When Henry met the Ocean

A week ago Henry and I returned from a trip to the East Coast to visit Meme and enjoy some time by the ocean.

Meme and friends, Ann & Marilyn

For Henry, it was love at first sight, I think. And by the end of the week Henry was asking for "wat-er." Meaning, please take me back to that place where the waves crash over my feet and it feels so cool and refreshing and fun. He explored the shoreline, with or without his dump truck, splashed in the waves, chased the seagulls, dipped his face to the sand a few times to taste the saltiness, and laughed when we jumped the waves.

Photos from various beach days.

The weather ran the gamut from cold & rainy (but that doesn't keep a person from Wisconsin from enjoying the beach) to HOT and humid. When I packed our bag, I never really expected to dress Henry in his fleece and swim trunks at the same time.

Here's a few things I learned from Henry on our trip:

• Vacation is way too exciting to sleep past 5:30 am, no matter what time we went to bed the night before. Some late nights, due to Red Sox games, makes for a very tired mama.
• Escalators and moving walkways are the perfect way to kill time during a layover in the Detroit Airport. I'm a firm believer that those were, in fact, installed to keep children occupied when parents run out of ideas.
• A PB&J will be accepted for any and all meals.
• Anyone with short hair and glasses (and possibly a mature appearance) is subject to the term "Grandma" or "Grandpa." And surprisingly, most people (even strangers in the airport) enjoy this term of endearment from an 18 month old.

Inspecting the piece of seaweed that was stuck to his toe.