FUN in the SUN!

We ended our summer fun last week at the beach! Our little family was joined by Nonna, Aunt Mandy, and Maeleigh (or Maeleigh Ann as Brennan liked to say) for the first half of the week. My Aunt Lucy and Uncle Rob stopped by for a day at the end of the week. From being lulled to sleep by the waves each night to spending each day with our toes in the sand, we had a fabulous trip!

We played, shopped, ate, played, ate, and shopped a little more. The highlight of the week was seeing two cousins love each other so much. They wanted to spend every minute together. On the first night we all went out crabbing. What we actually saw was a huge surprise! A red fox was lounging just outside the pool fence on the dunes, only a few yards from us. He layed down when he saw us, just like a dog might do, and finally sauntered on his merry way. It was when he stood and we saw the pouf of red tail that we knew for sure he was a fox. The security guard told us that they have also seen coyote and black bears in the area. We spent time on the beach each day. I am always amazed at how the water changes from day to day. The first day there was a 3 ft. drop from the beach to the water's edge. By the day we left our tent, that had been several feet from the water, would have been in the surf. We saw dolphins most days, found loads of seashells, and learned first hand how fast a storm cloud can move across the water. We found a new favorite place to eat, Desoto's. They had great lunch specials, including fried shrimp and sweet potato casserole, at very reasonable prices. Mike had to endure a lot to enjoy his much needed vacation. While eating lunch at Lu Lu's he dropped the bottle of hot sauce. It splattered in his eye and burned for quite a while. Then he was laying behind Brennan while I changed Brennan's diaper on the bed. Brennan raised up and head butted Mike in the nose. That bled nicely for a while as well. Overall, I think he had a good time too, after the pain subsided. 

During our beach trip last year Brennan was a little roly poly on a quilt. This year he tried it all. Each morning he would awake and announce his plan for the day, "Play sand, play water, see waterfall." Most every time we went to the beach he would immediately announce he was going to go inside. He often had to be retrieved from the boardwalk. He did like to play with his truck in the sand, run toward the water, and pick up shells after he got warmed up. He learned what french fries were and decided that's all he needed to eat. He had tried them before but had never asked for them or thought they were so great. Luckily they seem to be forgotten now that we are home. At The Hangout he got to pick out a truck as his souvenir. He hung onto that truck the rest of the trip, including sleeping with it nightly.

A few more Brennan highlights from our everyday life: He is getting carsick more often :(. He did great on the trip down to the beach, but got sick once while we were there and again on the way home. He also got sick during our errands around town today. Another fun quirk he's acquired is being "scared" of the dark. He won't go into the kitchen if the lights are off, and doesn't even like it during the day if the blinds are closed. On the brighter side, his language is bubbling out. He is using several new phrases and everything is more clear. The phrase I hear most through the day is, "No Wells, that's mine!" It doesn't really matter if Wells is even awake. I think he just likes to lay claim. I also hear "watch" a lot. That is usually followed by him running a truck into something (all boy).  He is crazy about trucks and large equipment. He can spot and name a bulldozer from anywhere. He has the book 100 Machines, which he calls his Papa Book, that we read a million times a day. At the beach he found a sales paper with lawnmowers and studied it many times each day. He can hear the trash truck anywhere in the neighborhood and recognizes fire truck sirens, but is most interested in "hairplanes" and choo-choos. In three short months he will be two, but he's practicing his independence and strong will regularly. He doesn't just say no, but "no uh-uh" with a head shake and frown face. It's pretty cute actually, most of the time at least.

A few pictures out of the 600+ that I took :).