A Day At the Beach

Baby M has been asking to go to the beach for weeks now, so this past Saturday, we finally gave in.  This was the last free weekend we will have for the next few months; if we didn't go now, it'd be another year before we'd get a chance again. And if that were to happen, I'd have to suffer the endless nagging in the car by my stubborn 2-year old.

The last time we went to the beach was about four years ago (you can read about it here... oh the memories!).  This time around, our trip to Point Pleasant beach was much more enjoyable (we managed to stay longer than five minutes).  Big sister K loved putting her feet in the water and watching the waves rush in and getting herself wet.  Baby M had fun playing in the sand, messing up whatever structure daddy was building, and plopping himself in the hole that M had dug up.  We spent about two hours at the beach before heading over to Jenkinson Boardwalk.  We bought a booklet of 60 tickets for the kids to go on rides, and they were gone in no time.

Baby M wanted to be buried in the sand.  We were more than happy to oblige, but then he changed his mind after getting waist-deep into the sand (those on Facebook would've seen a brief video).

 

Food = happy boy

Picture taken by big sister K... it's a little crooked, but hey, she tried.

The kids enjoying the rides at Jenkinson Boardwalk:

Selfie with my baby:

My Boy

Sometimes the words that come out of baby M's mouth just cracks me up, or shocks me, or both.  He's talking so much now that the days when we were concerned about his speech seem almost non-existent.  He's been in the "why?" stage, always questioning everything he sees in car rides, and is a lot more persistent than big sister K ever was, so unless you give him an answer he likes to distract him (usually something that involves vehicles), the "but why mommy?" game could go on forever.

Baby M's favorite color is blue.  Combine that with a cupcake, and he is one happy boy.

Excerpts of conversations with baby M:

Big sister K: That's cool, right dude?
Baby M: Who's dude?

[I made the mistake of bringing baby M to McDonald's for ice cream last week, and he's been asking to go every single day when I pick him up from school...]

Baby M: Can we go to Old McDonald for ice cream?

Me: It's not called Old McDonald.

Baby M: Can we go to Ronald McDonald for ice cream?

Me: It's not called Ronald McDonald.

Baby M: I don't know... I can't say it.

Me: It's called MCDonald's.

Baby M: Can we go to MCDonald's for ice cream?

Me: No.

[How is it that he knows Ronald McDonald, but he can't remember McDonald's??]

Me: Baby M, say cheeseburger.

Baby M: Cheeseburger.

Me: Say hamburger.
Baby M: Hamburburger.

[He can say cheeseburger, but he can't say hamburger... I don't get it!]

M and I were talking in the car yesterday and I was explaining the different route I took to pick up big sister K from camp last week (kids were in the back keeping themselves occupied).  All of a sudden, baby M goes, "I saw a helicopter there!"  I looked at M in awe and was speechless.  Baby M did see a helicopter!  We passed by the center of town where there was a helicopter on display and I had pointed it out to baby M at the time.  How did he know what we were talking about??  I didn't even think he was paying attention!  That boy never ceases to amaze me.

In case you're wondering, below is a picture of the helicopter we saw (pretty obvious why it's left a lasting impression on baby M's mind).  I did a bit of research and found out it is an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter that was used by the United States Army.

2014 Arthur Ashe Kids Day

We took the kids to the US Open on Saturday for their annual Kids Day.  I think either a lot of people were away for the weekend, or the cloudy weather (though I don't think it was forecasted to rain) scared them away, because it wasn't as crowded as I expected it to be.  Sure, we still had to wait on line to do some of the activities, but compared to two years ago, we were able to do a lot more.

Big sister K and baby M went through an obstacle course where they had to roll a tennis ball through some cones, twirl a hula hoop, jump through the steps of a ladder placed on the ground, and hit a few tennis balls with a racket.  Big sister K did really well, but baby M just kind of stumbled his way through everything (which I'm not complaining about... I'm just happy he was willing to go through the course without mommy and daddy there with him!).  They got a goody bag at the end and it included a toy Hess truck.  Baby M saw the truck and his day was made.

Baby M rolling the giant tennis ball around the cones... it looked promising at first, but didn't take him long to steer off-course.  Take your eyes off of him for one second and the ball ended up halfway down the court.

Big sister K showing off her hula-hooping skills.

Baby M had fun going through the boxes.  I don't know what the lady told him to do, but I doubt he listened.  Baby M just marches to his own drum.

Looks like the two weeks of tennis camp paid off.  Big sister K hit practically all the balls thrown at her (she only missed the first one).  She'll be continuing tennis lessons in the fall... already have her signed up for September.

 Family photo at the American Express Fan Experience:

A Heavy Heart

A good friend of mine past away yesterday morning after an 18 month battle with ovarian cancer.  My heart is filled with sadness.  She was a wonderful person, full of love for God, for her family, for her church, and for her friends.  Her faith and walk with God always served as an encouragement to me.  Their family had moved close to us a few years ago (we went from being a mere 15-minute car ride away to less than a 10-minute walk from each other), and we always talked about having our kids grow up together and becoming the best of friends (her daughter is six months older than big sister K and her son is a year older than baby M).

 

I remember the last time we drove to one of her chemo sessions, we spoke about doing a road trip together down to Disney World.  We even worked out the little details of how we’d take her Toyota Sienna minivan since it had more room than my Honda Pilot, and I told her she’d have to let me pay for gas since we would be taking her car.  We laughed and got all excited about it, but as we sat in the hospital room surrounded by other cancer patients, we were reminded of where we were and why we were there, and the underlying fear of her illness made us grow somber.  I told her she had to get better.  And I know she tried.  She fought this disease with all that she had.  I will truly miss her.