The Beach Boys

Well, no updates recently. The boys have been at the beach. Grandma and Grandpa came to stay at the cottage for five weeks and got drafted for babysitting duty as we sorted out our childcare options. What a glorious time they all had!

Start with the breakfasts. It will be hard to go back to frozen waffles after Grandma served up homemade pancakes and crisp bacon every morning. All topped off with a bowl of fresh blueberries. Alexander almost hit thirty pounds for his 18 month checkup. They got in the habit of lunching late after a long morning on the beach, and they both proved they can shovel it away after time out in the fresh air. Jonathan's probably grown two inches - Chris noticed that his head now comes up to the second of three body sprays in the shower.

On days when the beach wasn't a great option, there was plenty to do up at the cottage. Jonathan is in love with the $9 tricycle I picked up at a garage sale. Grandpa lined up the deck chairs to make a circular track and Jonathan whips around on that trike at daredevil speeds. Meanwhile, Alex learned to stay on the deck, and invented a new game. He would carefully nudge the big beach balls under the pine tree, just out of his reach. Then he'd run over shouting "BALL! BALL! BALL!!!!" until someone came to get it out. Then he'd put it right back again.

Oh, yes, Alex is talking. His first word was "app-um" but he's got a whole vocabulary now - dog, duck, ball, water, no, owie, Wow! Meanwhile Jonathan has fallen in love with Blue's Clues and sings the songs all the time. Grandma and Grandpa can't believe how quiet it is when they're napping.

Down on the beach, Jonathan loved to drive the dump truck all around and race the boats in the creek. The creek came all the way down the beach to just before Bonga's, so they were in it all month long. Alex takes a while to warm up to the water. I would hold him on my shoulder while I stood in the lake knee-deep. He wouldn't sleep, but he'd go into a numb protest mode - eyes open, lips tightened, and hand clutching my swimsuit strap. Eventually he'd fall asleep and we could lay him on the sand. Later in the month, he got to where he would enjoy splashing around in the creek. He still thinks the lake is too big, so he goes and throws a few handfuls of sand in it every day. Jonathan has learned to put his face under the water, and it's truly a sight. He squeezes his eyes shut tight, and then covers them with his hands, leaving his nose and mouth open and unguarded. His forays underwater haven't lasted too long yet.

Right after a bright and sunny Labor Day, the weather changed on a dime and fall came in. It's raining and getting down to 45 degrees tonight. Preschool started for Jonathan last Wednesday and Miss Becky, our new nanny, has been getting to know us all. After a wonderful summer, we are all looking forward to all the routines of fall. Time to buy a snowblower - winter's not all that far off.