A Sunday By The Sea; Baseball Tuesday

We decided to get away from it all and go down to the shore for a few days. Left Sunday; came back today. A good time was had by all.

Technically, we did not spend Sunday by the sea because it was raining the entire evening. Instead, we checked into our appropriately sketchy shore motel, napped a bit, and then went looking for dinner. We ended up at Hemingway's which was a pretty large establishment. Our meals were somewhat Italian-style, as were most of the dishes around us, but then they also had a sushi bar. Weird...

Monday morning was The Boy's first time on the beach and he was not having it. Last he heard, the ground was NOT supposed to move when stepped on. He was fine while sitting on one of our laps but not so much when he was sitting on his own. He also wasn't having the water. Musical Daddy and I each took our turns in the ocean while the other sat and watched with The Boy.

I love the ocean. Absolutely adore it. When I swim in the ocean, I'm a crazy kid again. I have no problem facing an already-broken wave with my entire midsection or riding a wave all the way in to the shore. Dignity be darned--I'm going to fall on my behind, get all wet and covered in sand, and laugh out loud, because I'm in the ocean. We took shore trips every summer when I was younger and I'm hoping to make similar wonderful memories with The Boy. And any other future hatchlings.

But I digress...

As I usually do...

Breakfast was at one of those cute beachy family restaurants; Lunch and dinner were on the boardwalk. We also had leftovers from the previous night's dinner as a mid-afternoon snack. Or, tea, for those of you across the pond. Entirely too much chicken.

I also had my frozen custard that I had been craving since I was aware that this particular beach location had custard. Yum.

The beds in our appropriately sketchy shore motel were double beds. Not queen sized; double beds. We had brought the Pack n Play with us, which we were glad of because it gave us a safe place to plop The Boy while we got settled or packed things or otherwise didn't want to have to chase him. He has never slept in a Pack n Play but he plays in it a few times a week. There was no way that we'd be getting him to sleep in a Pack n Play (a real problem for when he's with the sitter because that's where he'll be expected to nap), at least not on this trip. We ended up all sleeping together on one double bed. Snuggly.

I should also mention, even though this is out of chronological order, that several times over the past few days, The Boy has either been put in the car or woken up in the middle of the car ride and gotten very upset. We put on his favorite album and INSTANTLY he calmed down. On one occasion, we put on a barbershop playlist and these guys came up; the same thing happened. He knows what he likes.

Anyhow, so our shore trip was successful and just what we needed.

This evening we went to a minor league ballgame where Musical Daddy, his chorus, and another chorus, were singing "God Bless America" and the national anthem. Minor league ballgames are always a good time.

The Boy was getting antsy and cranky, and Musical Daddy suggested leaving...but he calmed down and started playing with various objects while standing and holding onto the seat next to me. Keys...cups...you know, the usual.

The fun started when he was playing with an old copy card and my old PA driver's license which, for some reason, I still carry around. As he played with these objects, he'd take his hands away from the chair, for a good 5 seconds or so, and then either lean onto the chair or fall on his bum.

He even took 2 steps towards me today!

Many thanks to our friend Hepcat for sharing kid stories and repeatedly picking up the things that The Boy was dropping.

Anyhow...I'm sure I'll have more to say later but right now Musical Daddy wants to do his homework!