with the punches, even when we’re sleep-deprived, existing on apples and M&Ms and in desperate need of decent coffee.

Some Vacation Highlights, Lowlights and LetsNotDoThisAgainlights:

– O spreading wet sand all over his mouth and declaring “I have a beard too!” (like Uncle D).

– Making friends wherever he goes by announcing his age as “two and a little half”.

– Quite a few firsts: First time to a beach, first swim in the ocean, first Mister Softee ice cream and first time at the ice cream truck! (this kid surely has lived a deprived life until now…)

– First roller coaster ride with Mama…much more than Baba would have done!

– Taking a bath at D & R’s house and after, wrapped in a towel, announcing he’s a “snugbug in a rug” before disrobing into his “I’mma Nudie” dance – high-kicks, Magic Mike shimmies and all.

– Tip: If building a sand castle and flies suddenly divulge on your unearthed pile, best to move to a new location.

– Stretching out what’s likely the last days of sleeping in a pack-n’-play now that he’s getting taller and more acrobatic.

– Finding out the hard way that eating a fruit pouch in a moving car while scrunched up doing puzzles on the iPad might not be best for the tummy.

– Finding out the hard way not to run with what the dog thinks is a toy (or maybe she thought O was the toy)…

– “Let’s Not and Say We Did” – A Bad Decision Tie:

Award goes to:  Deciding we could push through and not make a rest stop on the morning drive up AND Deciding to drive home at night in the rain with a restless toddler and getting home almost midnight then having to go to work/school Monday a.m.  (Honorable Mention to: Letting O watch the “Potty” episode of “Daniel Tiger” on the ride home and when he, inspired by the potty-going, asked if he could please go to the bathroom, we then had to be like, “uh – yeah…there is no potty here and we can’t stop”.  So much for positive reinforcement…

Overall, our first beach adventure was pretty fun…I got to spend time with my family and get back in touch with my seaside roots, we got to celebrate the impending arrival of the first niece into the clan, G and I got to steal some time away together at a  REAL MALL! (thank you thank you, Aunt C) and O had an amazing time laughing and playing with a whole lot of people who love him very much.

Sounds like the “Perfect Beach Day” to me 🙂