I had the good fortune to spend a weekend with my Godson and his parents this weekend- we went to Ogonquit beach in Maine, where I learned it really does take a village to raise a child.
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| Ogonquit Beach, Maine |
As it was, Eliza was at work (and stuck in traffic) while Marcey and I wrangled Things 1 and 2. Thing 1 was excited about running away. Thing 2 was NOT excited about his new teeth. All in all, though, it was a fun day, full of getting wet...
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| Wave jumping! |
...using Jen as a mobile A-frame against incoming forces....
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| These legs come in handy! |
...transforming from Asa bean to frozen pea...
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| Shiver shiver... |
... and later discovering that just burying a person in sand isn't nearly as interesting as dumping cold salt water on them. But hey- it kept him occupied!!
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| AAAAA! COLDCOLDCOLD.... |
Thing 2, meanwhile, discovered the warm, fluffy, crunchy stuff called SAND....
...and decided it was delicious.
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| The next day's diaper change was an interesting one. :) |
After the kids took a "snooze cruise" (allowing Mom to have some adult time), we stopped for, what else, ice cream. Shown below is what I understand to be Asa's first proper cone...
...which quickly went the way most cones do with 3 year olds. :)
I have to say, I wasn't totally prepared for the physicality of babysitting a three year old who enjoys running. I'm just not used to it. I'm also not used to three year olds being...well, three. But after a night in a very comfortable guest beedroom and an early wake-up call, Asa introduced a new game. As I lay on the floor in a blanket watching Elias, he said, "Jen, you pretend to sleep on the floor, and I'll pretend to sleep on the couch."
Best. Game. Ever.
That lasted a good hour, in my mind... it was bliss.
That afternoon Eliza and I went grave hunting (my ancestors are apparently up the street!) and returned for a dinner smelling like mom used to make. We sat, we chatted, the little ones fussed and debated their lot in life. But I gotta say, the whole weekend was comforting. Even with all the chaos of their new house, it really feels like home.
More pictures
HERE.
What a fun weekend! What ancestors did you find?
ReplyDeleteWe found my mother's grandmother, Ola Osgood. In a fit of irony, she was best friends with my father's grandmother, Henrietta Clark. Little did they know that their grandchildren would marry. :) The site was nifty- she is interred with her sisters and much of her extended family. A cousin is across the path, and the Osgoods, Horns, Pattersons and Manns used both sides of two stones. A very close knit group indeed. You can check out my OTHER blog post here. (I'm trying to spark family interest but it's not going so great.)
ReplyDeletehttp://armstrongreunion.blogspot.com/
I went to the Armstrong Reunion site, and I'm really impressed! Others will catch on, and begin responding... even if they don't, it's a way to put out information about face to face gatherings. I'm reminded, in your wondering about your own stone, of the old epitaph "here lies my wife, here let her lie. Now she's at peace, and so am I"... maybe John and Peter would like to go in on that together for me!
ReplyDeleteI had a blast, too. It's pretty affirming to have a witness (and co-conspirator!) to the mayhem of raising little kids. The nonstopness of it, the ups and downs, the times you have to bite your lip to keep from laughing at some totally inappropriate comment...the charm.
ReplyDeleteIt's the whole enchilada, isn't it?
Also a workout plan!
Thanks for being with us, we couldn't have had a beach day without you!
M