Beach Babies

A good example of our crazy cold wet summer ... yesterday was our FIRST beach outing. And also a good example of the weirdness of three-year-olds. They always do the exact opposite of what you expect. So I guess I should expect it by now, huh?

Last time we were at the beach was a random day in April or so. The Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey that time of year is FREEZING. Yet Kiddle eventually made his way down to the water and would not come out. Seriously. He was blue and shivering, but he kept getting further and further in. Eventually we had to drag him away from the beach, with him screaming, "I GO WATER! I GO WATER! I GO WATER!" all the way to the car and all the way home.

So I was thrilled to finally make it to the beach yesterday, thinking that Kiddle would absolutely LOVE it this year. Silly me. He had a great time running around and digging in the sand. But he wanted NOTHING to do with the water. And if I went in just to rinse my feet off, he stood on the beach screaming, "NO MOMMY! GET OUT OF THE WATER!" Weird, weird, weird. The only thing I can attribute his fear to was how rough the surf was. The waves were pretty intense, and — as a child of the bathtub-water Gulf Coast — I can certainly understand how intimidating it can be.

This, of course, marked Bigga's very first beach trip. He was a trooper as usual, napping in the stroller and hanging out under the umbrella tent.


Want some chips to go with that sand?

Don't you just love summer?

Sprinkler Time

It took him a while, but Kiddle finally crossed that line into realizing it's actually FUN to get sprayed with cold water. His very first friend Max is in town from Tokyo for a few weeks and they had a great time this afternoon getting as wet as they possibly could.

Happy Fourth of July!

We celebrated a day early with Mr. P's family in Queens. His sister and her family are in from the West Coast this week, which means we finally got to meet sweet Mary Cate for the first time. Four months older than XL — and the only girl in the family so far. We hadn't seen them in over a year, so Kiddle really got his first taste of big-brotherhood now that Tag is actively in his business.

We spent a big chunk of the afternoon at the local playground. Very NYC with its black rubber surface, chainlink fence and giant dragon sprinkler (if only it was an open fire hydrant!), but a great park, really.

Beautiful Mary Cate.

Kiddle chillin' with the dragon.

Extra Little chillin' in the double wide.

The deluge continues ...

Well, I think we ended June with rain 27 out of 30 days and 10-plus inches instead of the usual three. And July is off to a horribly similar start. Wicked thunderstorm yesterday. And today? Here's a glimpse:

I love the pop-up can floating by. And you might not have noticed my neighbor trapped in his car across the street. Hee hee!

Rain, rain, go AWAY!!

And summer begins ...

It's June 28th. Summer would be practically over where I grew up, but around here it's just getting started. School didn't get out until this week and the town pool only opened on Father Day's weekend. Of course, no need for the pool when it's barely gotten out of the 70s so far and it's rained 25 out of 27 days so far this month. That's right ... IT'S RAINED ALMOST EVERY SINGLE GODDAMNED DAY IN JUNE. Seriously. Let me put it this way — I haven't switched my closet over to summer clothes yet.

Finally, FINALLY, we had our dear friends and neighbors over for a cookout last night. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I love, love, love having neighbors who are also friends. Kiddle, Jack and LK are the cutest little trio of three-year-olds. And I love relaxing under the soothing canopy of the 100-year-old dogwood tree with the adults, as the kids terrorize our backyard.

However... if I'd did this trek to the backyard once, I did it 50 times:

Over the years we've lived here, I've tried to make the set-up and execution of my backyard entertaining more efficient, but I simply can't avoid going in and out, up and down, down and up, out and in ... to the point of total exhaustion. MY NEXT HOUSE WILL HAVE A BACK DOOR RIGHT OFF THE KITCHEN! NO STAIRS PLEASE! Oh, and while I'm making requests, a fenced-in backyard to keep the kiddos contained without screaming, "Turn around! Back up the driveway RIGHT NOW!! Stay in the back!" over and over again. I want my outdoor entertaining to be as effortless as possible. Too much to ask?