birthday girl

tuesday started like any other tuesday. just kidding. bebe was turning one, and to celebrate her newly acquired toddler-hood, we got up and headed to the beach. beatrix had been once before, but not properly. it was time to introduce her to the ocean, letting the water, if she so chose, wash over her fat pink toes. we weren't going to force anything, but going to the beach is one of mommy and daddy's favorite things to do, and we hoped she'd take to it too. but before we got going, there was some daddy-daughter playtime, captured by mommy. i'll warn you ahead of time, there are choobies involved:

we have an okay time.


after that, it was off to the beach!

our parking spot is free, but it can be a bit of a walk, not to mention overrun by the natural vegetation. that's why i always carry a machete. wherever i go.

pre-sand sunscreen

pre-sand smooches


once we got all of our shit set up, bebe was a natural.

we set her in her little capsule, gave her a shovel, and she wasted no time in filling her nice clean spot with lots and lots of sand.

hey bebe, how does the sand taste?

"you mean, you can eat this stuff?"
uh, what? forget i said anything.

this is ground control to Major Face McFace-Face... come in major...

"um, come in control. this is the major. transmission is weak, control. but probably only because i've got sand in my ears. and my hair. and my pants..."

the weather was perfect- the occasional cloud for shade, a nice breeze, and plenty of sun.

mommy brought the party hat, but bebe brought the party.

and while she hates to have one hat on her head, she had no problem with two. i guess that's the secret.

"pretzel..."

"pretzel with sand. hmph. i like them both."

mommy and bebe head down for the first official dip.

low tide means a long walk...

luckily, walking is bebe's favorite thing to do.

she was a little overwhelmed with excitement at all of the room she suddenly had to run wild.

and of course, she made a friend. the kid can't go anywhere without making friends. we've gotta work on this...

bebe's new friend was a little older, and a little more forward. at least bebe knows not to go jumping into relationships with any old baby. here she is screaming in terror and running away. that's my little lady.

unfortunately, she gets easily distracted during chases. she stops right in the middle of this one to check out a cool rock she stepped on. it's a real problem.

she recovers quickly though.
"ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

o-ho! the tide has turned! though not literally. it's still low tide. i just meant that now bebe is doing the chasing. it's just a figure of speech.

oooh-eee-oooh-eee-ooh, wah-wah-wah. oooh-eee-oooh-eee-ooh, wah-wah-wah.
tense. insert your own tumble weed...

in the end they agreed to shake chubby little hands

and return to their neutral corners. or mommies, in this case. look at that other mommy. she is soooo pissed! she's all 'what the eff happened out there? i'll tell you- six months of mixed martial arts training down the drain, that's what! you need to drop that other baby like a poopy diaper!'

"but... but... she's so fast!"
that's right, other baby. she is so fast.

she gave some claps to the ocean

"did you see that? it waved!" nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

even though she was lathered in sun screen, after a while she was looking a little pink. luckily, mems gave her this great ocean-themed hoodie to wear!

an empty beach chair usually means a slightly more-full ocean.

mommy and bebe back from a walk. they played in the waves and brought back some sea treasures.

after being in the hot sun, it was time to rehydrate.

"ahhhhh."


and nothing goes better with some cold water than warm, salty, peppertonies:

of all the developmental milestones (she just started answering 'no' to questions, for instance), the whole knowing-you're-being-cute-and-playing-it-up thing is my fave. when she knows what she's doing is making us laugh, she just keeps on doing it, or even an elaborate 'mimed' version of it. so funny.

however, those feet have been up and down the beach. better wash your mouth out.

"whee-oooooooh!"


yeah, i'm a dad. i load up my lady and head out to pick up our csa share like it ain't no thang. whatevs.

hold on to that box, lady! we're going to get it loaded up with fresh veggies!

and if you're good, i'll dump some of the chard and kale and tell mommy they didn't give us any! even if you're not good...

the last shot of that empty box. fifteen minutes later we had walked into town and picked up our stuff. blueberries, beets, tomatoes, some zuchinni-type things, some greens...

and since the stroller was full of our haul, bebe rode shotgun on my back for the ride home. she talked to me and occasionally gave me direction by slapping the back of my head and then pointing. no lie. what a boss, just like mommy. love you, mommy :)

one last shot at a self portrait before heading home to a tubba and bed. what a great first birthday!




a note to all you early risers(assuming of course you do the responsible thing and get to bed early): since i'm on vacation this week and we're out for most of the day, the posts are going up later at night, fyi. but there are posts each day- and only one day behind! tomorrow you'll get to see what we did all day today! awesome!