57. Harvest

We have a potted tomato plant in our backyard. Every day Bea checks on the tomatoes and has a really hard time refraining from picking them. But the other day we finally had a tiny red tomato for her to pick. (She was hesitant to do so, since we are always telling her not to.) Here is a little movie of the big event.


What I really need to do is bring a camera to our CSA pickup. We go directly to the farm, and a portion of the share is "pick-your-own." The PYO crops have included lots and lots of cherry, grape, and plum tomatoes--HEAVEN for little Bea who tramps through the rows of veggies with a tomato in each hand.

On another note, Bea has always loved to play with our digital camera (and telephones, and remote controls--what is it with babies and hand-held electronics?). The other day we taught her how to press the button that takes the photos, and she was actually successful with a few shots. Well, I am not sure how "successful" the photographs themselves are, they might not make it into her catalogue raisonné. But here they are in all their "shoot from the hip" glory:

56. Birding at the beach

Last weekend our friends Amy and Doc (a.k.a. Matthieu, a.k.a. The Tall Guy) came to visit and on Saturday we drove down to the Audubon center in Milford, CT. It is right on the L. I. Sound and it is lovely there. We spent a bunch of time peering at shorebirds from atop a tall tower (and preventing Bea from climbing down the iron spiral staircase). Then we skipped across the street to the beach.

We weren't prepared with beachy supplies, which was too bad because Bea was itching to go swimming. Last time we were at a beach she was wary. This time she was eager. Although we didn't have towels we did at least have a change of clothing for the sandy, wet, wee one.

Wet shoes, dirty hands.

Let me go swimming NOW!

55. My Fair Lady

Earlier today, at the Bridgewater Fair:

54. Ahoy, baby!

Bea really seems like a toddler now, rather than a baby. When did that happen?

She says please, "th-th-th," all the time now--a BIG improvement over "ERGH!ERGH!ERGH!" Her favorite activity is going into the yard to check on the tomato plant and pick flowers. So whenever we are in the kitchen (which we are a lot) she stands at the back door asking, "Th-th-th?" It is hard to say no.

Yesterday, Grandma Fox was babysitting while I got some work done in the office. They had already been outside three times. Grandma Fox was taking a moment to enter something in her laptop. Bea wanted to go outside again. She pointed at her shoes, "Th-th-th?" She pointed at Grandma Fox's shoes, "Th-th-th?" Grandma Fox tried to tell her "no" nicely, and picked up the shoes and put them out of reach. She returned to her laptop in the dining room. A minute later, little Bea lumbered in, a big smile on her face, clutching one of her Daddy's clunky gardening shoes. Grandma Fox insists Bea knew she was being funny.

This past weekend Bea made her first trip out on her Grandpa Griff's boat. She was a little nervous at first, but once we were out on the water she was happy. She was very interested in the spiders that take up residence in the boat while it is docked. (It is on a lake.) She really had fun once we picked up a little speed toward the end. She has always loved the feel of wind on her face.

53. 4th of July in VA

This past weekend we flew down to Phenix, Virginia to visit Dale's parents--Papa and Grandma Mary--for Dale's dad's birthday. Bea had a great time. She flirted with their dog, Odie, went swimming for the first time (in the same town pool her dad swam in at a similar age), and watched fireworks (in person!) also for the first time.


She liked to call Odie a "tat" (cat) but whenever we called him a dog, she would "woof-woof-woof." We tried to teach her how to say "Odie-odie-odie," and she did a pretty good job. She would kind of flick her tongue our of her mouth repeatedly while making an "oh" sound.

I need to get swimming photos from Grandma Mary, so check back for pictures of Bea in her very adorable strawberry swimsuit. She liked the water but was very nervous when her dad swam the length of the pool underwater then popped up in front of her with his hair all matted down on his forehead and his eyes squinty with pool water! (I won't have a photo to share of that.)

Here are the photos--thank you, Grandma Mary!

We decided to brave the fireworks and I am glad we did--it was a really good show (with a surprisingly large audience, given how rural the area is). Bea was VERY VERY tired. The fireworks didn't begin until after 9pm. But once they began, she was transfixed. I held my hands over her ears so that it wouldn't be too loud and she stared at the lights, bouncing up and down on my lap occasionally. There was a mid-display finale-type extravaganza that ended with audience applause and this elicited a huge smile on the little one. But as soon as it was over, she was out. Here she is asleep in the car on our way home. It took 45 minutes just to leave the parking area. As I said, there were lots of people.


One of her favorite activities during the visit was taking long naps on her Grandma Mary's lap on the front porch swing. Here she is dozing on the porch with her Grandma and then enjoying a rain shower with her Papa.



On our last day we went to visit Bea's Great Grandma Haley (or, Granny). There was a fantastic plastic wheeled horse at the house, not to mention goldfish-type crackers, "Ocean Creatures." Needless to say, Bea had fun on this visit too.

52. The life aquatic

Yesterday we took a field trip to the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium. Bea was somewhat nervous about some of the fish but she LOVED the seals. Notice the use of her universal animal noun "tat" (cat).

They do sort of look like our cat Freddy...

51. No scurvy here

Bea loves oranges. Recently she saw a lemon sitting on the kitchen counter and wanted to give it a try. I warned her it wouldn't be the same as an orange but she insisted.
When she first took a taste she grimaced. I responded by screwing up my face into a "sour" expression and saying "ooh!" She loved that almost more than the lemon. So she repeated her tasting and I repeated my response.