Toes in the Sand

First of all, I wanted to say congratulations to my dear cousin Molly and her husband Arturo (you may remember when we attended their awesome wedding in Mexico) on the birth of their sweet baby boy last week! We're so excited to have this new addition to our family and we can't wait to meet him at our family reunion this summer!

And now my slacking self can finally tell you about our Memorial Day, which was lovely. Eric got to golf that Saturday, and we spent Sunday running errands. Monday we hit the mall for a bit on a mission to find the baby a white sun hat, but apparently that is a ridiculous request and we were unsuccessful. (I should have known better than to turn my back on my beloved Amazon and try to buy something in an actual store. Amazon, I'm sorry. I have returned and will not stray again. My white hat is in the mail as we speak!)

After the mall, we went to Newport Green, a new park that just opened up this spring. It is along the Hudson River between Hoboken (our apartment) and Newport (Target/the mall) and it is quite a park! They have great play areas for kids, including a big water feature with tons of fountains to play in (and I will totally be taking Ellie through that water on hot days this summer, almost entirely for my own benefit, with no shame). They have lots of seating on nice boardwalks and huge grassy areas to relax in. The coolest part, in my opinion, is the "beach" - a sandy area with beach chairs and umbrellas right up along the riverfront. We decided that we should spend our Memorial Day at the "beach," so we dressed Ellie in her patriotic bathing suit and off we went.

It was very crowded, but we were lucky enough to get a couple of chairs under an umbrella. It was there that Ellie got to put her toes in the sand for the very first time, which I think is a significant milestone in the life of a girl with Floridian blood. She didn't seem particularly impressed, but she certainly wasn't offended, either. And she was obscenely cute.

Left: Ready for some beach fun, with her rockin' shades she got from Aunt Molly at my baby shower!

Right: Here we go - it's toes in sand time!

This is a beach bum in the making.

Showing off her sandy feet!

Beach-going is hard work for a little baby, so she sought out the comfort of her daddy's arms and quickly fell asleep.

Family shot

There's no place like Daddy's arms.

While she slept, Eric finished up his Taco Bell lunch he brought from the mall, but not without dropping taco stuffs all over the poor baby's leg. She was so embarrassed.

Left: Eat carefully, Dad...

Right: Eric ready to eat his dropped cheese and lettuce off the baby's leg. She already doesn't want to be seen in public with us, it seems.

It was pretty hot out so we didn't last too long, but it sure was fun while it lasted. I can't wait to take Ellie to the REAL beach in Florida this summer! I think she'll love it!

Happy beach baby!