On the Boardwalk

Just beach, sand, dinner, and the Boardwalk!  What a great day. : )

This is Ethan singing along to Veggie Tales, which always gives me a great laugh!

And here are some pictures from today (I only had my phone, so they aren't great!):

Ethan made a friend named Randall, who had Thomas toys!

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And then he made friends with Julia, and we dug her a puddle too (he's actually telling her she can't come in his puddle, so we dug her one):

Yesterday was sand castles, today was big quicksand-mushy puddles:

Mary Claire was in the sand more, not so much in the waves today:

And here he is making friends with more kids-they had a bulldozer and Nutter Butters!

This is Mary Claire and her cousin, Caroline, who looks so much like her!

Then we went up to the Boardwalk to play games and ride rides.  They rode a ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a big slide, the Hurricane, Cyclone, and bumper cars.  It was a lot!  Mary Claire went low, so we got some Dippin' Dots.  They are sooo cold!  She hadn't had them, so she really enjoyed it.  She took them up on the ferris wheel and shared them.  They got to ride with their (second) cousins, so they really had fun!  I wish we could see them more than once a year.  Here is Clay, Mary Claire, and Caroline on the ferris wheel:

And this one just made me laugh!  (My phone camera hadn't been working for almost an hour, but this one made me shut my phone down and restart-I had to get a picture, or no one would believe me!):

The Little One That Didn't Get Away

Ahh, the misconceptions. Literally. (wonder where that word came from..).

When you "mis-conceive", it is hard on everyone around you. They don't know what to think, then don't know what to say. So, sometimes they stay away, or avoid it all together. Sometimes, they plow into unknown territory, and ask anyway, because they care. I think it's sweeter to have a friend ask and mess up than not ask.

Ethan and I went to storytime at the library today, and he was so huggy! He didn't really want to sit with the kids up by the picture book, or sing up close. He wanted to stay close to me and be loved and hugged. Then we got some books and puzzles, and came home. This evening, after dinner, he really surprised me! We sang "If You're Happy and You Know It" in storytime this morning, and he started singing it and clapping! Then after we sang it with him all the way through, he started singing "The Wheels on the Bus"! I had to move his arms to the motions this morning, and he wouldn't sing, but at home, he would do it by himself! Two year olds can still surprise me!

Then after we got home this morning, we sat on the driveway for a while, reading and playing. Then, he took off his shoes in the grass (and it did look really terrific for toes!), and ran around (and ran off!). I found him in the garage and told him it was time to go inside to eat lunch. He took off, and ran FAR! I came out of the garage, and he was half way across the street (and our driveway is long!). I walked (since I didn't want him to run away) towards him, and he stopped. Then when I got within 10 feet, he took off again, and ran all the way to our neighbor's fence-a really long way from our house! Stinker. I got his hand and walked him home. Then I had a talk with him. I told him that he scared me, and he could not run away again (and he said, "Okay"). Then, tonight at dinner, he told Ches he scared Ma-Mopp today! I'm so surprised at his memory. It's really growing (or lengthening?). We retold the story, and Ches talked to him too. He just doesn't realize. Then Ches told him there were snakes in the high grass (the empty lot next to us), and he's scared of snakes. He plays into Ethan's fears (like bees and snakes).

What a day. We also made it to the post office to mail another team shirt, and to Mary Claire's school to take her library books, lest she not get to check new ones out! Come to find out, they didn't get to check out because of the book fair, so it's a good thing I got a few extra at the library today! She read them, then ran up to Clay's room to get a Magic Tree House book. Clay has already read them, but I guess she wants to make her way through them now!

When we took Clay and a friend to baseball practice, Mary Claire asked me if she could play baseball! I didn't even know she wanted to play! Last year, she said no, but now she's changed her mind. She also wants to play basketball and soccer! : ) I'll sign her up for what I can, but we are packing our days! She had said she wanted to try out for Children's Choir, but we just can't do it all. She's going to learn what it has taken me years to figure out. I just can't do it all (and if I do, nothing is done well).