Even though we were staying right on the beach  (bay side) at Cape Cod we still took one day to go over to an ocean side beach for the waves and hopefully fewer rocks. We were not disappointed. We went to coast guard beach which is part of the national sea shore. It was beautiful and very exciting. The pictures can’t do it justice but the waves were huge and unforgiving when they crashed on you. The water level would go from nothing to up to your waist in almost an instant. It is a great fun place to go with older kids and adults that want to play in the (cold) water. Once you got past where the waves broke it was very deep but very calm and relaxing. We also saw a seal playing just a bit off shore!

Josie didn’t really want to go swimming anyway so the waves didn’t bother her, although she got wet without planning on it at times.

At one point I was trying to amuse her by running towards the water when the waves went out and away when they came in. I did this a few times but eventually lost my balance in the soft sand and a big wave came in and creamed me. I went under, flipped over, and waited until the wave subsided to surface. I get up and find Josie with a huge smile and signing ‘more’, meaning that I should do it again. I declined.

We had a fantastic time on the beach in Truro at Cape Cod in a townhouse we rented right on the beach. Josie loved being able to play in the sand and we had a good relaxing time with my parents being around and helping entertain her. Josie loved the seagulls and throwing rocks into the water. She also moved sand around in a very important business-like way.

This is one of the first things she did, she made a reverse sand table. She put the table in the sand and climbed up on top. In the beginning she wasn’t too sure about the sand and how it felt and how safe it was. She never really got to like the beach down by the water where it was rocky.

One day we went way down the beach to a sandbar and she really enjoyed it because the sand was flat and there were no rocks. We also saw a dead crab and made our way out to self[-proclaimed ‘Jennifer’ island before the tide came in and the island went under.

And my baby’s cute little footprints in her Keens. These shoes were awesome, too bad summer is over! My parents both bought some Keen’s for themselves, at least those will still fit next year.

(more to come)

A few weeks ago my aunt and her family came to visit us. We had a very nice weekend all together. One fun thing we did was go to the MIT Museum and they had a nifty exhibit of a light photo. What they did was give us some little mini key chain lights in different colors, shut us in a completely dark room, and exposed the camera for about 10 seconds while we moved around. Josie was relatively amused by the place. I had the yellow, tried to write Josie and draw a cat. Josie had the pink light, I was holding her. I think it’s a fun family portrait!

Later that day we also went to a cupcake shop in harvard square called Sweet. They weren’t cheap but they were tasty and quite gorgeous.

I got a few more older photos from my mom so for those of you still interested, here they are!

As previously mentioned, we went to Florida in May for Mother’s Day. We saw lots of relatives, including my grandmother and most of Jordi’s family. We had a lot of fun, even if Josie isn’t a fan of the heat. Playing on the beach and in the water was a blast. Josie loved getting to pet and chase new cats, including a 2 month old kitten, and dogs and didn’t do any lasting damage to the house so far as we saw 🙂

I don’t know why I don’t have any photos from the beach, maybe someone else does?

As of me writing this on Saturday night (I am super cool as I blog on Saturday night, duh, right before I go to bed before 10) I am now caught up on my photo blogging. I thought some family might enjoy some more photos from the holidays. Note the big huge dog Zeke, he’s about 120 lbs and was really unsure of what to make of the baby. He got very upset when she cried and oddly he didn’t clean the floor after she ate, guess sweet potatoes and green beans just weren’t his thing that night.

As promised by previous posts, we took Josie out sledding when it snowed before. We bought two sleds as we weren’t sure which one would work best while holding her, and so we could have races. Josie seemed to enjoy herself but was a little shy about it. She basically just becomes a passive ball of goo whenever we put her in her snowsuit. First video is of a race which Jordi won for speed, Josie and I won for distance and accuracy. Neither one of my parents were as brave as the baby as refused to go down the mini-hill.

Actually one of my favorite embarrassing stories (for Jordi) I like to tell is the first time he went sledding. We were at CMU and went down the hill together. We were headed directly at a tree and I was in front so I threw one arm out to the side to get us to turn. Jordi sensed us turning and panicked and put his opposite arm out to straighten us out! Then I of course wasn’t going to collide with the tree if I could help it and had to throw all four of my limbs overboard to just stop us. So Jordi, sledding, and steering seem to have been an issue from day one.

This year we went to my dad’s family in Harrisburg. It was a long car ride both there and back but Josie did relatively well. Unfortunately on the first morning it took us a long time to get going, everything takes forever when packing for an extra person who also demands tons of attention! We stopped at a new favorite, Reins Deli in Vernon CT:

Rein's Deli in CT

We had a wonderful meal at Cousin Sue and Jeff’s house on Christmas Eve. Josie got to meet the huge dog Zeke, she tried to kiss him, but they weren’t too sure about one another.

Josie playing with the dog toy

Jordi and Josie by the tree on Christmas Eve

Josie and Jen on Christmas Eve

Karen, Jen and Josie on Christmas Eve waiting to leave for church

As always it was a bountiful Christmas morning, although since we had opened a lot of gifts the previous weekend, gift unwrapping didn’t take all morning into the afternoon. Josie did a good job walking into the room to amazement at the gifts being , which is a family tradition that I have thankfully outgrown having to do.

Walking in on Christmas morning

Christmas morning unwrapping

As usualy Josie was initially shy with everyone, but after a day or two she started to warm up and really enjoy everyones company. Phoebe the cat was very friendly too and Josie kissed her frequently. The other cats made themselves scarce.

Cousin Ally and Abby with Josie

Josie and Abby

Sadly all good things must end and Saturday morning we packed up and went home. The trip home was shorter but not particularly easier. We had a lot of toys to amuse Josie with in the car but we still stopped frequently for changes and leg stretches. We stopped at McD’s for a potty break rather than BK so Josie could enjoy her first playplace. We sent Jordi up in the climbing structure with her, she did seem to really enjoy it. The fries would have been much better at BK, but we made the sacrifice.

Aunt Diane, Uncle Todd, Cousin Abby, Cousin Ally, Jordi, Josie, Jen and Grandma

McD's playplace

Saturday before Christmas and Hanukkah we opened gifts from people who weren’t at our holiday destination. There just wasn’t room in the car for all the loot. Josie had gotten some practice unwrapping gifts at my birthday and so she started to really get the hang of it. Unfortunately the time between pulling paper off and putting it in her mouth was still very short.

Jordi enjoyed making a fort out of Josie’s presents before she opened them. He remarked how he used to do it with his presents and realized it’s not that he got fewer now, it’s that they’re just generally smaller. Baby toys are big!