Our day at the beach

(I stole text this from an email I sent to Jeff today)

Kami and I went to the beach. We got there just before 10 and it's a really nice beach. I didn't know, though, that the water isn't open to public until after 11. They had swim lessons from 10 to 11. But they had a playground that we played on in the meantime.

Kami played with other kids. There were a couple boys playing restaurant and Kami joined in. She was the person buying and they were the cooks. They were asking if she wants french fries and burgers and whatnot. She would say "Yeah!" each time. They were pretending with rocks. Kami doesn't have a lot of experience with pretending, and she put a rock in her mouth at one point. She spit it out and then I think she caught on to the pretending thing after that. They would take turns being cook.

I think Kami is afraid of the water. There were soooo many kids there and I swear she was the only one who wouldn't go in the water. She'd go up to her ankles, but she preferred to just play at the edge of the water with her bucket. I had to hold her hand if she was going to walk in, and even then she wouldn't go in far. I tried swirling her around in the water and she would just cry. We have to work on that at the lake this weekend. I don't want her to be afraid.

There was also a set of train tracks that went right past the beach. The first time one went by Kami thought it was neat, but the second time they blared the horn and it really freaked Kami out. She was bawling and when the horn stopped she said "Bye train, bye!" Like she really wanted it to go away.

There was another little girl there that she played with for a little while. She was with her grandma. I overheard her grandma call her "Mimi". I asked if that was her name and she said her name is "Amelia" but she calls herself "Mimi". I told her Kami's name and that she calls herself "Mimi" too. So the girls were calling each other Mimi.

Kami got to pick what we had for lunch. She wanted fries. So we stopped at Arby's on the way home. She got the popcorn chicken and fries and she ate it up like she hasn't eaten in days!

Pictures from our outing: http://flickr.com/photos/themadderns/sets/72157606470701256/

It's been a while...

It's closing in on time to go back to work. Exactly two weeks from today. For so many reasons I am excited to go back, but many other reasons I am sad it's almost over. I've enjoyed my days with both kids... as challenging as it can be. We've spent a lot of time outside, as Kami has been enjoying her pool. She doesn't really get in it so much, as she uses the water to fill her watering can and water my plants. I certainly can't complain!

For the first year in many, many years I am actually a little tan! Still pasty to most, but to me, I am a golden goddess! LOL

Cooper is 5 weeks this week. Wow, how time flies. But with his old age comes the chance he is colicky. Boooo!! He definitely isn't the worst case, but he's not a happy camper like Kami was most of the time. We have an appointment for Wednesday to have the doctor look at him. Maybe it's reflux? Maybe he's just a grumpy old man like his dad? :)

Kami is talking like crazy. She knows her numbers 1-10 and her alphabet. She knows shapes really well and is working on recognizing colors, letters and numbers. She's our smarty pants.

We just took Kami to the zoo for the first time. While it wasn't a full zoo experience because it was soooo busy and we were with two other families, she really enjoyed it and, in particular, she remembers the bear and the rhino!

Uncle Ed came for a visit from DC, and boy did Kami enjoy his company! I think she was at his side the whole time he was here. And Ed, who claims to not enjoy kids, really seemed very in tune with Kami and all the activities she wanted him to partake in. All she's been able to talk about is Ed. At lunch today she went around the table and said, "Mommy's chair, Daddy's chair, Ed's chair, Mimi's (Kami) chair." We offered up an au pair job for Ed, but he didn't stay. Hmmmm, maybe he's just going back to DC to get some clothes? I mean, who wouldn't want to hang with Kami each day AND get paid for it?

This coming weekend we are headed to Tomahawk, WI for our annual "family reunion". Jeff hates that we call it a "family reunion" because I see the people on my Mom's side of the family quite often throughout the year. But, regardless, we are reuniting for the sake of eating, drinking, swimming and getting some sun. It will be the first time than many of my family members will meet Cooper. Let's hope he puts the colic thing away for a couple days. We need to leave a good first impression!